Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[kristenrice]

Alot of people want the first few rows if they have a tight connection even if in the middle seat. Buying early bird does not always get you a position in the A group anymore to get near the front of the plane. You can say you are saving the seat, but anyone is entitled to ignore and say I want the seat.
One good thing about assigned seating next year, no more seat savers

I do not need to be that close to the front. I certainly prefer the first few rows, but as long as I am in front of the wing/exit rows, I'm ok. I know that there is no seat saving and I do not want to ruffle feathers or cause a problem. That's why I was asking if saving a center seat is really going to be an issue, or if anyone would really care. Thanks so much for all of the input. In my previous experience, I've always purchased WGA fare + EBCI and I've always received A-group boarding and I've never had a problem getting an aisle seat in front of the exit row. (Last year, I did get a B-group on the way home from Orlando and I promptly purchased the A1-15 upgrade. There's no way I will wait through family boarding from Orlando and hope that I can get an aisle seat in the front half of the plane.)

I will plan to just pick a seat and hopefully the seats near me will stay vacant before my daughter boards. I don't want to cause any issues or provoke a confrontation.

 

[sandam1]

I will plan to just pick a seat and hopefully the seats near me will stay vacant before my daughter boards. I don't want to cause any issues or provoke a confrontation.

Personally, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Yes, there might be someone out there that wants to be a jerk and pick a fight with a complete stranger to get a middle seat - and then have to sit next to that person in steel tube for the next few hours - but that seems highly unlikely. Assuming that you've confirmed that the person in the window seat is flying solo, I would just place something on the middle seat (your under the seat bag, a jacket, a book, whatever) and chances are very, very good that everyone will just pass you by.

 

[SirDuff]

Personally, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Yes, there might be someone out there that wants to be a jerk and pick a fight with a complete stranger to get a middle seat - and then have to sit next to that person in steel tube for the next few hours - but that seems highly unlikely. Assuming that you've confirmed that the person in the window seat is flying solo, I would just place something on the middle seat (your under the seat bag, a jacket, a book, whatever) and chances are very, very good that everyone will just pass you by.

Why is the person who wants to sit there (possibly they also need to sit in front of the wing, or they have a short connection) a "jerk" but the person seat saving (despite saying that they know it isn't allowed) not a jerk?

 

[sandam1]

Why is the person who wants to sit there (possibly they also need to sit in front of the wing, or they have a short connection) a "jerk" but the person seat saving (despite saying that they know it isn't allowed) not a jerk?

If they are going to confrontational about it, yes, in my mind, they are being a jerk.

Politely asking is one thing - just the way the OP politely hoping that she can sit next to her daughter is one thing. A jerk would be saying "I need THAT seat" despite the fact that there are other similar seats in the same area. A jerk would also be saying "No, I won't let anyone, but my daughter occupy that seat."

 

[SirDuff]

If they are going to confrontational about it, yes, in my mind, they are being a jerk.

Politely asking is one thing - just the way the OP politely hoping that she can sit next to her daughter is one thing. A jerk would be saying "I need THAT seat" despite the fact that there are other similar seats in the same area. A jerk would also be saying "No, I won't let anyone, but my daughter occupy that seat."

So, if someone nicely asks, and the OP says "no" (without demanding an explanation), that makes the OP a jerk? Just making sure I understand your rules.

 

[eticketplease]

If they are going to confrontational about it, yes, in my mind, they are being a jerk.

Politely asking is one thing - just the way the OP politely hoping that she can sit next to her daughter is one thing. A jerk would be saying "I need THAT seat" despite the fact that there are other similar seats in the same area. A jerk would also be saying "No, I won't let anyone, but my daughter occupy that seat."

Who’s asking? Until things change it is “Open seating” so there is no reason to ask unless it is obvious the person is trying to save the seat.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I plan to board and sit in an aisle seat within the first 5-6 rows, but do you think that saving the middle seat will be an issue?

I think that you will have a better chance of saving the middle seat if you pick a row that has someone sitting in the window seat. If you sit in an aisle seat and the next two seats are empty, there would be a greater chance of someone taking those two seats. But I've found that the middle seats are the last to fill, especially the seats in the first section of the plane. Everyone walks past those seats, hoping to get a better seat further down. When the flight isn't full, my husband will take an aisle seat and I will take the window in hopes that no one wants the middle. It almost always works and the middle seat remains empty - as long as the flight isn't full.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Personally, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Yes, there might be someone out there that wants to be a jerk and pick a fight with a complete stranger to get a middle seat - and then have to sit next to that person in steel tube for the next few hours - but that seems highly unlikely. Assuming that you've confirmed that the person in the window seat is flying solo, I would just place something on the middle seat (your under the seat bag, a jacket, a book, whatever) and chances are very, very good that everyone will just pass you by.

It's rare for people to pick a fight because as a whole people don't want to. But if your threshold is "will someone pick a fight" you're already the jerk in the scenario to use your words, you're already the antagonist in your own scenario.

The overall point is kinda about thinking about the whole picture. The PP was wanting a seat towards the front of the plane for their own reasons, the several of us who responded suggested not attempting to do that at the front of the plane and to try further back in the plane. You know what that is typically called? Consideration of others. You do you though of course but it would appear you're armed for a fight when you fly and that's well yeah..

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

One good thing about assigned seating next year, no more seat savers.

Yes and no. It doesn't stop people from sitting in seats that don't belong to them and then asking the person who is does belong to to switch. TBH open seating basically prevented that as the seat didn't technically belong to anyone. It was more the people who try to save a lot of seats or in the case of the PP trying to save at the front of the plane or exit row that would aggravate passengers.

I was just on a flight from Chicago to Madrid 2 months ago where a passenger was trying to see if the person in the bulkhead row would switch with her husband because her husband needed it for some reason (it seemed related to his leg). We were in Business class with lay flat seats so I honestly was trying to figure out the reason why but in any case the FA came back and said the passenger said no they didn't want to switch. At the very least the man didn't try to sit in that seat but that does happen.

For the PP's situation only if they were able to get the seats together when booking or afterwards when selecting their seats would their situation be solved by assigned seats. And TBH the way that SWA is doing it and the way the PP explained that their friend was flying on a budget the chances of them both being together in the front of the plane when assigned seating happens together is not a given, it means purchasing highest fare or paying high price for the seat selection (which we don't know how much it would be at this point) should that seat even being available.

 

[EACarlson]

If they are going to confrontational about it, yes, in my mind, they are being a jerk.

Politely asking is one thing - just the way the OP politely hoping that she can sit next to her daughter is one thing. A jerk would be saying "I need THAT seat" despite the fact that there are other similar seats in the same area. A jerk would also be saying "No, I won't let anyone, but my daughter occupy that seat."

There is no reason to ask. It should be a statement, then a question out of politeness. "I'm going to take that seat. Will you please stand up so I can get in there?" I've had it happen once where there was an empty window seat in row 5, the two women sitting in the aisle and middle seats tried to argue with me that they were saving it for someone in the C group. They relented without having to have FA intervention when they realized they needed one seat and their friends across the aisle were holding the middle on that side.