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 … unless they had their “payment method handy.”
@united insisting people either pay for upgrades or stay packed in like sardines on flights with plenty of open seats is poor customer service. pic.twitter.com/MoRW9PD5US
— Ben Houg (@benhoug) November 25, 2024
They made an announcement saying “if you wanted to move seats, have your payment method handy.”
— Ben Houg (@benhoug) November 25, 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.
100 % accurate !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“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.”
This is a really simplistic view. Just because a plane is in the air doesn’t mean the seat can’t be sold. There is ALWAYS an opportunity for ancillary sales…just look at the drink cart!
That being said, there is both a perceived and a tangible loss. Passengers who paid for the upgraded seats have a perceived loss where they paid for something that others received for free. They in turn, would be less likely to upgrade in the future leading to United’s realized loss. Likewise, if free upgrades in flight become the norm, United would recognize a decline in upgrades due to passengers waiting until on board to upgrade for free.
Not the same. People who pay for economy plus are guaranteed that seat, not so with people who are just hoping to get a better seat.
If enough cheap seat passengers try to move forward that could affect the balance of the aircraft and present a safty hazzard. One or two, probably not, 10 more definitely., especially if the passenger moves several rows forward.
Won’t someone think of the children corporations? YOU’RE TAKING FOOD FROM THE MOUTHS!
Boohoo.
You paid for a middle seat in the back of the plane, you sit in the middle seat in the back of the plane. Simple as that.
“No waivers, no favors” is still very much a thing.
Seems to me that you shouldn’t be able to take a seat that costs more even if it is unoccupied. You can take a first class seat mid-flight if you bought an economy ticket because that seat came with additional perks. The same is true of any seat that costs extra.
It’s not buying something, it is more like renting something like a house. I don’t get to move myself to a big house on the beach with a pool just because it is empty when I rented a small house two blocks off the beach. Though I’m sure there are people who would argue that is fine since it wasn’t rented anyway.
Do FAs know if the seat was supposed to be empty? Not sure about United, but Delta and Alaska also have free alcohol in the premium economy.
Also not uncommon to have middle premium economy seats open on Alaska and Delta, since you can choose to not upgrade to a middle.
Why should other passengers lose an open middle to some entitled basic econ passenger?
Delta fixes this by naming a separate class, Comfort +. One can only move within their class or downgrade.
I recently had a full row of 4 in Comfort + instead of Premium Select.
Flight attendants like these are a reason to check the seating charts before checking in to make sure that you have a seat that is as far away from others as possible. Most flights I have flown in the last two years have been fairly full but at least the ones that haven’t been that full haven’t had flight attendants trying to nickel and dime you on every little thing.
I’m waiting for them to start charging me for putting my stuff in the empty seat beside me while we are in flight. Or stretching out in that empty seat.
I typically ask the FA first as courtesy. Haven’t been told no so far…
Years ago as a single man I would travel frequently for work. Amongst the first to board, I would take my seat and watch the other passengers board. Frequently they would be very attractive young women and I would hope that they would take the seat next to mine. Alas, that never happened. Much later, checking in for a flight, I mentioned that to the agent, who replied “you’re a valued frequent flier, as a courtesy to you and for your comfort we try to leave the seat next to you empty.” My reply, “you call that a favor???”
The airline’s don’t allow you to jump into any seat for good reasons. You entitled flyers are the one’s that cry the most about almost anything. I don’t want to see people taking empty seats that I had to pay extra for. I guess everyone feels entitled when they fly. Or so it seems…
If you pay for premium and there is an empty middle seat next to you then you should not lose that extra width because someone who paid less wants to move up.
Following some peoples logic everyone should run to first and business class to see if there are empty seats.
I always pay for seat selection if it’s an option. And then I am done….I don’t want people asking me if they can switch seats with me, I don’t want people milling around looking for a better seat, esp if I have an open middle seat next to me. (I know, grouchy…). DD and I’ve flown multiple times on long haul flights and I was too cheap to fly biz then, but would buy the middle seat so we’d have the row of 3 econ to ourselves. Stretch out a bit, more privacy. On most of the flights I’d have someone come up and ask to sit w/ us and when I sd no, I paid for this seat, they’d bring the FA back w/ them to check on that! (and yup, I had proof of purchase ready since it happened to me so often). And I’m thinking awko taco, I would just hate having you sit next to me for the next 12-15 hours, you unpleasant piece of entitlement. So yeah, if it means that much to you, pay for the seat you want.
Depending on the flight I buy basic or F or something in between. For me PHX LAS or LAX doesn’t require an F seat, its 40 min tops. It would never occur to me to move to a different seat because it is not what I agreed to when I purchased the ticket. Quit trying to make your self a victim of the big bad Corporation and live with what you decided to purchase.
It is stealing in the sense that you are taking a higher priced seat, without paying for it. If the FA allows, that is one thing. Simply assuming you can do so is another.
So if you go to a T Swift concert are the ushers going to let you move from a cheap seat to a premium seat? If you go to a NFL game are they going to let you move from the nose bleed seats to the 50 yard line because it’s empty. I pay alot on my already expensive ticket to have a aisle seat and it pisses me off when someone who paid for a basic economy ticket moves to a premium seat. So entitled. You want something nice get off your ass and save for it!!!!
I think all seats should be premium with enough legroom to be comfortable for everyone. No business or first class. Everyone gets the same thing.
If it becomes a free for all, what are you going to do when two people want that same unoccupied ‘better’ seat while in the air? Just what we need – more reasons for people to get into it with their fellow passengers.
I heard from my friends flying less than 1/3 full long haul UA B789 in economy that everyone was allowed to move anywhere, including E+…well because when everyone’s able to take 3 seats, the E+ extra legroom becomes irrelevant.
All the convoluted logic people are going through to justify this policy is amazing.
Apparently many consumers will bend over backwards to side with corporations even when it is against their own interests and when the corporation is obviously being disingenuous, not to mention openly contemptuous of their customers.
This story is the perfect embodiment of a general lack of agency and blind submission to “authority” (even when the stakes are incredibly low) that exemplifies much of the American public.
I am all for better seats or window seat, but how do you manage 5 open seats and everyone wants to get in those empty seats?
How would one manage that or maybe there is reasonable price to upgrade in flight?
If you don’t want to pay for a better seat than you should stick to your free seat. I hate when people jump into an empty seat next to me after taking off. You are stealing my benefit for getting extra comfort which I paid for it. (I paid for a main cabin seat and alway chose the one that has middle seat open because I know people won’t pay extra for middle seat)
Unfortunately, we are now overrun with people who believe just because they want something, they are entitled to it. While flying, they buy one premium ticket and one (or more) cheaper tickets, then insist on switching the person sitting in the cheap seat with a passenger who paid for their premium seat because they *have* to sit with a child/spouse/friend.
Like most ‘hacks’, it’s about getting something without paying for it.
Imagine the essentially free money an airline could make if every seat had a QR code that could be scanned at any time to present upgrade or seat reassignment offers.
Don’t like your seat mate for any reason, just scan, pay, anymore without hassling any FA.
Tons would do this who would never have even considered it before.
Wow…looking at the comments seems like there are a lot of corporate bots OR a lot of people are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome,
If I’m flying back to Germany midweek in off-season on Delta, I doubt they’ll get excited if I grab an open row when there’s two people per row in regular economy. Been there, done that. They’re hauling enough paying cargo they may not have weight allowance to book more pax. Back then it was medical supplies. Got that from a career FA on my last pre-COVID trip, Feb 2020 -DTW-FRA (could’ve been DUS, or MUC, I forget). D1 was fully booked, btw.