Easyjet - Upset re seat allocation

[BeaLola]

Ok - I'm adding my big girl pants (literally) as I can appreciate not everyone will agree with me (this is fine) but please accept that Im embarrassed and upset about this....

So today I check in online for our holiday - thare are 4 adults going inc me &DH. I do not want to pay extra for extra leg rooms seats or to sit somewhere specific or even all together as we are not bothered - its a short flight - I ignore those options & let them alloacte me seats - the allocation I dont see until I checked the boarding passes - I have been allocated a seat in row 11. I checked on the website to see where seat is & the info blurb basically says you can't sit in that row if you need a seat belt extender which I will (I am larger but can fit seat just have a large stomach). I try to change seats but cannot as checked in so i go to the chat function.

The agent (real person) basically says I can move but I have to pay extra £ for a suitable seat. I say I dont want to pay any additional £ but he advises as its my choice I have to if I want to move - I do point out that the seat was randomly allocated to me and I happy to sit in that row but the regulatioons on the website wont allow me to. He says my only option is to pay. His other suggestion is that I swap with one of the other 3 in the party - but they are also in row 11. He then says staff will sort it when I board ... Im not happy with last suggestion because for one what if there isnt a spare seat & also its embarrasing & could delay tinhgs trying to switch nce on plane. Feel really upset :-(

You’re being ridiculous. The airline can’t just accept that OP needs a seat extender and therefore needs to move seats. That’s up to the cabin crew to implement. Otherwise everyone would be asking for a free seat exchange.

Would you be such a twat over this if the OP had a broken leg? or a disability that meant she could not sit there? Maybe with a baby on her lap?

I am going against the grain here - you have specific requirements that mean you cant have just any old seat. So should you not have booked a seat? I always book seats because I have to have my child with me. I also have claustrophobia, so I cant sit in a window or middle seat. Again, I dont expect the airline to know that. And i don't gamble that I will be allocated an aisle seat. I know you are embarrassed, and you shouldn't be, but you do have specific needs that sadly mean that you need to book a seat regardless of how how short or long the flight is. The airline will be able to give you the seat you need, by swapping, but if you want to avoid the embarrassment of that bit, you will have to book.

If it helps, this has happened to me and it caught me by surprise. I’m a size 18 and have always fit in the seatbelts but on a flight home from somewhere earlier this year, we were in the emergency exit row and my seatbelt didn’t fit. I was surprised as it fit on the way out only a few days earlier! My partner subtly told a flight attendant and asked what to do (we didn’t even know extenders existed!) and the attendant was so nice and quiet and private and said I’d have to change seats as unfortunately they can’t give extenders on those seats. I was MORTIFIED as I wasn’t expecting this, but he went a few rows back, asked a lady if she wouldn’t mind swapping with me, and it all happened very quickly and secretively and I don’t think anyone else on the plane had any idea what was going on. I was so grateful to the fight attendant, he was brilliant, and probably sees this all the time!

They cant take off without you wearing a seat belt so this will get sorted, don't worry. if I saw them moving someone from an exit ailse i would jut assum they had just replied no to the question can you physically opperate the door in an emrgency which they ask you. They will have to move you.

That is a fair point though, I suffer from extreme claustobhobia so I never leave it to chance and pay for an aisle seat

I would try calling them, they will be more sympathetic over the phone than an online chat. I am really surprised you all got sat together TBH, I think the flight is probably not full so there should be additional seats

Do not worry about being embarrassed, this is the airline's issue to sort out, and they will do so quickly I am sure. I cannot see why you should be required to pay to correct the issue. They could even change the plane configuration if there's a last minute change to the aircraft.

One thing to consider, if you find you are in that row and the seatbelt does indeed need an extender, trying swapping seats with someone else in your party. The seatbelts on every single seat can be a different size due to repairs etc, so you may find that one of your party's seatbelts is actually fine for you. This has happened to me a few times.

It's hard isn't it. i commute on a train that doesnt have seat allocations. I have to get a really really early train so I can get an aisle seat.

I understand that and it really sucks, but realistically the airline had no way of knowing when allocating the seats and if you’re not prepared to pay then you need to be prepared to risk it becoming a bit more of an inconvenience for you in case you have a particularly inflexible crowd that doesn’t want to swap. I don’t think you have anything to be embarrassed about and the idea of a PP of just playing dumb until you get to the seat would be the best move, imo. It puts it on them to sort it.

I’m glad you’re doing well and I hope you have a great holiday with your loved ones.

You, and everyone else on a flight, let someone be forced off a flight after they were given a seat that they could not use, through no fault of their own, rather than swap with them?

The reason OP can't sit in her allocated seat is because CAA regulations don't allow people who need seatbelt extenders to sit in the emergency exit row. And the reason OP needs a extender is because she's on medication which has distended her stomach. As OP wrote just three posts above yours: "I'm sorry that I have been ill - I didn't want to be and I don't like the side effects of medication but I am incredibly happy to be alive and have the chance to go on holiday with my family which a lot of other people don't."
It's clear that you're incapable of showing any empathy, but the least you could do is quit sniping. 🙄

It’s the ‘extra legroom’ aka emergency exit rows. So you pay more but have to be able to assist in an emergency.

Actually, you're being ridiculous when you write something like "Otherwise everyone would be asking for a free seat exchange." Hyperbole doesn't win an argument. And for the umpteenth time for the hard of understanding, OP is perfectly happy to sit in the seat she's been allocated. 🙄

Of course there’s a realistic way of knowing if someone is able to use an exit row or not. Just add a tickbox when you book ‘are you able to use an exit row seat’, followed by a list of the exclusion criteria.

can’t you just go online, amend your booking and pay for a seat you can use an extender with?

Indeed. On the upside, I've reported their posts and MNHQ has deleted them. 😃

As far as I understand, people with physical disabilities can't sit on exit rows either. How would the airline handle this situation if OP were disabled? The policy seems to discriminate against age and disability given that it seems only the able-bodied and those in a certain age (and weight) bracket can avail themselves of the free seat allocation.

You are the one having trouble understanding so let’s put into easy bullet points for you:

• OP doesn’t want to pay to select a seat
• OP has been put in a seat that she doesn’t think will be appropriate because you can’t sit in that seat in you need a seat extender
• OP can therefore board the flight and be placed in an appropriate seat by cabin crew where she can use a seatbelt extender
• OP doesn’t want to do this because she doesn’t want to be moved on the plane

Therefore, back to my point that the airline can’t just accept that OP needs a seat extender and therefore needs to move seats. That’s up to the cabin crew to implement. Otherwise everyone would be asking for a free seat exchange.

Well those in that row need to be able to operate the exits in an emergency which could potentially exclude children, those with a disability and those who are too fat to fit in the seats.

disabled customers who book assistance presumably would not be allocated those seats in the first place.

I usually fly alone so ive been asked to move to an exit seat for various reasons when people sitting there have not been allowed it

I was randomly allocated the exit row seat. On my boarding pass it stayed “you may be asked to move seats”.

if,upon boarding the aircraft, the staff had seen that I was frail/ disabled etc then I would have been moved

only “fit” passengers in that row to help with the door / not block the exit

I wouldn't worry too much about it, OP. In the past I have selected seats only to be reallocated because they swapped planes a few hours before the flight. Happens all the time. These automated systems don't work well either, as you normally have to pay extra for an exit row.

Just approach the desk as soon as it is occupied and ask for a seat belt extender. Don't say anything about the regulations. They will know better than you and will probably sort it before they even start the boarding. If it causes a delay then the embarrassment is on them, not you.

Yes, obviously. But the airline seems to have failed to close this potentially discriminatory loophole, which seems risky for them.

As a pp suggested - it could be solved easily by having a 'able to operate exits in emergency yes/no' tick box when booking.

It just doesn't seem right that if you're the wrong age, weight or physical ability, you don't have the option at all to not have to pay for a specific seat.

The OP is fine with being moved as long as it's done discreetly. And would prefer it to be sorted in advance, but if that's not possible, then on the plane with dignity intact.

I'm sure the cabin crew have seen it all before.