RANT: I don't care if you want to sit next to your kids on the airplane

[Moliphino]

It's possible the couple paid for a seat assignment together, then had their plane changed. If that was the case, the FA would probably try to find them seats together. If I was getting a similar seat, I would have no problem moving, so they could sit together. I'm not likely going to agree to take the middle row, but I would have no problem exchanging a window seat for another window seat or an aisle seat for another aisle seat. Depending on the situation, I would probably exchange a window or aisle seat for the other.

That's been happening to me A LOT lately and it's so annoying. We had one Air France flight a couple years ago where I selected our seats the day before (four seats all together), then got to the gate and realized I was now sitting by myself 10 rows up from my family who were now in the very back row. Then everyone else at the gate realized they were also scattered all over the plane and it was a hot mess for the poor gate agents. Again on Aer Lingus last week, we had our pre-selected seats changed last minute on 3 out of 4 flights.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

One of the reasons I won’t fly Southwest. I prefer having a seat assignment and will happily pay extra for it.

Totally agree! Although I do not "happily" pay for it lol I do nevertheless suck it up and pay. Sitting with my family when we travel together is part of the enjoyment as is sitting as near the front of the plane as possible without going to the unaffordable (for us) first class. For our vacation in June I just paid out an extra $120 for that privilege by pre-selecting our seats. I cannot imagine a scenario where I would give them up to accommodate someone else.

 

[Prince_Hawkins]

That is strange that the flight attendants were pressuring people to move in that case. I definitely would have declined to move.

She asked me nicely/politely enough. I caved in and agreed to move...because when you're put on-the-spot like that, you risk looking like a jerk if you decline. Social pressure.

 

[Prince_Hawkins]

I don't know when the PP flew but certain airlines have fare classs that for a reduced rate you have certain restrictions; often pre-selecting your seat is one of those restrictions-seat is assigned later on.

With United they do have Basic Economy fare class. Part of that is no seat selection and the understanding that you will be separated from your traveling group.

It is entirely possible someone can be asked to be moved on the airlines that have these reduced rate fare classes even though those airlines have seat selections and even though part of the reduced fare class is loss of seat selection and the expectation is sitting apart from your traveling party.

FWIW I wouldn't want to be moved either.

I didn't ask what the couple's circumstances were. All I know is that they were assigned seats separately, for some reason. I happened to be sitting next to one of them, and I guess the flight attendant chose to ask if I'd be willing to move because I had the aisle seat and I looked like a "nice guy." Speculating, of course.

I should probably wear a perpetual scowl whenever I fly, from now on...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I didn't ask what the couple's circumstances were. All I know is that they were assigned seats separately, for some reason. I happened to be sitting next to one of them, and I guess the flight attendant chose to ask if I'd be willing to move because I had the aisle seat and I looked like a "nice guy." Speculating, of course.

I should probably wear a perpetual scowl whenever I fly, from now on...

lol

Yeah no I didn't expect you to know was just giving a possible reason .

 

[RedAngie]

She asked me nicely/politely enough. I caved in and agreed to move...because when you're put on-the-spot like that, you risk looking like a jerk if you decline. Social pressure.

Yes. Unfortunately the man travelling alone is almost always considered "the bad guy" if he declines.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Yes. Unfortunately the man travelling alone is almost always considered "the bad guy" if he declines.

I don't really think it's a man thing. I'm a woman & I've been asked to trade seats, when I was flying alone. I'm sure they would have been just as unhappy, if I declined.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I traveled a lot when I was working. I always want,even today, an aisle and I will refuse to give it up. Also my husband likes the window, I do not and refuse to sit in a middle seat. Because I have status with United, I get two free economy plus seats per flight. I always choose aisles across or aisle and window leaving the middle seat free. Last year going to Vegas, two women, I think sisters, were traveling together and one had the middle seat next to me. The other had the middle seat next to my husband. She asked to exchange one of the aisle seats so they could sit together. My husband and I both said no, he a little nicer than me. She got very huffy and sighed a lot and then talked across both of us to her sister next to me. She probably thought I would get annoyed enough to give her my seat. Didn’t bother me in the least. But they both had about 3 or 4 bloody Mary’s on the way to Vegas, so the sister next to me dosed off pretty quickly!

 

[Hrhpd]

One of the reasons I won’t fly Southwest. I prefer having a seat assignment and will happily pay extra for it.

That is exactly the reason why I DO fly Southwest. With adding Early Bird, we are almost assured seats together because it doesn't matter if they change planes. First on gets first choice.

IF I did end up in B boarding (has never happened yet that I did not get A with Early Bird) with a large amount of families boarding between A and B, there is always the option to upgrade your boarding to A 1-15. Those spots are very rarely filled and are usually available for purchase.

I just figure purchasing my boarding is no different than purchasing seat assignments. And I have a better chance of getting the seats I want. We have a flight to Europe later this summer. They have changed our seat assignments 4 times so far, with me having to call and finagle our seats back. Way, way too much work to have to constantly monitor. Has happened more than not on both domestic and international flights with paid for seat assignments.

At least with Southwest, the plane doesn't matter and there are no seat assignments to rearrange. You just get on first and pick your seat.

 

[msjprincess]

That is exactly the reason why I DO fly Southwest. With adding Early Bird, we are almost assured seats together because it doesn't matter if they change planes. First on gets first choice.

IF I did end up in B boarding (has never happened yet that I did not get A with Early Bird) with a large amount of families boarding between A and B, there is always the option to upgrade your boarding to A 1-15. Those spots are very rarely filled and are usually available for purchase.

I just figure purchasing my boarding is no different than purchasing seat assignments. And I have a better chance of getting the seats I want. We have a flight to Europe later this summer. They have changed our seat assignments 4 times so far, with me having to call and finagle our seats back. Way, way too much work to have to constantly monitor. Has happened more than not on both domestic and international flights with paid for seat assignments.

At least with Southwest, the plane doesn't matter and there are no seat assignments to rearrange. You just get on first and pick your seat.

MTE. I've never had trouble finding a seat I liked on Southwest. I have had my seats changed on other airlines with assigned seating and ended up separated from the people I was traveling with. The worst was years ago flying home from Honolulu. My boyfriend and I were moved to middle seats about 20 rows away from each other.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

Good for her. If more people challenged seat savers, it would be less of a problem. I've done it before when at the end of my tether. Boarded a SWA plane late in the evening, right after a miserable flight to get to that airport, with an autistic child who might have melted down without a good window seat. I saw one, and indicated to the woman sitting on the aisle that we would take the two inner seats. She told me that her mother was going to sit there. I gestured to the empty aisle seat directly across, and said that her mother could sit there, but that we would be taking those inner seats. We took them. She moved away & complained to a fellow passenger once. No regrets here. I had paid for Early Bird for both of us.

I have a different perspective on SW. The issue of saving seats on SW is not always cut and dried. My husband is an A-lister, so boards early. He spends a huge amount of money with SW each year, flies constantly, and has earned the privilege of picking out his preferred seat. Even when I pay for an Early Bird seat, I almost always still need to board significantly later than he does.

Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me so that someone who flies once a year on SW, but has bought an Early Bird ticket and happens to be in line ahead of me, has priority over the two of us? Or should he board early, as is his right, try to save a seat for me, and then graciously accept it when the Early Bird who just happens to be ahead of me in line insists on his/her right to sit in the seat he is saving? Or should we both be penalized because he is an A-lister and so we need to learn to sit apart, unless no one happens to sit next to him before I get down the aisle?

In the case the poster sited above, it is possible that the woman saving the seat for her mom was also an Early Bird, but just happened to get a lower boarding number than the person who insisted she move. For all she knew, her mom could have been an Early Bird too, but bought her ticket at a different time than the daughter, so they were not standing in line together. Or the poster could have been correct in assuming that the seat was being saved by an Early Bird for someone who didn't pay the Early Bird fee. My point is that it can be very hard on SW to know exactly what the individual situation is when you insist on your "rights." "Fair" can sometimes just be in the eye of the beholder.

 

[pixiedustedme]

My husband is an A-lister, so boards early...Even when I pay for an Early Bird seat, I almost always still need to board significantly later than he does...Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me...

In the case the poster sited above, it is possible that the woman saving the seat for her mom was also an Early Bird, but just happened to get a lower boarding number than the person who insisted she move. For all she knew, her mom could have been an Early Bird too, but bought her ticket at a different time than the daughter, so they were not standing in line together...

No one insisted that she move. There were two empty seats, and the woman wasn't able to save one for her mom, who hadn't arrived yet, that's all. Not being able to save a seat is completely different from being told to move. The woman simply got miffed at not being able to save a seat, so she chose to move.

If you and your husband really need to sit together, you should board together, whether that means you buying a Business Select fare or upgrading at the gate so that you can both board very early on, or whether that means him boarding later during your boarding time, and accepting seats together further back in the plane. Naturally, he can try to save a seat for you up front, but he might or might not be able to.

People can try to save seats on SWA, but others can also challenge them. Getting the seat of your choice is first come, first served. Period.

 

[sam_gordon]

I have a different perspective on SW. The issue of saving seats on SW is not always cut and dried. My husband is an A-lister, so boards early. He spends a huge amount of money with SW each year, flies constantly, and has earned the privilege of picking out his preferred seat. Even when I pay for an Early Bird seat, I almost always still need to board significantly later than he does.

Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me so that someone who flies once a year on SW, but has bought an Early Bird ticket and happens to be in line ahead of me, has priority over the two of us? Or should he board early, as is his right, try to save a seat for me, and then graciously accept it when the Early Bird who just happens to be ahead of me in line insists on his/her right to sit in the seat he is saving? Or should we both be penalized because he is an A-lister and so we need to learn to sit apart, unless no one happens to sit next to him before I get down the aisle?

In the case the poster sited above, it is possible that the woman saving the seat for her mom was also an Early Bird, but just happened to get a lower boarding number than the person who insisted she move. For all she knew, her mom could have been an Early Bird too, but bought her ticket at a different time than the daughter, so they were not standing in line together. Or the poster could have been correct in assuming that the seat was being saved by an Early Bird for someone who didn't pay the Early Bird fee. My point is that it can be very hard on SW to know exactly what the individual situation is when you insist on your "rights." "Fair" can sometimes just be in the eye of the beholder.

IMO, and I don't fly SW often, any of the options you post in the middle paragraph are totally acceptable. He either waits and boards with you, gives up the seat next to him gracefully if someone sits there, or you sit apart.

Lets turn this around... you're at Disney. Your husband walks faster than you and can get in line for a ride. Is it okay for him to "save" you a spot in the line, so when you finally get there, you immediately move ahead of everyone who got in line between your husband and yourself? As PP said, you have the option of upgrading to A1-15, you just don't want to.

 

[focusondisney]

Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me so that someone who flies once a year on SW, but has bought an Early Bird ticket and happens to be in line ahead of me, has priority over the two of us?

No, he can keep his right to board early. But that right does not convey to you. If it did, it would be included with companion pass status. His status does not give you priority over someone who has an earlier boarding position than you do, no matter how often they fly.

Or should he board early, as is his right, try to save a seat for me, and then graciously accept it when the Early Bird who just happens to be ahead of me in line insists on his/her right to sit in the seat he is saving?

That is exactly what he should do.

Or should we both be penalized because he is an A-lister and so we need to learn to sit apart, unless no one happens to sit next to him before I get down the aisle?

Nope, there is no penalty to you. You have options within SW’s boarding guidelines. Why should someone else who purchased before you or chose to spend extra for EBCI be penalized because you don’t like those options?

 

[dish rag]

That is exactly the reason why I DO fly Southwest. With adding Early Bird, we are almost assured seats together because it doesn't matter if they change planes. First on gets first choice.

IF I did end up in B boarding (has never happened yet that I did not get A with Early Bird) with a large amount of families boarding between A and B, there is always the option to upgrade your boarding to A 1-15. Those spots are very rarely filled and are usually available for purchase.

I just figure purchasing my boarding is no different than purchasing seat assignments. And I have a better chance of getting the seats I want. We have a flight to Europe later this summer. They have changed our seat assignments 4 times so far, with me having to call and finagle our seats back. Way, way too much work to have to constantly monitor. Has happened more than not on both domestic and international flights with paid for seat assignments.

At least with Southwest, the plane doesn't matter and there are no seat assignments to rearrange. You just get on first and pick your seat.

You do say ALMOST assured. You may just have bad luck. I fly 40 or 50 times a year and have never once had any of those things happen to me. I will never fly Southwest because of how they seat.

 

[msjprincess]

I have a different perspective on SW. The issue of saving seats on SW is not always cut and dried. My husband is an A-lister, so boards early. He spends a huge amount of money with SW each year, flies constantly, and has earned the privilege of picking out his preferred seat. Even when I pay for an Early Bird seat, I almost always still need to board significantly later than he does.

Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me so that someone who flies once a year on SW, but has bought an Early Bird ticket and happens to be in line ahead of me, has priority over the two of us? Or should he board early, as is his right, try to save a seat for me, and then graciously accept it when the Early Bird who just happens to be ahead of me in line insists on his/her right to sit in the seat he is saving? Or should we both be penalized because he is an A-lister and so we need to learn to sit apart, unless no one happens to sit next to him before I get down the aisle?

In the case the poster sited above, it is possible that the woman saving the seat for her mom was also an Early Bird, but just happened to get a lower boarding number than the person who insisted she move. For all she knew, her mom could have been an Early Bird too, but bought her ticket at a different time than the daughter, so they were not standing in line together. Or the poster could have been correct in assuming that the seat was being saved by an Early Bird for someone who didn't pay the Early Bird fee. My point is that it can be very hard on SW to know exactly what the individual situation is when you insist on your "rights." "Fair" can sometimes just be in the eye of the beholder.

He can do any of the above. Sometimes when we fly on SWA we have 2 different confirmation numbers and I have to check both in at the same time. Usually our boarding numbers are close. Once in awhile though they are very far away from each other. When that happens whoever has a higher number goes towards the back of plane where it's mostly empty and "hopes" that no one sits next to them. We would never tell someone they couldn't have a seat if they wanted it.

I'm the opposite of the people that will never fly SWA. I prefer SWA if it's available. They fly out of my small local airport. Two free checked bags. No fee for changes. If the price drops I can get a credit with just a few clicks of a mouse.

 

[design_mom]

I prefer Southwest too... and maybe it's just because my expectations are different. On Southwest you "get what you get" and everybody knows it. We've had a couple of times where we haven't gotten 'good seats' on Southwest, but usually we do fine. And even when we don't get the seats we'd prefer (which is "sitting together in any part of the plane") I think "well, that's unfortunate, but... those are the breaks." (And I agree with the others about the A-Lister husband. You can either board together at the later number (giving up his A-Lister perk), or he can board early knowing that he really can't save a seat for you.)

The last four times I've flown an airline with traditional seating, my seat assignment has been changed without my knowledge. Every time. Twice, I was traveling solo and it was an aisle-for-aisle switch, so I didn't care that much. The other times we were traveling as a family and had selected seats together but got moved to be split up all over the plane. I was able to get them changed around so that everyone was at least sitting with one other person from our group, but it was a hassle and was definitely inferior to our original arrangements. That left me feeling much more frustrated than I ever have on Southwest, like "Why do you even let me pick if your'e just going to change it anyway!?"

 

[mom2rtk]

I have a different perspective on SW. The issue of saving seats on SW is not always cut and dried. My husband is an A-lister, so boards early. He spends a huge amount of money with SW each year, flies constantly, and has earned the privilege of picking out his preferred seat. Even when I pay for an Early Bird seat, I almost always still need to board significantly later than he does.

Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me so that someone who flies once a year on SW, but has bought an Early Bird ticket and happens to be in line ahead of me, has priority over the two of us? Or should he board early, as is his right, try to save a seat for me, and then graciously accept it when the Early Bird who just happens to be ahead of me in line insists on his/her right to sit in the seat he is saving? Or should we both be penalized because he is an A-lister and so we need to learn to sit apart, unless no one happens to sit next to him before I get down the aisle?

In the case the poster sited above, it is possible that the woman saving the seat for her mom was also an Early Bird, but just happened to get a lower boarding number than the person who insisted she move. For all she knew, her mom could have been an Early Bird too, but bought her ticket at a different time than the daughter, so they were not standing in line together. Or the poster could have been correct in assuming that the seat was being saved by an Early Bird for someone who didn't pay the Early Bird fee. My point is that it can be very hard on SW to know exactly what the individual situation is when you insist on your "rights." "Fair" can sometimes just be in the eye of the beholder.

"Fair" is both of you boarding with the later number. They don't make you go with the earlier group. Your husband can always hold back and board with you.

 

[kaytieeldr]

"Fair" is both of you boarding with the later number. They don't make you go with the earlier group. Your husband can always hold back and board with you.

Option not mentioned by tthat poster: Husband boards with his group, saves seat. Poster boards at proper turn. If seat was saved successfully, great! If not, both move to a row where they can sit together.

 

[Floridaman999]

I wonder if DancesWithDisney ever thought we'd be discussing his/her thread over 3 years later? That's some serious staying power right there.