You used to be able to take any open seat in your cabin once the doors closed. You might move closer to the front, grab an aisle seat, or head for an empty row in the back so you could stretch out.
As a kid I remember making a bee-line for an empty middle row on an American Airlines flight from Honolulu to Sydney, so I could lay down and sleep.
- Self-upgrading was never allowed. You couldn’t just move from economy to business class.
- Now, though, airlines charge for ‘premium’ seats in coach so they don’t usually let you go from regular coach to extra legroom seats for free, even if the seats are empty once the doors close.
- People might not pay if they knew they could take an extra legroom seat for free that was empty once everyone had boarded!
The norms have changed but passengers don’t always know this in advance, which makes for a stark clash of expectations. One United passenger was shocked to learn that nobody would be permitted to spread out into wide open seats on a recent flight: the poors stay packed in the poors section.
The front half of the plane is completely empty and they won’t let anyone in the back move around. I thought they were kidding. Really, @United? It’s Christmas. ✈️✈️✈️ pic.twitter.com/2Xd62HOp10
— Art ♔ Soaps ♔ Royalty (@LadyFilmFatale) December 26, 2024
Years ago open seats were pretty much fair game. Now different airlines take different approaches. Southwest still has open seating, for a little while longer! And once you’re on the plane it’s Lord of the Flies complete with seat-saving and crumpled up tissues to keep people away from the middle seat they hope to save.
In the past, United has argued that passengers moving up to open seats with extra legroom is immoral; that it’s unfair to other passengers and it’s stealing from the airline.
The customers who choose to pay for Economy Plus are then afforded that extra space. If you were to purchase a Toyota, you would not be able to drive off with a Lexus, because it was empty. ^BA
— United Airlines (@united) September 7, 2019
But according to this logic United shouldn’t be able to sell cheap fares or offer MileagePlus awards because it is unfair to people that pay full fare? Of course passengers who buy Economy Plus get Economy Plus and are in no way harmed when other passengers get it free – via elite status, via luck of the draw or otherwise.
Sitting in an open seat that can never be sold (because the plane is already in the air) is not the same thing as taking a physical car off of a lot where it is waiting to be sold. In the former case United loses nothing, in the latter case the loss is real.
It seems strange to compare United slimline economy seats to a Lexus, although I once had a flight attendant compare Economy Plus to a Mercedes.
The better argument is: we do not allow passengers to move to better seats without paying extra (except under our own terms, for our operational convenience or elite perks) because that would encourage passengers to take a chance rather than paying on future trips. The actual reason: It’s not allowed because we don’t allow it, not because of some broader moral imperative. Their plane, their rules, and they can change the rules even after many decades of forming passenger expectations.
Changing to an open seat nobody else is using can’t be stealing because the airline hasn’t given up anything, and claiming it harms other passengers isn’t right either because other passengers still got exactly what they paid for. It is against the airline rules, not theft, but it is still not allowed if a flight attendant decides not to allow it.
Basic economy is so ghetto. For gods sake man buy a ticket and select a seat.
The only thing worse is lying to customers. Oh we’re out of overhead bin space and seat switching isn’t allowed due to weight and balance.
@Dave W…I accept your surrender. It’s obvious you’re incapable of refuting my argument and are therefore, reduced to insults. Better luck next time!
I fly F domestically, paying cash or miles. I know I will not have an empty seat next to me, as there are always dozens with status vying for the upgrade. I’d prefer if the airlines didn’t upgrade to F, but I understand the logic. I don’t begrudge the guy next to me that paid a Y fare, while I paid more. If I ever got an empty seat next to me in F, I’d expect a FA to prevent a seat stealer (SS) from taking it.
If I’m in Y+, I am well aware every seat around me may be taken. If the last BE pax checks in and the only unassigned seat is next to me, we’ll OK, I lost that lottery. But, if there is also a middle seat near the lavs, put them there. If the SS tries to upgrade and take the empty seat next to me, I want the FA to intervene.
Why should airlines care about a SS? First, people would be more likely not to pay the extra $ for Y+ if they think they can get it for free. Second, my flight is less enjoyable if the SS sits next to me. I expect the airline to care more about me, as I paid more. Part of the deal they offer me is they won’t move Y pax to Y+ unless they pay or Y is full. I might get an empty seat next to me. I probably won’t, but that shouldn’t be because of a SS.
I paid for a charity event. Unbeknownst to me, there were door prizes, and I won $100. A person with SS mentality, who didn’t attend the event, steals the money. That’s OK, they reason, as I had no expectation of winning the money, so I have no reason to object if it’s taken from me.
Bottom line: it costs the airline $ if SS is allowed. Any game theorist worth their salt will tell you that, in a single-period world, a SS costs the airline nothing. But, we live in a multi-period world where allowing the SS to upgrade can affect the subsequent behavior of the SS (I got a free upgrade today, why buy one next time?). And it costs me.
I welcome anyone trying to refute my claim a SS can cost the airline in the long run or that it disadvantages me in the short run. You don’t win by suggesting I have no expection of having an empty seat near me; I don’t. But, if it works out that way, I am clearly hurt by the SS snagging it.
I’m fine with airlines not allowing passengers to move. Example why it’s “fair” to not allow seat switching. I paid for an aisle seat towards the front of the plane on a flight that is 70% full. Most of the middle seats are empty towards the from since mot people will not pay extra to sit in a middle seat so I end up with an open seat next to me after all seats are ‘assigned’ which is part of my calculation in paying for a seat. I don’t think it’s ok for someone on a BE ticket assigned seat 38B to now come up to seat 15B next to me once the boarding door closes.
I’m fine with airlines not allowing passengers to move. Example why it’s “fair” to not allow seat switching. I paid for an aisle seat towards the front of the plane on a flight that is 70% full. Most of the middle seats are empty towards the front since most people will not pay extra to sit in a middle seat so I end up with an open seat next to me after all seats are ‘assigned’ which is part of my calculation in paying for a seat. I don’t think it’s ok for someone on a BE ticket assigned seat 38B to now come up to seat 15B next to me once the boarding door closes.
I’m fine with this type of rule, within reason. United tracks in-flight purchases to the credit card you have on file based on your seat assignment, so prohibiting seat switching makes sense. Further, if I have an empty row in E+ and then suddenly someone jams in next to me after takeoff, is not reasonable. I wish basic economy tickets get abolished because I monitor seat maps all the time, so I hope I can have an empty middle seat next to me, but inevitably, I always get someone who gets the middle seat assigned last minute (obviously as a basic economy ticket, not a standby because those lists are public) making my flight (slightly) more uncomfortable.
All that said, I flew domestically on an aircraft with an international configuration; I sat in premium economy (like domestic first class) for free because it was sold as E+. However, I got a last minute upgrade to business, so my seat was made empty. Midflight I noticed people sitting in my original seat, and I was happy to see it. If there’s a better seat, someone ought to have it.
How about
“Freeloaders can’t take what they didn’t pay for!!!”
Is that a better headline?
It will get you the same number of clicks, Gary.
People in the back of the plane are not poor by any standards. They can afford a plane ticket. I’m so tired of you looking down on people that don’t spend exorbitant amounts of money to travel up front. Even the biggest airline bloggers sit in back from time to time for the exception of this author it seems. Get over yourself. Please.
No one ever thought it was OK to move from economy to an empty seat in First Class.
The same should apply to not moving from economy to economy plus.
But moving within economy or within economy plus seems OK to me.
The airlines have not changed the rules, and you are wrong. It’s called premium economy for a reason: it’s not regular economy, it is a different product. And just like you were never allowed to upgrade yourself, as you acknowledge in the article, you can’t just go from regular/basic economy to premium. You can if you pay for it, just like you can pay to upgrade to business or first, exactly the same thing.
If i pay for an upgraded seat, you best believe I’m going to be perturbed if they move people up for free.
@CRS I believe you may have misunderstood what the author was trying to say in this post. He isn’t calling the people on the back of the plane poor. His title of the article is in response to what America Airlines said in their reply back to the woman who made a post to the airline not allowing people to switch their seats. He was basically saying what American Airlines said but he just did not sugarcoat it.
@FlyOften I believe you may have misunderstood what the author was trying to say in this post. He isn’t calling the people on the back of the plane poor. His title of the article is in response to what America Airlines said in their reply back to the woman who made a post to the airline not allowing people to switch their seats. He was basically saying what American Airlines said but he just did not sugarcoat it.
I am so sick of the entitlement wanted from you. You PAID for your seat. People make their decisions based on what they wanted and suddenly some bozo is moving into my row because it is more convenient. IF you wanted these other seats, the gate agent has the map. Wait to board the plane last and have them move you, or assign it yourself. I guarantee the people switching aren’t doing 10 c to move to 36 b
No comparison between their crappy seats and a Lexus.
As a cardholder who flies on this airline often but not so often that my job would require it, I don’t get any perks and the card isn’t free. For their yearly fees and high APR, it should discount the economy plus seats (especially on flight days), but it doesn’t. And there are years I never use my united club passes because my layovers aren’t long enough. Therefore, the cards and being a member doesn’t actually help in any seating arrangement. I just want to make that clear.
What most people don’t know is that planes have to account for weights and balances to fly efficiently. They need the weight to be distributed more towards the back. This is calculated by the pilot before the plane leaves the ground. When passengers are allowed to move forward after the plane is in the air, it shifts the balance on the airplane, making it not fly as well. I’ve even been on a flight brfore where the pilot asked for passengers to move further back before the plane could leave the gate.
I’m also relieved if United is really going to make passengers stay in their assigned seat class, because I’ve paid to upgrade on overseas flight before and had the flight attendant move a non paid passenger to seat next to me. I felt kind of ripped off that I had to pay for the upgrade to accomidate my documented disabilities and was crammed in next to a non-paid person.
I see it as you buy tickets to go to a game or a concert. Just because there is an empty seat on the first row, doesn’t mean you can move to sit there
Plain out. It is a safety issue more than passenger comfort. The weight and balance is done for where everyone is seated and if everyone goes wild shifting about the place it will throw it off. Stay safe!