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 :-(

Someone will happily swap with you - when you board the plane tell the cabin crew you have been allocated the exit row but don't think you meet the requirements to sit there, so can they find someone to swap with you. If you don't want to mention you are worried about needing an extender, you could say you have a bad back or similar that would prevent you operating the doors?

Also you wont delay boarding - that takes bloody ages anyway with the amount of faffing people do. There will most likely be other people wanting to swap seats/can't find their seat/can't find space for their overhead bag etc. You will not be the outlier here.

@BeaLola According to their website, you can contact EasyJet's customer service by phone on: 0330 551 5151. 😊

I’m actually more surprised you’ve been allocated these seats when you haven’t prepaid for seat selection. They normally go quite quickly.

She doesn't though. Reading comprehension skills are lacking on this thread (as usual).

I would try and have an easyjet customer service operator change your seat. If not all passengers are checked in surely it's easy for them to reallocate your seat.

Failing that I'd wait until you're in the departure lounge and approach the friendlest//happiest/most chilled out couple and ask them if they're ok with switching with you and your neighbour.

If someone asked me this I'd do it without a second thought. Don't care about getting out the plane first unlike a lot of people.

It's always frustrating when commenters don't read and comprehend the post. Even more so when they are the first to post, almost like they are dying to be the first to post so don't read the full post which CLEARLY stated they were ALL on row 11 🙄

My husband flies a lot and always tries to get that row.

He says if he was on your flight he would be delighted to get the chance to swap and wouldn’t ask why.

I don’t think you should feel like this is your fault.

Hi OP

This happened me. I didn't realise until I was being seated. The flight attendant discreetly asked someone to swap with me. Those seats are usually extra room so it's not hard to find someone who wants to sit in it.

Also flying is absolute BS these days with all the ridiculous extras. Pay to get your seat early. Pay to bring a suitcase bigger than a lunchbox.

Also you try to be organized and then they randomly change the flight times. I got an email last week that my flight times were changed to 9 hours later in the day which completely screwed the airport parking and now unnecessary hotel booking. You try and be organized and instead you get screwed. The alternative being book them nearer the time and pay extrorinate prices.

Anyway I digress...

Are people not reading ops posts?

she doesn’t care where she sits or who she sits with but can’t sit in the seat that’s been allocated due to prescribed medication. She didn’t book a specific seat because it’s unusual to be allocated the exit seats as they are usually in such high demand.

Op, might be worth tweeting the airline or calling the airport and asking to be put through to the airlines desk. Worth a call?

This is the row the air india survivor was on. Seat 11C I believe. Something to do with where the wings connect to the fuselage and it being a particularly strong zone. I suppose near the emergency exits as well.

What a random bunch of replies - so many of them clearly not reading what the issue is. Telling the OP that she is old enough to sit on her own, that if she wants a special seat, she must pay for it. Jeez. Please, read what the OP has written and then comment if you must! Anyway - I am sure that when you check in your luggage they will be able to reassign you a seat without an issue.

If you can move just your seat in advance and pay a fee why wouldn’t you just do that? Save all this angst? Cost of a lunch? Suck it up?

if it’s the entire party then board, have the aisle seat and try to spot a single traveller who will most likely jump at the chance of an aisle, extra leg room seat. If not stewards will sort, they are used to it.

wishing you a fab holiday

No, it’s the airline regulators fault.

Presumably the OP will happily sit there with no seatbelt if the standard one doesn’t fit, but I anticipate they won’t allow that.

OP, sit in your allocated seat and ask the flight attendant for a seat extender. If you can’t have one for your seat they will find you another seat that allows you to use one. At a pinch they could ask for someone else to swap but I bet there are a few empty seats on the plane as long as you aren’t too fussy.

In future though I think it’s reasonable that you pay to choose a seat as you are effectively not willing to accept random allocation.

Ah, more hyperbole: "People do try everything they can to move seats". I don't and apparently nor does OP. Indeed, of the many flights I've taken, I've rarely seen people swapping seats before take-off.
It's the CAA's safety regulations that require passengers who sit in the emergency exit rows to be physically able and willing to assist in an emergency evacuation (including opening exit doors) and these regulations apply to all airlines. When an airline allocates a seat to someone who cannot occupy it due to these safety regulations, they should be required to reallocate it with no additional charge (and there's no reason why this couldn't be organised in advance).

Don’t worry about delaying the plane. The staff should be able to sort it very quickly. We went on a package holiday in May with my mother- in-law, who is 92 and has some mobility issues. Flights were with Ryan Air. We couldn’t choose our own seats, they were allocated between the travel company and Ryan Air.

Got on plane to discover we had been allocated seats in the exit row, ( row 26 or 28, can’t quite remember), which because of the regulations my Mother-in-Law couldn’t sit in.

Told by cabin crew to speak to head steward, who sorted it all quite quickly. In fact one of the people who swapped was quite happy not only because she was in an exit row but also closer to her friends who were at the back of the plane,

My husband went with his mum to sort it out. I stayed in the allocated row.

We did wonder though, given we had told the holiday company all along that she had mobility issues and even booked her walker in way before we flew, why we had been allocated the exit row!

All this to say none of this delayed the plane and it was full. It took off on time so I do think you are worrying unnecessarily about this aspect.

I made the mistake of calling the number a helpful poster posted (than you poster)

I spent 19 minutes on phone - about 15 on hold after explaining the issue - then 2 different people told me over the phone that "if you want an extra leg room seat in row 11 you have to pay more for it"

I calmly explained that I wasnt after an extra leg room seat it had been allocated FOC to me on checking in for my flight. I didnt want to move anyone else on my party just me beacause I can't sit there & I read their blurb out from website as to who isnt allowed to sit there & I wanted to avoid issuies on the departure itself. They didnt change take - I asked them that if I was pregnant & had been allocated this seat or disabled would they charge me to move to a cheaper standard seat as pregnant women and disabled people also cannot sit in row 11 either and the call ended .....

I don’t think you even know what hyperbole means. Just because you and OP don’t try and move seats, it doesn’t mean that other people don’t.

The airline will be happy to move OP when she is at the airport/plane and explains to check in staff and/or cabin crew. There is a reason it can’t be done in advance, it’s called airline policy which is applied across all passengers.

...so no one on in the back office is willing to own this issue and the problem gets dumped on the Cabin Crew....

Am I surprised? Nope..

I posted the phone number OP and I can't believe the response you got! They actually hung up on you when you challenged their logic?! 😱 So much for "Customer Service"! 😡

Their customer service has been shoddy but you really don’t need to worry about delaying the plane. They are under lots of pressure to maintain schedules due to potential liability for compensation so they are trained to sort this stuff out very quickly. People not being able to sit in the exit row is a really common occurrence, for all sorts of reasons, just have a quiet word with the cabin crew when you get to the gate and they’ll sort it quickly.

I know, and not only that but they clearly completely misunderstood what she was asking. It’s bizarre.

I guess they've never run into someone actively trying to downgrade a seat and for valid reasons. The script doesn't cover that so they panicked and hung up.

Shitty of them.