Two people, 3 airline seats?????

[heatescapee]

How does buying an extra economy airline seat for 2 people work? Do you do this on the airline's site? Is there a risk that the flight attendant will choose to let another passenger move to the seemingly available 3rd seat? Thank you so much for any information, it's a new idea for me.

[beingewe]

If you can, get in a row of three seats and let the extra one be in the middle. You may have to let the flight attendant know, but not usually. I usually have to buy two seats for me, and have only run into a problem once, but it was easily and quickly worked out.

[Pam in CA]

How does buying an extra economy airline seat for 2 people work? Do you do this on the airline's site? Is there a risk that the flight attendant will choose to let another passenger move to the seemingly available 3rd seat? Thank you so much for any information, it's a new idea for me.

You purchase two seats for one of you. When you board, you present both boarding passes when they scan them at the gate and make sure you alert the stewardesses inside when you enter the plane, showing the two boarding passes. If they ask, just show both passes.

 

That's how I used to do it but that was before tighter airline regulations. Try it on the web first but you may have to call the airline and they may charge you a fee for calling. Before I went almost always Business Class, this is what I used to do, particularly for flights longer than four hours. I usually fly solo and I remember a few years ago, a very tall gentleman was in the aisle seat. He kept on looking at my stuff on the seat next to me as the flight was boarding but didn't say anything so I let him know I'd bought two seats and he could use the space in front of the middle seat for his extra stuff. He was thrilled with the extra space and bought me a drink. :)

Edited April 8, 2012 by Pam in CA

[pj-atsea]

I did this on a recent flight to Las Vegas. My daughter had the window, I had the aisle and middle. We had to do seat selection ahead of time to make sure we got all three seats in a row. One of my tickets was booked in my name and the second had my name plus the words extra seat on it. I did it through a travel agent but had no problems. We put the arm rests up and had lots of room. Much more comfortable. However, I was told that on some planes, in some rows, that the arm rests do not fold up, so you may want to check that. I believe that it may be the bulkhead rows. hope this helps. pj

[Genessa]

when we can get relatively reasonable air fare, on planes that don't have just 2 seats by the window, on flights more than 3 hours, my dh & I often buy the "middle" seat.

 

we have never had a problem with the flight attendants, but did once have a fellow passenger, whose tv wasn't working on Jet Blue, tap me on the shoulder and tell me to get up, 'cos she was getting in the middle of us.

I said, no, we paid for that seat and the flight attendant confirmed and directed the woman to another seat.

 

the extra seat makes it so much more comfortable!

[aaerobear]

it is a great idea for those riding in the main cabin of an aircraft. The only problem i can see is other passengers trying to stake out your extra seat after they board (for a number of reasons)

 

The Flight attendant should be made aware asap so these types of problems do not even get started.

[heatescapee]

Thank you all for the helpful information. We're set for June using Jet Blue "Even More Space" and Virgin Atlantic "Premium Economy", but an extra economy seat might minimize the somewhat claustrophobic feeling one of us gets on long flights. It would be nice to not have to purchase business class seats. :)

[Pam in CA]

it is a great idea for those riding in the main cabin of an aircraft. The only problem i can see is other passengers trying to stake out your extra seat after they board (for a number of reasons)

 

The Flight attendant should be made aware asap so these types of problems do not even get started.

They can't "stake out" a seat you've bought and paid for. Just put some stuff on the seat. They may want it but they can't have it. If there's an issue, get a stewardess who will inform the passenger that the seat is taken. The "empty seat" ticket is not all that uncommon so stewardesses are aware of it.

[cindep]

I noticed you said you're flying Virgin Atlantic in Premium Economy. We took them to the UK several years ago and were quite comfortable in their PE product. It reminded us a lot of what domestic first class is like, but with foot rests! Depending on the type of aircraft you are flying, you should have no worries at all about space.

 

Like many others, we have purchased the middle seat as an extra in the past when the price was right. If for no other reason, than it was nice to have some place to put our carry on things without losing under-seat space. I even purchased a second seat when flying solo on an aircraft that had two on each side so I could spread out on a red eye.

 

Agree with everyone else in that you advise the flight attendant that you have purchased an extra seat. I always keep the boarding passes handy in case there is a problem, but we've never had one.

[donna5]

Just make sure that the extra seat is also in one of your names. There was an idiot here, that thought they could just buy a seat in the name of someone not traveling. That will not work.

[ONT-CA]

When booking an empty seat between us the process is entirely different. We could not do this by ourselves through the computer and had to call the airline. They in turn said they would process the information and get back to us. It was two days before we knew for sure we had it and once booked the seat is taken out of the selection process so it is impossible for anyone to book it in error.

 

Our last experience was difficult in that we were to be the last flight out of Toronto before it being hit with a major snowstorm. Standby passengers were a mile long as everyone wanted out before the storm. It is difficult to sit with an empty seat between you under these circumstances when the entire cabin knows how many people would be left behind and for who knows how long. Not a comfortable flight

[paddingtonbear]

Thank you all for the helpful information. We're set for June using Jet Blue "Even More Space" and Virgin Atlantic "Premium Economy", but an extra economy seat might minimize the somewhat claustrophobic feeling one of us gets on long flights. It would be nice to not have to purchase business class seats. :)

 

We have flown Qantas A380 and british airways premium economy. They were both great but the A380 had a bit wider seats. Each plane and each airline has different dimensions so it might be worth checking.

 

My dh was shocked at how narrow the economy seats were on a jetstar flight but that could have been because he was spoilt with PE not long before. :)

 

It is so worth it to pay extra and confirm a seat with a bulkhead rather than seat in front. The difference in space is phenominal.

Edited April 8, 2012 by paddingtonbear

[april47]

How does this work for buying 2 tickets for 1 person? would the aisle and middle seat be best? Premium Economy seems to be about the price of 2 economy. I was thinking about PE on BA but would 2 economies be better There wouldn't be any extra leg room but you could spread out and maybe turn to the side a little to stretch your legs??

[cindep]

I've only done this on Delta and USAir. I purchased my original ticket then purchased the additional seat under Last Name XTRA. The process under both circumstances then became the same: I called the airlines with the two different booking numbers and had them "link" the two reservations. Neither airline charged me anything to do this as there is no way to do it on the internet. I still had to do two separate check-ins with the different locators. What was nice was the last time I did it, I was able to check two bags at the first bag rate (one under each locator).

 

If you're flying international, though, I would seriously consider spending the money for PE. I'm afraid your customs and immigration situation might be a little harder to do than within the US.

[Jack1]

Just out of curiousity, when you buy two seats, do you get frequent flyer points for both seats?

[DanJ]

Just out of curiousity, when you buy two seats, do you get frequent flyer points for both seats?

 

From various things I've read, no.

[Genessa]

When booking an empty seat between us the process is entirely different. We could not do this by ourselves through the computer and had to call the airline. They in turn said they would process the information and get back to us. It was two days before we knew for sure we had it and once booked the seat is taken out of the selection process so it is impossible for anyone to book it in error.

 

Our last experience was difficult in that we were to be the last flight out of Toronto before it being hit with a major snowstorm. Standby passengers were a mile long as everyone wanted out before the storm. It is difficult to sit with an empty seat between you under these circumstances when the entire cabin knows how many people would be left behind and for who knows how long. Not a comfortable flight

 

 

the last time we did this was about a year ago, so maybe the process has changed, but what we've always done is booked the "middle" seat using my dh's name, without his middle initial and then simply told them when we checked in. We always book on-line.

[paddingtonbear]

How does this work for buying 2 tickets for 1 person? would the aisle and middle seat be best? Premium Economy seems to be about the price of 2 economy. I was thinking about PE on BA but would 2 economies be better There wouldn't be any extra leg room but you could spread out and maybe turn to the side a little to stretch your legs??

 

With Qantas and BA in Premium Economy you get a lot better service, priority boarding, more toilets that are restricted to Business or PE and much, much better food and drinks all included. :)

[Pushka]

I really like premium economy in the A380. I can actually sleep. Just as well as we are off to London in July. We flew on the A380 that blew its engine just a few days prior.

 

 

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[frugaltravel]

They can't "stake out" a seat you've bought and paid for. Just put some stuff on the seat. They may want it but they can't have it. If there's an issue, get a stewardess who will inform the passenger that the seat is taken. The "empty seat" ticket is not all that uncommon so stewardesses are aware of it.

 

Theoretically you are correct. I had a friend buy an extra seat and the gate agent wanted to put someone in that seat since the flight was oversold. Fortunately he was persistent.

 

Our last experience was difficult in that we were to be the last flight out of Toronto before it being hit with a major snowstorm. Standby passengers were a mile long as everyone wanted out before the storm. It is difficult to sit with an empty seat between you under these circumstances when the entire cabin knows how many people would be left behind and for who knows how long. Not a comfortable flight

 

I would think the extra seat would have made it more comfortable. :D. You bought the seat and actually only one more person was left behind due to your purchase. Sorry that you felt bad, You really shouldn't have.

[kenish]

Our last experience was difficult in that we were to be the last flight out of Toronto before it being hit with a major snowstorm. Standby passengers were a mile long as everyone wanted out before the storm. It is difficult to sit with an empty seat between you under these circumstances when the entire cabin knows how many people would be left behind and for who knows how long. Not a comfortable flight

 

There was no reason to feel uncomfortable, since you purchased the extra seat fairly. Would you feel bad that both of you were also occupying two primary seats...which displaced two standbys? No difference.

 

In your situation here's what I would have done if the 3rd seat was a matter of comfort and not necessity. If an empty seat were available the airline would charge the unrestricted, full Y-class fare. I would have offered to resell the third seat back to the airline at that fare. That puts it back in the airline's court. Most likely they would dismiss the offer with a laugh, but if there's a very high-value customer at stake they might go for it. A win-win for you.

[Clipper123]

Just make sure that the extra seat is also in one of your names. There was an idiot here, that thought they could just buy a seat in the name of someone not traveling. That will not work.

 

Is this really necessary??? CC is getting a rotten reputation for having such negative members with remarks such as this - someone makes a mistake/doesn't know something and they are called names, ridiculed etc. - very nice.

[ducklite]

There was no reason to feel uncomfortable, since you purchased the extra seat fairly. Would you feel bad that both of you were also occupying two primary seats...which displaced two standbys? No difference.

 

In your situation here's what I would have done if the 3rd seat was a matter of comfort and not necessity. If an empty seat were available the airline would charge the unrestricted, full Y-class fare. I would have offered to resell the third seat back to the airline at that fare. That puts it back in the airline's court. Most likely they would dismiss the offer with a laugh, but if there's a very high-value customer at stake they might go for it. A win-win for you.

 

They will IDB a passenger (who is potentially already in thier seat!) for that high-value customer willing to pay full fare for a ticket. I've seen it done.

[heatescapee]

Excuse me, but what's "IDB" mean? I assume it's not a good thing! I'm learning a lot from these replies to my question. Thank you all so much.:)

[monicajay]

Excuse me, but what's "IDB" mean? I assume it's not a good thing! I'm learning a lot from these replies to my question. Thank you all so much.:)

 

Involuntary Denied Boarding.

 

If you're not in a hurry it can be a good thing. Our family of 4 has done this numerous times with Delta and received $1600.00 each time in vouchers for future tickets.