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Subscribe to RSSIs your airplane seat assignment sacred?
That’s what Dennis Palkoner wants to know.
Palkoner and his wife are both elite frequent fliers and often receive first-class upgrades for their flights.
Lucky them, right? The only problem: often the upgraded seats are not together.
In an email to msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, Palkoner said that when this happens his strategy is to “politely ask the person in the seat next to our upgraded seat if they will switch seats so my wife and I can sit together.”
He said this works “100% of the time” but wants to know: First class or not, “Do airlines mind if I change seats with another passenger?”
“I can't speak for all airlines,” said Heather Poole, a long-time flight attendant and author of "Cruising Attitude" (due out March, 2012). “But at mine it is OK for passengers to swap seats in the same cabin they purchased their ticket in.”
Sara Keagle, a flight attendant who blogs at The FlyingPinto.com, said the same policy exists at the airline she works for. “My airline does charge for premium seats such as exit rows and bulkheads, so as long as [an economy cabin passenger] doesn’t choose those seats, it's fine.”
Passengers within the premium zones can trade amongst themselves, said Keagle. “And we do let passengers trade seats from coach to first class, but that is done on the ground and there is no switching back once the door closes for departure.”
How — or why — would someone swap a first-class seat for one in coach? “Sometimes one person in a couple will get an upgrade but they’ll want to sit together, so they will offer their seat in first class to their neighbor in coach,” said Keagle.
“We want our customers to have a safe and comfortable travel experience, so changing seats or moving to an empty seat within the customer’s respective cabin is fine,” said Delta Air Lines spokesperson Anthony Black. “But it is always a good idea to ask the flight attendants if it’s OK to move and the best — and safest — time to do so.”
When swapping or moving to an open seat, there are some things to keep in mind.
Another passenger may have purchased two seats to insure that no one is seated next to them. “Smaller planes may have weight and balance issues, and there are certain requirements passengers must meet in order to sit in an exit row,” said Poole.
Even Southwest Airlines, well-known for its open-seating policy, has given seat-swapping some thought.
“Our policy allows customers to choose seats that fulfill their personal preferences,” said Southwest spokesperson Michelle Agnew. “But it’s not uncommon for our flight attendants to ask customers if they are willing to switch seats to accommodate a family who would like to sit together.”
Agnew says customers are usually very accommodating and flexible in those situations. Perhaps it’s because flight attendants often thank those customers “with a complimentary adult beverage if they are of age.”
Do you have a travel-related question? Send it to Overhead Bin.
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Find more by Harriet Baskas on Stuck at The Airport.com and follow her on Twitter.
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I appreciate it when a Flight Attendant will get on the PA system and announce that it is OK to change seats. It eliminates the doubt if it is OK to do so, and when you may do it.
I once snagged an exit row seat by being accommodating -- someone was seated there who didn't speak English (FAA rule); no one on the MIA-PHL flight crew spoke Spanish (!!! but that's another story); and the doors couldn't close for departure with her sitting there. I offered to translate to explain to the lady why she needed to move, and ended up with her extra-legroom seat. (She thought they were trying to throw her off the plane, and was pretty upset until I gave her my boarding card.) Most of the time it's not that big a deal where you sit, so especially if you're traveling alone, be nice to your fellow passengers. If you get something extra for it, fine. Otherwise, you've just helped everyone on the plane (including the flight crew) have a better day.
One of my husband's coworkers once gave up his business class seat so I could sit next to my husband on a business trip. The gate agent in the US upgraded the three guys flying on the government tickets but refused to do mine. The flight was so packed that there was no space for my husband to sit back with me in economy, though I supposed he could have traded down. :-)
We bought that guy a huge box of Belgian chocs two bottles of really nice wine and sent it to his hotel room. Probably didn't make up for the cramped flight, but what a nice man.
On the way home, the gate agent in Europe had no problem upgrading both of our tickets. Go figure.
Ha....Flight attendants did NOT help us reseat when we had to take an emergency flight home due to a relative passing (if we had booked earlier, we would have been able to reserve 2 sets of 2 seats, or better). I had my two 8-year-olds and only 2 seats were together. No one would swap with us. So as not to have either kid alone, I had to seat them together, with daddy and mommy in separate seats a couple of rows away. I have NO idea why a person would prefer to sit next to two stranger's kids than swap with me or their dad, but no no one would, and no help came from the flight attendants--just a "we can't make anyone swap seats" form them. Buying the kids dinner was a PIA as well, as we had to point to the row with the kids and have the crew pass them back their food.
Why did you not tell the name of the airline? It might help others avoid the same situation, by not using that airline.
David because it is not relevant. Every airline is the same.
People who have reserved their seats in advance do not have to switch, I have been on both sides of this.
I have needed a switch and sometimes gotten it and sometimes not.
I have been asked to switch and sometimes I do and sometimes I don't (Typically because I need an aisle seat for medical reasons so I can get to the bathroom faster)
I have also been thrown major attitude for not switching so a man and a woman can sit together. Nice that they assume the man sitting next to me is not my partner, it is not any of their business for me to have to explain that--and I get a range of responses when I do--though typically I just say (pointing at him) 'we are together'...we typically fly First though so we don't have many problems.
Swapping seats is fine, but don't be angry when the person sitting in an aisle or window seat says no. I always select an aisle seat because I need to get up and move frequently for health reasons, plus I paid extra for it. I was asked to switch to a middle seat and I refused. You would have thought I was a miserable selfish sob by the reactions to my refusal. Oh, well.
Or when someone has purchased an extra seat to insure that no one sits next to them. I can imagine the dirty looks cast when they say no. (By the way, what happens when the plane is over-booked, and there's that empty, paid for, seat?)
The only time anyone's wanted to trade with me, it's never been an even or advantageous trade for me- and I never agree. I consider it an affront to offer someone a crappy deal, although I try to decline graciously.
I booked a Quantas flight to Brisbane from DC several years back. I made sure to ask that the seats were together, as I was with my 8 and 10 year old boys on their first international flight. I did not realize I needed to call their partner United to request that also on the leg from DC to LA-even though Quantas booked it. Some nice young man finally moved to let the kids sit together, but not one of the men in the area would budge to accomodate the 3 of us sitting together for the long flight. When I kvetched about it later in the travel section of The Washington Post, I was derided by other readers-asking what did I think would happen to the kids, or were they that misbehaved. I knew my boys would be perfectly behaved, but would be shy to ask to move from their seat to go to the restroom. It just made for an unhappy start to our first big trip together and I have always wondered if those men had no families to make them understand.
Same here with the "empty seat" issue. I am a larger person and I do purchase two seats. When I have done that (so far), I haven't had an issue, but I have heard of others who either find the two seats in different parts of the plane or who encounter someone else sitting in that seat because it was overbooked, etc.
I always book an aisle and window seat and hope no one will book the middle. It worked beautifully on a long flight to Australia.
It used to be free to book your seats, but I'll pay the extra to sit where I want. It annoys me when a family comes on late, and then expects the entire plane to switch seats to accommodate them. Plan ahead especially if you're flying with children.
The comments here reflect what I have seen - the pathetically selfish who "pay extra so its mine", human decency be damned to those willing to make an accommodation in the understanding that no family intentionally seats themselves apart from each other - accidents and mishaps happen.
It is simply not possible to always plan ahead - sometimes people get bumped, sometimes planes are late, and sometimes, people die without having the decency to advise their relatives with families ahead of time.
I had one flight (400k+ miles total in the air) where a man was bumped from the previous flight because he was too tall to fit in any but an exit row and his connection had arrived late for his original flight where he had booked an exit row. No one on the previous flight would switch with him so he missed the flight. The flight attendant came with him explaining the situation to our two rows of exit bulkhead seats asking if one of our would switch with him for his assigned aisle seat. I love my exit rows - I have a 36" inseam, it matters to me. I plan, I book, I pay. I was in a line of seats that day with 5 vertically challenged shrimps who had no need of the leg room, but did perfect in an instant the blank stare and suddenly amazingly interesting article reading. I looked at them like they had six heads - the lot of them. Shook my head, gathered my things, and said of course I would switch - I could physically fit into another seat after all.
Beyond the gentleman's thanks, which was enough, I was further treated to an hysterical array of comments from others about my unwilling seatmates and a really nice open bar and 1st class meal from the Stewards. The unwilling 5 could not have all had some overwhelming medical conditions to excuse their piggish behavior. Dimes to dollars it is further reflected in the rest of their lives as well. How you act towards others, even when you are not at fault, does count.