How do people feel about even-trading plane seats?

[Anonymous]

People who deliberately book seats apart and ask to switch to be together are smart.

Yes. As long as they accept the answer if the offer to switch is declined.

People who book together and get switched by the airlines who ask to switch to be together are entitled, anxiety-riddled jerks.

Only the ones who are expecting a crisis are anxiety-riddled. Or worse, hoping for a crisis "I hope my child gets sick." What kind of a worthless human being wishes airsickness on their own child?

[Anonymous]

If you make someone feel guilty or fuss about them saying no, you should be kicked off the plane and on a no fly list for a year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you make someone feel guilty or fuss about them saying no, you should be kicked off the plane and on a no fly list for a year

Disagree.

5 years no fly list, minimum.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Last week I flew cross country and had a middle seat. A couple came and they had the aisle and window seats on either side of me. They said they book that way in hopes the middle seat is not taken. They offered to trade me the middle for the aisle and I sure as hell took them up on the offer! But otherwise, I wouldn’t trade aisle for window, not with my bladder.

I refuse to switch with the absolute A-holes who do this. They make so much harder for people who actually want to sit together to find seats together.

F—k them. I keep my middle seat every time.

Please explain? Because the math is not mathing.

Whenever i try to book a flight lately with my family, i encounter planes for which literally the only empty seats are middle seats. Therefore it is impossible for me to find even two seats together despite a willingness to pay and what (to me) is a perfectly reasonable timeline for booking flights.

Now, i understand first-come, first served and i am not complaining. It the flight happens to have been filled by a bunch of singletons or people who otherwise don’t want to sit next to someone, fine, I’ll deal.

But it makes my blood boil when people do it deliberately in effort to game the system. I repeat, F—k them. I carefully selected my middle seat out of the dozens of middle seats and I’m keeping it.

I like your attitude better than what we encountered one time: We had window-aisle and asked the middle seat occupant if they would like our aisle seat. The person said "well, I'd really prefer the window." We said no and buckled our seat belts. When we have two seats you don't get to decide which of them you're trading for.

Yes you do as you are the one trading.

Right?! You're the one attempting to initiate a trade, not the middle seat person in this story.

A middle seat is the least valuable in the row. If the person in the aisle offers you a trade, you take it or leave it - you don't ask for the window seat.

Why not? It's a negotiation started by you. If you don't like it then say no and everyone stays put.

Exactly. If the middle seat is so undesirable, why are you trying to trade for it?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I would just like to remind people that there may be reasons that parents really want to sit next to their kids and tweens. My older daughter would be totally fine sitting alone since she was like 4. My younger kid has severe anxiety and has a hard time sitting with people she doesn't know. Can she do it? Yes. But she will sit there the entire time in a nervous state and have a breakdown when we arrive at our location (and yes, she sees a therapist and is on medication).

We once got our seats switched (that we booked well in advance and paid for) and I had to beg people to switch. She was 11, so I know that most people would think she should sit by herself, but it would make it even worse for her if I had to explain to people why we needed to sit together.

Lesson of the story-- you don't know what is going on with a family, so maybe just be a decent person and switch seats if asked nicely?

If she's never had to do this how do you actually know how she would react? Maybe your expectations are too low.

Not PP with the daughter who has anxiety, but those of you who are saying she should just power through are being pretty insensitive. Learning to tolerate something that triggers anxiety can be helpful, but an airplane seems like a terrible setting for that. You can’t get out if things go badly. Plus why should the family that paid to have their anxious child sit next to a parent have that taken away because the airline switched their seats?

Why should this family's problem become my problem? I feel for them...but not enough to give up my seat.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I would just like to remind people that there may be reasons that parents really want to sit next to their kids and tweens. My older daughter would be totally fine sitting alone since she was like 4. My younger kid has severe anxiety and has a hard time sitting with people she doesn't know. Can she do it? Yes. But she will sit there the entire time in a nervous state and have a breakdown when we arrive at our location (and yes, she sees a therapist and is on medication).

We once got our seats switched (that we booked well in advance and paid for) and I had to beg people to switch. She was 11, so I know that most people would think she should sit by herself, but it would make it even worse for her if I had to explain to people why we needed to sit together.

Lesson of the story-- you don't know what is going on with a family, so maybe just be a decent person and switch seats if asked nicely?

You all can pile on this person, but I would rather just let a parent figure out what's best for their kid. If someone nicely asked me to switch, I would say yes. I don't need an explanation.

And it’s nice of you! But the pile on she’s getting is because her main character syndrome has blinded her to the fact that every other person on the plane has their own situation. Yours is flexible it seems. Others such as mine is not. “Being a decent person” doesn’t mean agreeing to trade seats and her conviction that she and her daughter are the most deserving people on the plane is shortsighted.

It’s also fine to say no. But this thread is full of people who feel personally victimized/attacked/put-upon by someone merely ASKING.

It’s not fine to say no. The rejected passenger will get huffy and glare at you the rest of the flight. They won’t take a no well.

Not necessarily. But if so, their childish behavior is not your problem. Ignore when possible, be blandly pleasant if you need to interact with them.

[Anonymous]

If similar seat in similar area I’ll consider after I see who is seated next to proposed seat. Don’t want to be with screaming child- smelly or overly large person…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Why should this family's problem become my problem? I feel for them...but not enough to give up my seat.

DP Because if it's a minor inconvenience for you - which is usually is - you trade seats. Because it's the decent thing to do.

That said, some of the parents responding to this topic are making me reconsider. These people deserve no decency.

[Anonymous]

I am ok to change to a better or same seat if I am alone. And I would also want $$$ if I have paid extra for that seat and for the inconvenience. So, yup.

[Anonymous]

Don't come at me (don't care if you do actually!) but when flying with my 10 year old DS I purposely purchase his seat two or so rows ahead and separate than mine. He is an extreme extrovert and more than comfortable on his own chatting up his seatmates. Oh, and I should mention he.talks.constantly so it is nice to hear him a few rows back but to have the break!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't come at me (don't care if you do actually!) but when flying with my 10 year old DS I purposely purchase his seat two or so rows ahead and separate than mine. He is an extreme extrovert and more than comfortable on his own chatting up his seatmates. Oh, and I should mention he.talks.constantly so it is nice to hear him a few rows back but to have the break!

This is an interesting twist.

What happens when the airline messes up your reserved seats, and seats your son next to you?

"You ask another passenger to switch, and that passenger should respond with grace, accepting the switch so you can sit apart from your child" - DCUM, probably

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I would just like to remind people that there may be reasons that parents really want to sit next to their kids and tweens. My older daughter would be totally fine sitting alone since she was like 4. My younger kid has severe anxiety and has a hard time sitting with people she doesn't know. Can she do it? Yes. But she will sit there the entire time in a nervous state and have a breakdown when we arrive at our location (and yes, she sees a therapist and is on medication).

We once got our seats switched (that we booked well in advance and paid for) and I had to beg people to switch. She was 11, so I know that most people would think she should sit by herself, but it would make it even worse for her if I had to explain to people why we needed to sit together.

Lesson of the story-- you don't know what is going on with a family, so maybe just be a decent person and switch seats if asked nicely?

You all can pile on this person, but I would rather just let a parent figure out what's best for their kid. If someone nicely asked me to switch, I would say yes. I don't need an explanation.

And it’s nice of you! But the pile on she’s getting is because her main character syndrome has blinded her to the fact that every other person on the plane has their own situation. Yours is flexible it seems. Others such as mine is not. “Being a decent person” doesn’t mean agreeing to trade seats and her conviction that she and her daughter are the most deserving people on the plane is shortsighted.

It’s also fine to say no. But this thread is full of people who feel personally victimized/attacked/put-upon by someone merely ASKING.

It’s not fine to say no. The rejected passenger will get huffy and glare at you the rest of the flight. They won’t take a no well.

This is either you projecting OR it’s an observation of reasonable person’s reaction to you being a dick for no apparent reason.

What is “apparent reason”. Are you a dick if you have a UTI and don’t want to tell the 12-year-old?

What does a UTI have to do with an even trade of seats (the subject of this thread)?

Because its why I wouldn’t trade an aisle seat in row 35 for an aisle
seat in row 20. 35 is closer to the bathroom. Do I have to tell you I have a UTI in order to not be a dick?

How long does it take you to walk 10-15 extra steps? See, this is an unreasonable excuse made by a dick.

You won’t switch because you enjoy the tiny little power trip.

No, I won’t switch because you believe you’re more important than anyone around you, and it shows. You don’t care about someone else else’s discomfort you think a UTI is no big deal. What about someone with prostate cancer? Someone with arthritis? Is there anyone who could possibly deserve to keep their own seat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't come at me (don't care if you do actually!) but when flying with my 10 year old DS I purposely purchase his seat two or so rows ahead and separate than mine. He is an extreme extrovert and more than comfortable on his own chatting up his seatmates. Oh, and I should mention he.talks.constantly so it is nice to hear him a few rows back but to have the break!

This is an interesting twist.

What happens when the airline messes up your reserved seats, and seats your son next to you?

"You ask another passenger to switch, and that passenger should respond with grace, accepting the switch so you can sit apart from your child" - DCUM, probably

Unless you booked apart in the hopes that that entire section would remain empty! That just means you’re a savvy traveler!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Last week I flew cross country and had a middle seat. A couple came and they had the aisle and window seats on either side of me. They said they book that way in hopes the middle seat is not taken. They offered to trade me the middle for the aisle and I sure as hell took them up on the offer! But otherwise, I wouldn’t trade aisle for window, not with my bladder.

I refuse to switch with the absolute A-holes who do this. They make so much harder for people who actually want to sit together to find seats together.

F—k them. I keep my middle seat every time.

Please explain? Because the math is not mathing.

Whenever i try to book a flight lately with my family, i encounter planes for which literally the only empty seats are middle seats. Therefore it is impossible for me to find even two seats together despite a willingness to pay and what (to me) is a perfectly reasonable timeline for booking flights.

Now, i understand first-come, first served and i am not complaining. It the flight happens to have been filled by a bunch of singletons or people who otherwise don’t want to sit next to someone, fine, I’ll deal.

But it makes my blood boil when people do it deliberately in effort to game the system. I repeat, F—k them. I carefully selected my middle seat out of the dozens of middle seats and I’m keeping it.

First, "reasonable to you" means nothing, if the majority of the seats are already booked. But that's beside the point.

In the scenario you are describing, it doesn't matter *which* two seats the earlier bookers took - there still won't be any seats together for your family. Let's say that no couple traveling together did what you are complaining about, and all took either the middle and window or middle and aisle seats. It's no easier for you to find seats together, because there's still only one seats available in the row.

How is this not obvious?

Because singletons in windows/aisles could still sit next to couples in window/middle or aisle/middle you freaking dumb@$$.

How is THAT not obvious?

NP. I'm not following. Are you saying that you think couples should only ever book window+middle or aisle+aisle, never aisle+middle or aisle+window?

The person to whom you are responding is crazy unhinged.
This doesn't work like concert seating, where there are algorithms to make sure sets of two stay open.
anyone can pick any seat they want. There is no obligation to leave sets of two seats open.

I know for my family the most important thing is getting to the destination we want on a certain schedule. Making sure we're all sitting together is lower on the priority list. I think the airline knows this so there isn't much of an incentive to police the seat selection. If my family of 5 had to take 5 middle seats we would as long as we're getting the flight day, time and price we want, and it's our fault for booking so late. My youngest is 10 and I wouldn't beg anyone to trade seats with us. We'll spend time together at our destination.

God forbid anything ever happens on the plane requiring medical assistance, emergency evacuation, etc. I assume you would be unbothered not being in close proximity to your elementary schooler then. Good for you!

God forbid! I guess if we're that worried we wouldn't fly at all. I assume you drive to every destination?

This is an unbelievably stupid take. Being cognizant of safety concerns =/= one should never fly?

I’m sure the stranger will make sure your kid’s oxygen mask is well-fitted. If you can’t trust in that you should drive, amirite?!

Cool. So I assume you automatically rebook every flight that doesn't allow your entire family to sit together? I mean, they might die if they aren't right next to you.

Nope. The entire family doesn’t need to sit together. But one parent absolutely needs to sit next to the elementary school aged child(ren).

Are you just being obstinate, or are you really this stupid?

I don’t take parenting advice to people who have such feeble kids who would melt down over this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Why should this family's problem become my problem? I feel for them...but not enough to give up my seat.

DP Because if it's a minor inconvenience for you - which is usually is - you trade seats. Because it's the decent thing to do.

That said, some of the parents responding to this topic are making me reconsider. These people deserve no decency.

I’m beginning to think people should just say no to these people so they become enraged and then their whole family gets kicked off. Then there’s more room for everyone to spread out. Because God forbid a 10 yr old sit a row in front of Mommy.