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!
On a recent United Airlines flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles, there were plenty of empty seats and passengers wanted to spread out. They asked permission from a flight attendant. Things did not go well. According to a passenger who wasn’t allowed to move,
- The flight attendant quoted them a price of $180
- When that offer was declined, the crewmember blocked off the empty seats by opening up each seat’s tray tables.
#UnitedAirlinesSUCKS!! May 24. HNL to LAX (UA 1169). Flight attendant wanted to charge $180 pp to allow us to change to empty seats when about to close doors, when denied she opened the trays to block everyone. pic.twitter.com/r3xCU3R5CR
— Sunny1Knob (@M4n3ct4) June 10, 2024
Years ago open seats were pretty much fair game. Now different airlines take different approaches. Southwest still has open seating! 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.
Delta calls their extra legroom seats at the front of the plane “Comfort+” and it’s a different fare type. Effectively, it’s a different cabin just like coach is different than business class.
When American Airlines introduced free drinks to Main Cabin Extra extra legroom seats they left it up to flight attendants whether or not to stop passengers from moving into those seats – but around a year and a half ago began asking flight attendants to crack down on passengers moving to get extra space for free.
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.
Hi, Krunal. Economy Plus seats do carry an extra charge and letting customers move to those seats is not fair to the customers who did pay for the upgrade. ^BA
— United Airlines (@united) September 7, 2019
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 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.
Comparing 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.
I agree with you here.
I work as a flight attendant and I actually like letting passengers sit in an exit seat when one is available after boarding.
I also allow them to bring their bags onboard if there’s still space, but the agent made them check it.
How is doing either of those things hurting me?
It’s not.
And most flights are full, so… Pretending as if we are discouraging people from paying is nonsense.
Not to mention that even if nobody paid for a main cabin extra seat, there is ALWAYS an executive platinum or concierge key or whatever to upgrade into those seats.
I’m glad I wasn’t a flight attendant for any mainline carrier. I flew in the J41 and EMBRAER 145. Once we were at cruise, I let people move especially if families were involved.
I had two mainline gate agents tell me how to run my cabin. Hold up, before I did this I was load planning C130’s and 141B’s, and processin̈g cargo and pax in the USAF. I sort of knew what I was doing, an̈d know more about aircraft than the standard FA. All fun and games until my wife got pregnant with our second daughter and she clipped my wings, lol.
Wow. Some of these comments are very self centered. Go against the rules at your own company and let me know how that works out for you.
Company to F/A. No in flight upgrades, maybe with few exceptions.
F/A actions. Passengers go ahead and upgrade all you want once the door closes. Aside from complaining passengers you have Ghost Riders paid by the company evaluating the flight and making a report. F/A gets reported, disciplined up to termination. Nobody give a crap.
The problem is, some coach seats are premium seats are spread throughout the cabin. Not in a defined area with a bulkhead or other designator.
There is not a F/A in the world who would stop you from moving to a seat within your ticket level. Except for weight and ballance issues which is more likely to occur on light flights or some other significant operational reason.
We all want something for nothing. Then wonder why things so southward. Geeezzz. Make a plan and get what you paid for. Stop whining. I could never be a F/A with so many whining big babies! I would be fired for sure. Must note, there are many more nice passengers on board than bad ones. It’s the bad ones who get the attention, unfortunately. That may be a phycosis.
If a crew member is being razzed by a passenger give them your card if they need back up or write a complementary letter. The companies do track them. Please stop whining or go ahead and try it at your own company. Good luck.
@Catherine:
“I am tired of entitled freeloaders like families who impose on others and ask for favors to allow their family to sit together. Why should your lack of planning be rewarded?”
Just a heads up that, while some parents decide to skip picking seats, many don’t skip it, and get reassigned. When there’s a change of aircraft, even same model, the slightest change in seat config can result in a domino effect of changes. Before blaming parents for not planning, ask what their original seats were, and you can tell by that answer if they planned ahead and were moved, or if they didn’t plan ahead. Don’t be mad at the parents whose seats were changed.
Remember also in the past FAs did manual pax counts of each section of the plane for weight and balance purposes. It’s now all computerized so the FAs need to make sure they are moving people in the system to make sure weight and balanced is accounted for. In doing so they have to make the correct charges for it to go through. While computerization has made life easy in a lot of ways, it takes away the easy way of moving people around before the count.
I remember way back when I was in the military and stationed in Texas for advanced training I flew home twice a month. Always went at night and airlines always gave us a big discount for being military. The flight attendant would take me back to the last row of three seats and after takeoff she would come back and back and give me a couple of pillows, buckle me in at the waist and then my legs and then cover me up. When we got about 10 mins out of phoenix, she would come wake me up. I believe it was TWA at that time. Years later when I flew from Seattle to Columbus Ohio and back, the airline always made sure I got a seat in the bulkhead cos I had two toddlers and they also had kid meals for me. On the return trip, somehow my seating got messed up and we flew home first class. I said I could set in economy and flight attendant said no way. They gave me three seats in first seats in first class with a booster for my 1 year old son. This was Alaska. I haven’t flown since 9/11. I go by car or train now.
Better process would be to put them up for sale on the flight. 99% of the flight parameters in terms of load are set once the door is closed.
Put those open seats for sale just like the snacks and booze. Those who still want to upgrade can pay and upgrade.
Otherwise they stay empty.
This such an incredibly whiney article. It doesn’t hurt the passenger to stay in the seat they purchased. Don’t like it? Buy a different seat.
@mitch
So your clever thought is since the airlines were bail.out you can get a free upgrade if a seat is available.
I pay full.fare business class for comfort.
And you can get the empty business class at no extra cost.
You are delusional!!!
Tell us how do you come up with this B.S.
Once aboard and the cabin door is closed, who does it hurt to move to another seat? This was never a problem until the airlines discovered they could gouge passengers by charging for seats. That is why I only fly Southwest, the best managed, customer friendly airline in America.
I had a cross country flight I flew on for work without my infant, so I had to pump mid flight. I asked a flight attendant if I could switch to an empty row so I’d be able to do that as I was in a middle seat next to a twenty something man and fifty something man. I was told no free upgrades.
So I pumped in between them, despite wearing a cover, the younger guy was so freaked out he starts jamming his call button. When a different flight attendant came over, both men gladly advocated for my need for privacy, that I got to move up one row. I was reminded to move back when I was done.
But for two thirty minute blocks, man, I really won the upgrade lottery. Take that, united.
My guess is these are the same people that go to an airline late with a bag they didn’t want to pay for at checked baggage and arrive late so they can try and get their bag loaded on the airline for free when there is no room in the cabin for their large carryon.
Now you want to sit in a sit you didn’t pay for because it is empty. And no pay for the upgraded seat feature.
I am guessing you are the same folks that look for seats in ballparks/stadiums to sit in and sneak into these where you see no one sitting there.
Lots people want something for free they don’t want to pay for it like other people. I suppose you consider them suckers for paying for the extra upgrade on seats.
For the naysayers about the policy, just think of it this way. Rules need to be enforced to prevent fights and chaos from happening. If open seats become first come, first serve, then this will lead to eventual fights. The only way to keep things fair is to have people stay in the assigned seats that they paid for. This is simple and logical.
What’s immoral is creating a marginally extra class for a few inches. No different service, food, etc. The airline should place a reserved sign on empty more expensive seats rather than making the flight attendant the bully. The real bully here is a little something for a whole much more cash. I admit I buy it on Delta but only on longer flights.
It’s sad to think that anyone especially an adult would think it was ok to change your seat. You get what you pay for. If you want to upgrade then pay the difference. What are we teaching our children?
Oh and really? The flight attendants pass by many times to collect trash.. when I walk up the isles, I can’t believe the junk on the floor and the pockets! How would you like to be the one sitting in the seat on the next flight?
The cleanup crew may pick up from the seats and the pockets, but they’re not vacuuming after every flight. Be fair. Set an example.. give your trash to the flight attendant. Keep stuff off the floor.. And if you still have some trash in your hand when the plane lands, keep it in your hand until you get to the front and dispose of it as you are deplaning.
Don’t litter in the street it’s everybody’s planet
Don’t litter on the plane we’re sharing it
Galley Llama:
“I also allow them to bring their bags onboard if there’s still space, but the agent made them check it.”
The problem this creates is people start seeing two HUGE bags, neither able to fit under the seat, as normal to expect.
Not too mention that if someone actually got to experience a better seat, they might be inclined to pay for it at some point in the future?
Funny how nickel and diming by these subsidized corporations turned people into the most selfish people.
They gave you granular seat type war so you forget the greedy CEOs are the enemy.
Remember when the fuel surcharges were to mitigate fuel prices and that became permanent?
Or bag fees becoming permanent?
Now they got you all feeling so magnanimous by paying “premium economy ++ ultra” giving you a whole lot of 0.00444 cu in more space, so that you can flex on the poor slob in “bulk pariah cargo pass” class.
They trained us to hate our co-flying humans over the airlines shitty drinks, service and “food”.
Brb, they are calling my group 1 boarding
Why is this so diffficult?
In main cabin, you can switch as long as in the same.
If you’re in economy plus you can do the same.
You can not move from regular
Economy to economy
Plus for free. It’s just not fair.
There shouldn’t be a problem as long as it’s in the same class. I usually travel in both economy and economy plus/ comfort plus for Delta and American airlines. Those two airlines has always allowed me to move in any seat after the door was closed as long as it was in the class I paid for. I have no idea why United would make this issue so difficult for passengers. As long as you don’t try to move up a class for free they shouldn’t be a issue changing seats.
Everything these days are an insult to some bs.
Of course it should be allowed to move from economy to economy. I know that’s fair, as long as the seat you are moving to does not cost more than you originally paid for.
Have 3 passengers in the same row but there are multiple 3 row seats freely available in the same class? Allowed to move in my opinion. Whole class booked but only open seats in another class? Not allowed to move to a higher class without paying the difference.
That seems fair. Nor allowing to move between seats in the same class is a no go.
I despise people who do that,these are the same kind of people that when driving ,try to cut in front of waiting traffic when a lane closes and try to wedge themselves up in front.
I’ve read through many comments and can see both sides. I think the takeaway is that one should not be able to switch to another class of service because it is an upgrade. Just because it may not be as big a jump from economy to business, it is still a different class that others paid extra for.
Yet, even for same service levels I think there should be some kind of process in place. You see all the people getting ready to move like its a game of musical chairs, when the door closes. I think the flight attendant should go row by row and ask if someone would like to move. If yes, they move to the open seat. If no, they stay and the attendant moves on until seats are taken.
As for the safety issue, as there are no passengers in the empty rows, they are not being blocked.
You say that the seats can’t be sold because the plane’s already in the air but that’s absolutely untrue. That’s exactly what the flight attendant offered to do.
@CA
I have seen Delta flight attendants do this very exact thing. I cannot figure out why they would care if the seat they are moving to is just another regular main cabin seat, not a preferred seat or anything.
Service industry working against the basic tenant of Service. Welcome 2025….
Remember when flying was fun? I do. It was a long, long time ago.
You should not be allowed to just switch seats once the door is closed. Passengers are allocated seats via a mass and balance calculation to ensure stability during takeoff. After take-off not so important but if multiple passengers just moved themselves from mid cabin seats to rear it risks a tail strike
The only 2 airlines i refuse to fly is United and Spirit.
The “logic” everyone is using is just waste of time. The pricing of tickets is too complicated to explain and to try and upgrade because a seat is open is no excuse. Pay what you want to buy and live with yourself.
It’s also immoral to overbook flights. If there is one Lexus on the lot, it cannot be sold to two people because the 2nd person is going to either be forced to take the worse car, or leave with no car at all, or get one much later than expected. But the dealership promised it to both people and they need to find a way to honor that promise without changing terms.
If the airlines would color code their seats–premium vs standard–they could easily enable passengers to switch seats according to the same fare class they already hold.
As an ex airline emoloyee ,i could never understand the logic behind ” if its not sold, then give it away free”.
If you dont pay for the extra legroom, you cant sit there.Simple.
Think of passengers that paid for that seat watching others who didnt pay anything grab them.
Part of the reason when I fly internationally, where I can, I fly a foreign airline. I would fly Qatar Airways any day. Same for a number of others including
KLM
JAL
ANA
Vietnam Airways
Air Kenya
Volaris
WestJet
The list goes on.
Even in the most difficult of situations their staff is courteous.
Corporate greed at it’s finest! Wow, guess I’ll be looking elsewhere when I fly. They can try to justify it all they want. It’s boils down to nothing more than greed. The flight attendant gets no raise in pay for being loyal to United. They’ll try to reduce her pay and benefits the first chance they get. They’ll take those profits to give huge bonus to upper management. Buy back stocks. Then reduce operational costs to dangerous degrees. Via under-paying the backbone of their industry. When you under pay ground crew and flight crews. You get poorly maintained equipment, poor service, and go belly up. Look at the former US Airways.
I’m surprised that you did not mention the excuse we are given so often – moving seats would unbalance the plane. If that were true, how would Southwest flights never have a balance problem?
I dont fly but I dont think it has anything to do with coutersy, it has to do with people who want luxury without paying for it and feel entitle to get freebees or pay cheap and get quality. In this new world you get what you pay for.
Love how he references an airline that has open seating that dosnt even have a bulk head or Economy plus as it’s all one kind of seating and one type of aircraft . Then states he used to be a flight attendant.. must of been fired as he is clearly hurt in some way and always puts them down .. why not ask why they are blocked . Many times the flight crew make announcements to not move to certain seats and why yet no one listens and instead your having to kick angry people out of certain seats .. like children from an exit row
How about crack down on people bringing more than 1 carry on/1 personal item. I’m so tired of fighting for overhead storage when there should be enough for everyone.
Your blog is full of holes. The “when I was a kid” made me stop reading. Any intelligent person knows things have changed from when they were a kid. Come on and stop with the click bait.
On a recent flight from Spain to Florida, I was in business class as a nonrev. Meal time came the the Flight Attendant told me there was no more steak. My wife seated on the other side got her steak. When I went to the rest room the Flight attendant was scarfing down a steak meal. I replied, no steak huh. He said to me, is there a problem? Do I have to tell the captain there’s a problem? This is the jist of the attitude of sky stews today.
I never fly with any American airline for overseas they arr so desperate to charge yku money for anything if they they can tjeu will charge you for using the toilet also their serive is not good and they r cheap in offering food.
The real Karens are those who accepted the airlines’ policy of selling seats. Had everyone simply never purchased seats the airlines would have discontinued the policy. Now we are all stuck with it because a few Karens decided it was acceptable. Even Greyhound is now selling seats!
In one airline a friend told me he booked 2 seats for his family and self, a direct flight to Chicago, only to find that his seats are given to others and his seats are not there! The airline has a policy of overbooking so that their seats don’t go unoccupied. So they offered my friend seats in the next flight. Meaning they have to stay at the airport lounge for an additional 24 hours with no compensation for the inconvenience! That doesn’t happen in United. So be happy that at least the seats you paid for is waiting for you!
Interesting. I paid for an extra legroom seat on United, flight got cancelled and I had to get on a different flight…..but got put in a regular coach seat, not an extra legroom seat that I paid for. I guess they should have reimbursed ME for taking the less comfortable seat. Of course, that did NOT happen.
I took United flight economy plus on 15th to Newark from IGIA. I saw my next seat passenger requesting an upgrade which was promptly denied by an attendant. A friend of mine was denied his booked seats when he reached just in time, by an airline I don’t want to mention, and he was told the airline overbooks as they don’t want their seats go empty! They were offered seats in next flight with waiting of 24 more hours, with no compensation! United never does that. Our seats were waiting for us when we checked in. Thankful for their strict policy.
Boeing, rude passengers and flight attendants that have a raw nerve because the deal with passengers, and a total lack of quantity control, are reasons I will not fly again.
“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.”
This has to be the most intellectually lazy argument I’ve read on here in quite some time, and that’s saying something. Cheap fares come with more restrictive terms and conditions. Mileage Plus awards are earned, not free. Elite status is earned, not free. One way or another, those are PAID perks. The author, of all people, should know better!
Will it encourage people to take the airline if they think there might be a chance to get a free “upgrade”? Kind like an Ad. It’s not good to go to business cabin. But move to the seat next to my seat should be fine.