Late last week a traveler posted a photo of their exit row, saying they’d paid extra for the seats – but “but spent 4 hours with kids blocking the emergency exit window.” They were flying with their sister and niece, paid €30 each for the legroom on the flight within Europe, and spent most of it with a father and two kids standing at the emergency door window leaning in, talking loudly, and physically occupying the legroom they’d paid for.
They called for help from flight attendants three times. Each time they asked the passengers to move, but on the third visit – instead of escalating or enforcing the edict – she warned that she would not come back a fourth time to say anything.
In addition to calling for help from crew, they asked the father directly twice. He sat down, but returned 10 minutes later with the kids.
Exit door areas are not standing zones. There’s supposed to be unobstructed access to emergency exits. Cabin crew are responsible for keeping aisles and exits clear. That’s not just for taxi, takeoff and landing.
And if you pay for extra legroom, the airline should deliver on that promise. Other passengers shouldn’t be able to turn that space into a social or viewing area.
If the crew isn’t helpful, what do you do?
- Assert rights yourself, but this can lead to conflict. You might occupy the space with your legs or bags (in a non-obstructive manner, of course!).
- Complain to the airline seeking a refund of the seat fees, noting that the legroom offered wasn’t delivered and that crew failed to secure it – and failed to provide for safe egress to the exit in the event it was needed.
Some coverage says the flight was headed to Spain, but I can’t verify that. This looks like an Airbus A321 to me. Some of you will have a better read on cabin interiors than I will, but it looks like a Lufthansa Group interior to me.
The A321 mid-door bay is a natural space to congregate. Passengers treat it like shared space. But airlines are monetizing that space. So they need to enforce that and deliver what the promise.
(HT: JonNYC)
Agreed, Gary. In addition of things to do IF the AA’s do not help, video evidence seems to be the most powerful.
Well, at least it was for a kid; like, if it were an adult fellow passenger doing this repeatedly, I think would have resulted in r/AirRage.
Stick your legs out and trip the children.
I will often book this equivalent space on a transatlantic. My solution is that I take my backpack (stowed in the overhead for takeoff and landing) and put it squarely in the space in front of me. It’s an excellent footrest. They cannot stand there because my backpack, my feet, and my long legs are there.
@Brian gets it. Practical, compliant, and also creative. I applaud you, sir, for not feeling the need to threaten anyone, for not ‘doing nothing’ then whining on socials afterwards, and for not having to get the ‘authorities’ (the crew) involved… no; rather, he simply uses the space he paid for. Sowie kiddo. Brilliant.