Two people, 3 airline seats?????

[Globaliser]

Nothing left but a couple of middles, literally under 5 seats left on a 739!

If you book that late and your airline does nothing to save you decent seats, it will always be like this. This has nothing to do with couples being selfish. The last 5 unallocated seats on an aircraft will almost always be middle seats.

[ducklite]

I have always been able to at least grab an aisle or window exit row. My carrier of choice blocks those for frequent flyers. They can otherwise only be assigned at the gate. Many silver and golds book those and then get 24 -48 hour upgrades. The exit rows don't go back into the open pool, so even I am booking literally a walk up fare, I have been able to get one.

Edited July 11, 2015 by ducklite

[slidergirl]

I have always been able to at least grab an aisle or window exit row. My carrier of choice blocks those for frequent flyers. They can otherwise only be assigned at the gate. Many silver and golds book those and then get 24 -48 hour upgrades. The exit rows don't go back into the open pool, so even I am booking literally a walk up fare, I have been able to get one.

 

Nope. Even those were gone. The flights were even overbooked and asked for volunteers. At that point, I was happy to have an assigned seat and not just a "seat request"...

[ducklite]

Nope. Even those were gone. The flights were even overbooked and asked for volunteers. At that point, I was happy to have an assigned seat and not just a "seat request"...

 

 

Gotcha. I typically choose a different routing. Most of my customers in the Northeast have two or more airports within a couple hours, so I often have a choice and would rather drive an extra hour or so than sit in a very undesirable seat.

[slidergirl]

Gotcha. I typically choose a different routing. Most of my customers in the Northeast have two or more airports within a couple hours, so I often have a choice and would rather drive an extra hour or so than sit in a very undesirable seat.

 

Trust me, I wish I had a choice when I had to do that trip. I live near a DL fortress hub and the next closest any airport is a 6 hour drive. I was flying into a small destination airport that had little choice of airline. Everyone else got sent to major metropolitan areas that had choices of destination airports. I got the short end of the straw this time, flight-wise. But, I got to work 3 weeks in a very nice beach resort hotel, rather than a busy, stuffy city hotel ;)

[Oren]

A few months ago, I booked and paid for a row of three seats for the two of us. I was able to do this on line with Jet Blue with no problems. Yes, the flight was completely full except for the one open seat in the plane which was ours! That's the way to deal with all the elbow room issues on todays economy flights.

[Toesinthewater728]

Yes, I can imagine.

 

Unequal treatment of passengers like that is simply wrong. You received, due to your friendship, services that were not provided to others who also purchased your class of ticket. They didn't get to "quietly enjoy that wine" as you did.

 

Had I been in their position, I would have asked the FA for their name, then asked to speak with the purser, and then written a letter to the base supervisor. Actually, I was in that position a few years back. An FA decided that a pass-riding friend who was a former FA deserved to get business class catering in her coach seat. And drinks. And amenity kit. She was in the row ahead of me. Plus the working FA just parked at her friend and gabbed away for time on end. Her section got little attention.

 

Later, I ambled back to the galley and asked for her name. After talking with the purser, the FA came to me and begged for me not to write to the company. My response - "You should have thought of that before you did what you did. How long have you been working here?" "Twenty-two years". "Then for sure you should know better."

 

Mean? Not really when you think about it. As Brando said..."it's nothing personal...it's just business."

 

If you have ever, once, in your life received special treatment in any situation (preferred seating at your favorite restaurant, a special gesture on a cruise, a free drink or appetizer from a bar tender who has known you a while, complimentary tickets to a ball game, getting out of a moving violation because you know a cop) etc... you are a terrible hypocrite. I realize that "hypocrite" may not be one of the banished words or forms of insults on this forum, but I can assure you that it should be. I would hate to be called a hypocrite.

 

This situation sounds like you should have minded your own business. Unless, you in fact, have never taken advantage of a similar benefit in your life.

[pinotlover]

Oren;

 

If the flight is oversold, that empty seat will be treated as a no show and will often be filled by someone on the waitlist. Your scheme only works if the flight is not oversold.

[FlyerTalker]

Dear Toes,

 

Do you understand the difference between a pass-riding friend (who is generating NO revenue for the carrier) and a paying customer?

 

If you cannot, nothing can explain things to you. If you can, and still think the FA behavior was fine, your business acumen is subject to debate.

[Oren]

Oren;

 

If the flight is oversold, that empty seat will be treated as a no show and will often be filled by someone on the waitlist. Your scheme only works if the flight is not oversold.

 

We actually buy that extra middle seat, get an extra boarding pass for that seat, and when it is scanned for boarding at the jetway, that secures the seat and no one has ever been placed in it. We have been on several flights when we had the only empty center seat on several carriers and they have never "bumped " us from the empty seat we actually paid for!

[Brighton Line]

Oren;If the flight is oversold, that empty seat will be treated as a no show and will often be filled by someone on the waitlist. Your scheme only works if the flight is not oversold.

 

1) That comment was from December 2015 and in any case...

2) The comment was about JetBlue and B6 does not oversell flights

 

Just pointing that out...

[pinotlover]

I suppose I should have prefaced my comments by saying if you're on UA, AA, DL, or Frontier and they are oversold with people on waitlist, that seat will be occupied by a warm body. The FAs will do a seat check, and all seats will be filled with a body if other paid passengers are there awaiting the flight.

 

I don't know about JetBlue's policy, it's been a long time since I've chosen to fly them.

[Globaliser]

If you have ever, once, in your life received special treatment in any situation (preferred seating at your favorite restaurant, a special gesture on a cruise, a free drink or appetizer from a bar tender who has known you a while, complimentary tickets to a ball game, getting out of a moving violation because you know a cop) etc... you are a terrible hypocrite.

There's a world of difference between an employee who's empowered to provide a special treat to a regular customer because they are a regular customer, and an employee who showers special attention on a friend (to the detriment of other customers) because they are a friend.

 

If you genuinely cannot tell the difference between those situations, then there are worse descriptions than "hypocrite" for that.

 

Those who are favouring their friends are basically corrupt. That's illustrated by the last situation you mention - a police officer who treats you differently because of your personal relationship - is most definitely one of corruption. Police officers go to prison for stuff like that.

[frugaltravel]

I suppose I should have prefaced my comments by saying if you're on UA, AA, DL, or Frontier and they are oversold with people on waitlist, that seat will be occupied by a warm body. The FAs will do a seat check, and all seats will be filled with a body if other paid passengers are there awaiting the flight.

 

That is absolutely untrue.

 

I have friends who have often purchased a second seat for a "passenger of size" who wanted more elbow room. He has done this on AA and I believe UA. His second ticket for his "empty" seat was purchased just as if there was indeed someone sitting in it. One time a gate agent wanted to put someone in that seat because it was oversold. He stood his ground and very obviously won. He paid for that seat just like any other passenger who was waiting for a seat. Other passengers were SOL and the airline had to accommodate them on another flight and pay them compensation. Them's the rules.

[ducklite]

I suppose I should have prefaced my comments by saying if you're on UA, AA, DL, or Frontier and they are oversold with people on waitlist, that seat will be occupied by a warm body. The FAs will do a seat check, and all seats will be filled with a body if other paid passengers are there awaiting the flight.

 

 

 

I don't know about JetBlue's policy, it's been a long time since I've chosen to fly them.

 

 

 

Not true. If someone has paid for a second seat, a "warm body" will not fill that seat, even if it means involuntary bumps.

 

 

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[sverigecruiser]

Not true. If someone has paid for a second seat, a "warm body" will not fill that seat, even if it means involuntary bumps.

 

 

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Is it possible that the second seat can be bumped to a later flight? What I mean is that if someone book and pay for two seats, can one of the seats be bumped to a later flight?

[Globaliser]

Is it possible that the second seat can be bumped to a later flight? What I mean is that if someone book and pay for two seats, can one of the seats be bumped to a later flight?

Look, this is the airline industry. Anything "can" happen. And if it can happen, at some stage it probably will. After all, if you fly enough, everything will happen to you at some stage.

 

One of the higher-profile incidents that was reported here in the UK some years ago was when a massive rugby player sensibly booked an extra seat on a flight. Aer Lingus was the airline. The passenger was allocated his seat, and the extra seat was allocated several rows back and on the other side of the aisle. It gave us all a laugh because it fitted the national stereotype accorded to the Irish here.

 

But as the point of booking the extra seat is to give one person extra space on one flight, I think that it's safe to say that even the most dim-witted airline employee or system would know that it makes no sense to bump the extra seat alone.

[ducklite]

Is it possible that the second seat can be bumped to a later flight? What I mean is that if someone book and pay for two seats, can one of the seats be bumped to a later flight?

 

Not going to happen. Just like they won't bump a child flying with parents, an unaccompanied minor, a very elderly person, a person with significant disabilities (walking with a cane won't prevent an IDB, but an electric wheelchair will), a top-tier FF (unless they don't have a seat assignment--and even then they will often IDB another passenger to accommodate them), etc.

 

Airlines have a SOP that is followed when they need to IDB a passenger or twenty. First is non-revs, then typically the lowest fares without status, unless they belong to a previously mentioned group.

[sverigecruiser]

Look, this is the airline industry. Anything "can" happen. And if it can happen, at some stage it probably will. After all, if you fly enough, everything will happen to you at some stage.

 

One of the higher-profile incidents that was reported here in the UK some years ago was when a massive rugby player sensibly booked an extra seat on a flight. Aer Lingus was the airline. The passenger was allocated his seat, and the extra seat was allocated several rows back and on the other side of the aisle. It gave us all a laugh because it fitted the national stereotype accorded to the Irish here.

 

But as the point of booking the extra seat is to give one person extra space on one flight, I think that it's safe to say that even the most dim-witted airline employee or system would know that it makes no sense to bump the extra seat alone.

 

It makes sense to bump the extra seat because they will not have to pay for any food for the empty delayed seat!

 

Maybe they wont dump the extra seat but if the plane for some reason is overbooked it make sense to bump one person with two seats instead of two persons with one seat each.

[ducklite]

It makes sense to bump the extra seat because they will not have to pay for any food for the empty delayed seat!

 

 

 

Maybe they wont dump the extra seat but if the plane for some reason is overbooked it make sense to bump one person with two seats instead of two persons with one seat each.

 

 

 

Food is pennies in the big picture. It doesn't matter if they bump one with two seats or two with one, they still have the same issue--and potentially a discrimination lawsuit on their hands.

 

 

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[sverigecruiser]

Food is pennies in the big picture. It doesn't matter if they bump one with two seats or two with one, they still have the same issue--and potentially a discrimination lawsuit on their hands.

 

 

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It must be worse for the airline to bump two persons than one person with two seats.

 

I agree with the discrimination part if the bumped person really needs two seats but not if they just book two seats to get more space.

[ducklite]

It must be worse for the airline to bump two persons than one person with two seats.

 

I agree with the discrimination part if the bumped person really needs two seats but not if they just book two seats to get more space.

 

It's a judgement call. Maybe they suffer from claustrophobia. Maybe they have leg problems and need to stretch out. There are any number of reasons someone might have booked two seats, and it's not up to a carrier to make that determination.

 

The carrier is bumping two seats regardless, and still needs to find two seats for the passenger(s) bumped.

Edited December 14, 2016 by ducklite

[sverigecruiser]

It's a judgement call. Maybe they suffer from claustrophobia. Maybe they have leg problems and need to stretch out. There are any number of reasons someone might have booked two seats, and it's not up to a carrier to make that determination.

 

The carrier is bumping two seats regardless, and still needs to find two seats for the passenger(s) bumped.

 

 

If someone has a physical condition and because of that need two seats, should they not inform the airline?

 

Two bumped persons is worse than one bumped person, just my opinion. Maybe the airline dont care, I dont know.

Edited December 14, 2016 by sverigecruiser

[ducklite]

If someone has a physical condition and because of that need two seats, should they not inform the airline?

 

Two bumped persons is worse than one bumped person, just my opinion. Maybe the airline dont care, I dont know.

 

By virtue of booking two seats which are linked to one passenger, they ahve given all the notice they need to.

[sverigecruiser]

By virtue of booking two seats which are linked to one passenger, they ahve given all the notice they need to.

 

I guess that the reason I don't understand this is that it must be a very American thing to book two seats for one person. Is it even possible to do that outside America? I have never heared about anyone here do it.

 

I think that it's very strange that someone can be guaranteed two seats together but two people travelling together can't be guaranteed to sit together.

What happens if the airplane is changed to a plane with only one seat on each side of the aisle? Will the person get one full row with an aisle in the middle or two seats on the same side?

 

I'm sorry, I don't try to be rude or bad in any way I just don't understand it.