Benét Wilson, whom I first read 25 years ago when she was the ‘Queen of Regional Aviation’ writing Commuter/Regional Airline News, and who later worked in corporate communications at Mesa Air and Delta. She’s an avid Southwest Airlines flyer, and shared a seating conflict with a passenger on board a flight this week.
Ms. Wilson, a Rapid Rewards A-List (elite frequent flyer) member, boarded early enough that she was in her aisle seat. A man walked up to her row and asked if he could take the open seat in her row. She got up to let him in. And he.. plopped himself down in her aisle seat, refusing to move.
- The man “moved [her] bag” and told her that “the middle seat was free” if she wanted to take that.
- Another passenger points out that she’d moved from her seat to let him in. The man said “tough luck.”
- The good samaritan called over a flight attendant. The seat thief stood his ground, briefly, saying that he took the seat because she’d moved. However the crewmember told him “that he needed to move before she called the pilot” and he did finally move.
Y’all! I have a new twist on the airline seat thing. I’m in my aisle seat and a man asked if he could sit in the window seat. I got up and stepped back so he could get in.
Suddenly this dude plops in my aisle seat. I tell him that I’m actually sitting there (yes, my bag was under the seat). He moved my bag and said the middle seat was free. Before I could say anything, window seat dude tells him that I moved from my seat to let him in. He said tough luck. Window dude called the flight attendant before I had a chance. I said hi to her when I boarded and she complimented my T-shirts and Southwest earrings.
She looked him dead in his eye and told him that he needed to move before she called the pilot. He sputtered that I moved, but window dude and the flight attendant both told he needed to move-quickly. He did and I’m now comfy in my aisle seat. #winning
Southwest Airlines has open seating. You take any seat that’s available. There’s no rule against saving seats, but also nothing that says you can do it either. Basically it’s everyone for themselves. Yet there are basic, unspoken rules. Violate one of those, get the captain involved, and you’re going to be removed from the aircraft for a conversation with law enforcement.
There are no boarding passes with seat assignments to clearly adjudicate who’s entitled to which seat. But we don’t need a central authority to tell us all how property rights work. In rural parts of the world without clear land titling, everyone still knows what belongs to whom. Even the dogs know. They’ll still bark at intruders, and stop at the edge of their master’s de facto property. People, including people on Southwest Airlines, do that too. And in this case at least it worked.
Good resolution by the flight attendant. Too bad the FA didn’t actually see the interaction go down, or else, I hope, the man would have been deplaned, ticket cancelled, and invited to seek other travel plans.
AND “that” is why I don’t like flying Southwest. It should be good but the seat saving has gotten some much worse in the past 10 years I can’t hardly stand it. It’s so rude even when someone isn’t over the top like that guy. If I was the FA I would have had him booted regardless or not if he moved.
DaninMCI, Southwest has nothing to do with this. This could happen on airlines that assign seats. I have had to fight for my own seat on AA. It was not a seat dupe. Pax in my seat was holding a boarding pass for a completely different seat and refused to move. Didn’t ask me to switch seats either, just had a very nonchalant attitude of, “I want this seat even though you are assigned to it.”
Thank goodness the FA stood up for what is right and did not try to mealy mouth and suggest some other seat to the lady to “compromise make both sides happy.”
I’m wondering how comfy Mr. Doofus was sitting in the middle seat between two people ticked at his absurd behavior.
@Gary: You got the story wrong. There are 3 pax. wi ndow dude was on her side.
drrichard – Why? Look around you, you can then answer your own question.
FA should have given the seat thief a choice: move to another seat or get off the plane. I can’t imagine any airline would want the seat thief as a customer. If it happened to me I’d be looking the hidden cameras. No one behaves that way. I would think I was being set up.
No passenger wears Southwest earrings so I call Bs to the entire story. Bloggers are getting exhausting
@SMR – Yes, Benet does 🙂
I had a vaguely similar experience MCO-LAS years ago. I was A-listed and got 1D, aisle, front row. Another pax got 1F so there’s an empty seat between us. Flight was only a third full so everyone was able to get a seat to themselves, but this guy decides to sit between us and play the elbow game. I think he thought he could make one of us move but I was way bigger and enjoyed the game all the way to LAS. When we landed he stomped on my foot, and yelled “you’re both assholes” to the pair of us as he fled down the jetway. Some people go through life like this, never had anything else similar on hundreds of SouthWest flights before or since.
I’m glad the seat thief had to move. That was a rotten thing to do.
It would be hard to watch and not step in.
I had a co-worker years ago who refused to let anyone bus their own table at a fast food chicken restaurant (El Pollo Loco in LA, if it matters). Like literally had a fit – “It’s not our job!” Safe to say it was the last time he was in our lunch group. I bussed the table anyway, except his spot.
It sounds like he is still out there on the road, flying SW. Some people are just born with an entitlement screw loose.
I’m thinking that Ms Benet Wilson’s account of the situation is hogwash.
The dogs don’t know. There’s a dog around here that clearly believes the mailbox is his territory–never mind that it is disconnected from the house he lives at. I don’t get barked at if I’m in the street between the box and his house, but he barks furiously if I’m at the box.
Sadly I’ve seen this before. A similar story: back of a full plane. The last boarders are looking for bin space. One guy standing in the aisle pulls a bag out of the OH bin sets it in the aisle, puts his bag in and grabs a seat, leaving the displaced bag sitting in the aisle. Flight Attendant didn’t see. She sees the bag in the aisle and asks who it belongs to. The owner said it was his, but he had stowed it in the bin. FA was about to check it, when I told her what I’d seen. She lectured the offender like he was a 5 year old who had stolen another kindergartner’s juice. Awesome
Good story, but without details, I’m gonna treat it as click bait.
This exact thing happened to me once and it was the last time I ever flew Southwest.
Illiterate. First set of words is not a sentence. Story is garbled. Lady’s quote explains it all.
– There’s a failure here and it’s not just in SWA’s system but in allowing rude entitlement to “almost” win.
– The FA should have removed aisle-thief instead of WHATEVER HAPPENED NOT COVERED HERE. Sure he moved. To WHERE? Another aisle seat? A window seat? No facts listed here.
Must be a slow day because there’s no view from a wing here, or even an aisle.
People are animals, there’s simply no hope for us. On a side note, I have no clue how anyone could become an “avid SouthWest flyer,” that airline is the absolute worst. I participated in their god-awful boarding process *one* time and that was the last time I ever flew SouthWest
AL LeFeusch — Obviously you don’t mind overpaying for your ticket, your luggage and you seat – spend your money how you wish. I, on the other hand, enjoy not overpaying for a ticket, no bag fees and no seat fees. I have flown Southwest for over 30 years and will continue to do so. The “awful” boarding process works just fine for me and the process works well. I am glad that you choose not to fly Southwest – people with your attitude only make the flying experience a pain in the ass for others.
> people with your attitude only make the flying experience a pain in the ass for others
Right back atcha.
People with your attitude encourage incomptence, rudeness, cow-herd behavior.
SW has gotten worse, which for an airline who was already at the bottom doesn’t mean that much. Keep on with that holier-than-thou attitude tho… sorry you feel a pain in the ass. Cheapskates like you created this mess now called Southwest Airlines. Enjoy the fruits of your ass pain.
E.Gavron – “Holier than thou”? – you have a lot of room to flap your jaws. I am not the one complaining about the airline I choose to utilize to commute. “Cheapskates” – funny, since I choose not to throw my money away in order to feel like a pampered “big shot”, you have no problem labeling me as part of a reason for your misguided view of Southwest. As I stated before, spend your money anyway you wish – I prefer not to overspend- I am not a prima donna like complainers such as yourself view yourself. You go ahead and enjoy overspending and feeling self righteous.
That’s the problem with Unassigned Seating. Bring in Assigned Seating and this won’t happen.
The statement reads that the man asked to sit in the window seat, yet there was already a person in the window seat who came to her defense?
Oh! The humanity of it all!
With almost 50 full years of flying on SWA, along with being one of the first Rapid Rewards members, I’ve seen a lot of things stupid people do on airplanes.
Flying on SWA is not unique on that score, however, as I’ve experience the same on airlines whose initials are AA, D, & UA. What differentiates SWA it that the Pilot’s, FA’s, and everyone else I’ve come in contact with are genuinely NICE people.
Entitled Jerks, however, are ever present wherever you go. This guy, and some of the posters here, are no exception. The FA did what Herb would do; moved the guy, probably with both grace and charm. Gotta LUV that Southwest Spirit!
With almost 50 full years of flying on SWA, along with being one of the first Rapid Rewards members, I’ve seen a lot of things stupid people do on airplanes.
Flying on SWA is not unique on that score, however, as I’ve experience the same on airlines whose initials are AA, D, & UA. What differentiates SWA it that the Pilot’s, FA’s, and everyone else I’ve come in contact with are genuinely NICE people.
Entitled Jerks, however, are ever present wherever you go. This guy, and some of the posters here, are no exception. The FA did what Herb would do; moved the guy, probably with both grace and charm. Gotta LUV that Southwest Spirit!
America us becoming the land of incivility rather than the land of the brave
I’m a big Southwest loyalist, but with the continued unsavory actions of some of their passengers and the proclivity of the media to report on those actions, I fear that Southwest is developing a “Florida man” image.
Glad the story ended well, although there is an inconsistency in the telling.
She says the man asked to sit in the ‘window’ seat. Then when she tells of the help from the other passenger she says the helping passenger is ‘window seat’ guy.
@AP
I had to read it twice too..it appears there were actually three people involved here..the author ,the person she moved to let pass the “window dude (love the moniker) and the would be interloper ….is that correct, Mr.Leff?
Mareshie – Intelligent Southwest loyalists (like myself) know that the lying media likes to embellish incidents – knowing that, we don’t/won’t let this deter us from flying Southwest. Every airline has to deal with “unsavory” passengers – that is just where society finds itself today. “Image” is one thing, reality is another. Cheap fares, 2 free bags, and friendly employees and flight crews make flying Southwest a no-brainer. Those who diss Southwest must love overpaying for their tickets, paying for bags and rude, snarly, nasty employees and flight crews.
Was it a window seat or middle seat? Her version is conflicting:
“Y’all! I have a new twist on the airline seat thing. I’m in my aisle seat and a man asked if he could sit in the window seat. I got up and stepped back so he could get in. Suddenly this dude plops in my aisle seat…..Before I could say anything, window seat dude tells him that I moved from my seat to let him in. He said tough luck.”
But it’s not surprising anyone could be this rude. He should have been removed from the flight.
I flew Southwest today. Had a mid-A boarding number. I saw several exit row seats open so thought great! A man sitting in the window seat said the whole row was saved and had put a book or magazine on each one of the 2 seats next to him and 2 more across the aisle (man in opposite window may have been in the same travel party). Flight attendant was standing there during boarding as they usually do at the exit row…. I looked to her and she just shrugged her shoulders and said “Sorry!” I grabbed a window a couple rows away. It looked like travel companions by relative place in boarding were probably mid to high B positions at best.
Southwest Airlines free for all seating is supposedly popular. But for me Southwest Airlines is a last resort. If they are the cheapest I will go with them. But I would prefer United or Delta over Southwest Airlines any day just because of this free-for-all BS getting on the plane. At 70 years old I have developed a need to walk with a cane. They now allow me to get on early. Passengers stuffing their bags in the overhead in the front of the plane and then going back and sitting in available seats in the back has made it difficult for those of us that’s seated earlier. The whole free-for-all seating experience is a disaster as far as I’m concerned. Just another way for them to ask for a little more money so you can get on an earlier seating.
NedsKid – I’ve had that happen. Pick their crap up and move it. No /boarded/ passenger, no seat.
@SMR – I wear airline socks, usually not for the airline I’m flying though, just for the hell of it.
“Y’all! I have a new twist on the airline seat thing. I’m in my aisle seat and a man asked if he could sit in the window seat. I got up and stepped back so he could get in. Suddenly this dude plops in my aisle seat…..Before I could say anything, window seat dude tells him that I moved from my seat to let him in. He said tough luck.”
But it’s not surprising anyone could be this rude. He should have been removed from the flight.
It was probably David R. Miller, he seems to be an advocate of jungle rules.
(The Law of the Jungle: the principle that those who are strong and apply ruthless self-interest will be most successful.)