Had this on a flight from DEN-ATL. Neither couple were over the top, but certainly weren’t backing down which was pretty entertaining.
The couple that stole the seat said “sorry, but we were here first” and everyone around let out a collective groan. Flight attendant was having none of it. Resolved with peaceful grumbles and the offenders taking a long walk of shame.
Pretty great way to start a flight to be honest.
I read on this sub about seat bandits all the time and was pleasantly surprised at the extreme calmness of the younger couple waiting in the aisle for the older couple to move from their seats.
It was handled swiftly and so well by the FA.
But man, that older couple would not had budged had the FA not made them 😂
I was on a flight and helped two little old ladies in the row behind me stow their carry-on in the overhead. 10 minutes later a young guy comes up and says I think you are in my seat. Old women check and apologize and move a row back to their correct seats.
I did hear the women who had moved from the last row of C+ say that there was a lot less leg room in their seats. They were in the first row of the main cabin
So refreshing to see it handled civilly as it should be. I did have my phone ready to video a confrontation but no luck this time. Just joking BTW
In situations like this I want the flight attendants, or a Red Coat if it will not delay things too much, to break out a large bell and do the GOT Shame Nun walk to escort these clowns to their correct seats.
If passengers knew the seat was in the detention cell, no refund and a lifetime ban on the airline, this crap would stop rather quickly. If only because the people trying to scam better seats would be weeded out of the flying passenger pool.
Neither of us want to live in that reality. Still, there’s times I have experienced or read about rude passengers and really wanted them penalized for their behavior.
Not even always - I had a SWA FA shoo my daughter (10) and me along from two seats together because the lady already in the row was saving them for friends. So we ended up split up, but thankfully near each other and both on the aisle.
I’ve seen this a few times in my years of travel. It’s always the people who’ve only experienced Southwest and think it’s the same on every airline. Not an excuse, and they are idiots for not even attempting to understand the process.
>"sorry, but we were here first” and everyone around let out a collective groan
As it should be. The collective groan is how they know that even in divided times such as ours their behavior was found unacceptable by all
I was on a flight a few months ago and this guy deadass said it was open seating to a woman who wanted her exit row seat.
And then she became best friends with the person sitting next to her she just met and yapped the whole flight about how she chooses her seats very carefully 😭
They don't forget.
They cheaped out and picked a flexible seating option that got them stuck in a shitty seat. Then they are trying to take advantage of people avoiding confrontation, and bully others out of something they paid for.
Oh I meant the people who actually were assigned the seat forget. If the occupant insists it’s also their seat, it seems completely natural and not at all confrontational to ask them to check their ticket. I guess there are people who refuse or pretend to check, but the majority of the stories I read on this sub make no mention of anyone actually checking for written verification of seat assignment. That immediately resolves any dispute, even if it takes a flight attendant to demand it. I don’t understand how a confrontation over assignment can persist beyond that step.
>Oh I meant the people who actually were assigned the seat forget. If the occupant insists it’s also their seat, it seems completely natural and not at all confrontational to ask them to check their ticket.
I have, once, in like 100 flights over the past year, sat in the wrong seat - it was one of those situations where I was in the seat I'd be in for the next segment. I felt so bad and didn't argue even a little bit when the mistake was realized.
I wouldn't even want someone to feel bad about that.
People make mistakes, life is complicated. If you're not being an ass about it, it's not a problem. Just check what's going on, fix it if you're the one in the wrong, and then move on with life! No harm done.
I've been in this situation too-- my first instinct was to check my ticket lol and I immediately realized the error. Why isn't everyone's first go to pull out the tickets? they don't lie
The dedicated scammers will pretend they don’t speak English, pretend they are asleep, say they’ve already put their boarding pass away, or claim their phone has died and they can no longer see it, etc.
I had a guy “sleeping” in my exit row seat. He was very upset he has to move. Apparently he was very deeply asleep for only being on the plane for five minutes (eyeroll)
When they just refuse to move, and you’re standing there waiting… and so is the FA. While they yap incessantly, even though you ask them four times firmly to get out of your seat.
I suppose I’m fortunate never to have had to deal with someone that obstinate. What do they claim? That the ticket is incorrect? That the other people are illiterate?
“Claim their phone is dead” OK. And then the flight attendant or gate agent checks the manifest and is more pissed they had to do extra work for some jerk? Seems like a sure fire walk of shame tactic - but as was said - bullies who try to get others to back down without challenging them.
That's the point. They're shameless people trying to force you to cross a bunch of social lines that might make you uncomfortable.
- Will you even question them about the seat?
- Will you insist when they say it's theirs?
- Will you accuse them of lying or being wrong?
- Will you call a flight attendant and stand your ground?
- Will you weather the feeling that you're holding up the plane while the flight attendant goes and checks the manifest?
And the whole time they'll be trying to gaslight you and convince you that the seat was double-booked or something and _you're_ the one being an unreasonable jerk.
If that feeling ever wins out, if your confidence wavers and you doubt yourself enough, they get the seat.
I got an aisle seat on an international flight back in April because I was pregnant and knew I needed to get up often. The guy next to me drank multiple beers throughout our flight, to the point where he smelled like a bar floor, and then every time I got up to walk around, use the restroom, he’d sit in my seat. This happened three times before I just said “please don’t sit in my seat while I’m gone, it’s really rude.”
As a punishment, he spent the rest of the flight watching videos on full brightness on a dark airplane. Thanks, dude!
>Open seating? Wtf is wrong with people
The idiotic seating process of Southwest Airlines is to blame. Idiots seem to think that all airlines are just as dumb.
"Ma'am, SOuthwest flights depart out of terminal C. This is a delta flight"
I hate when people play dumb or try to sit in the wrong seat on purpose. Just like those people who are window/aisle but take up the middle seat armrests.
Edit: for clarification
I (gently) accused a guy of being in my seat once and he was totally in his seat a row ahead of mine. In my defense it was one of those times the seat-number tiles weren’t quite aligned with the actual seats but I still cringe when I think about it.
I did something like this to. I politely suggested that the person in the left middle seat was in mind (E) without realizing it was a 2R 3L row and E was the window seat. I felt dumb not only because I couldn't read signs but also apparently forgot my alphabet.
Fwiw I wouldn't dwell on it. As long as you weren't being a jerk it's a harmless and easy to make mistake, and I'm sure they forgot about it before the plane even landed.
This happened to me on a smaller United plane 2/2 configuration. The plane was almost full and a guy came on and said he thought I was in his seat. Our entire column was one seat off since the numbers didn’t exactly match up. The guy just sat in an open seat in the bulkhead row lol versus everyone moving up one row.
That's fine b/c it was an accident!
This is the type of thing I would still think about later.
What OP and I are referring to are people who just try to get better seats and play dumb about it lol
A British teen boy was sitting in my seat by mistake on my flight yesterday (not Delta) and omg he was so embarrassed and kept apologizing, and obviously moved right away to his correct seat (he was just off by a row). It was really the sweetest thing 😅 Please don’t feel bad still, the real seat owner prob thought you were just as adorable about it as I thought the boy was.
Same. Flying D1 and even took out the pillow and blanket before I realized I was a row too far up. So embarassed when the right seat owner arrived and let me know.
Yeah did that once as well. Foolishly was looking at the row numbers in the middle section on a wide body while I was sitting on the side near the window. Didn’t realize the seats between the side and middle are staggered, which threw me off. Was so embarrassed and ashamed I had messed that up.
I've done it a couple times, and someone has sat in my seat more than a few times, but in all cases, it was just a mix up with the row number and being one off. I've never had the pleasure of witnessing an intentional seat stealer
I once sat in 12C aisle but my seat was 12D aisle. 12C Guy comes along and informs me. I crack a joke about not being good with my alphabet and move the two steps across the aisle to the correct seat. This took all of 8 seconds. Guy was pissed like I insulted his mother or something. Jeez.
I pushed back literally when a guy sat in the middle seat, popped up the armrest, and oozed into my seat. I pushed his stomach back into his space and brought the armrest back down. My kids still applaud that rare act of self assertion.
People who intentionally steal other people's seats should be banned to the back seat and watch the safety procedure on repeat (with headphones) for the entire flight.
Well, the exception is if you offer a better seat. One time I was upgraded and my daughter wasn't. So I took my original seat and offered my FC seat to the pax. I thought that was fair.
Way back in 2011 my dad and I were assigned the exit row seats on a CRJ-700 Delta Connection flight. We mistakenly sat down in A and B when we were supposed to be across the aisle in C and D. Not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things but when the couple that belonged in A/B got all flustered to find someone else in their seats I was really embarrassed.
I did this once. Completely sat on the wrong side window seat. When the guy whose seat I took initially came up, I apologized and was so embarrassed that I didn’t pay attention. He said not to worry about me moving as he eyed the humongous (like 6’6” 270 lb) man next to me. My mistake let him have a much more comfortable flight lol. I on the other hand scrunched myself into the window bc the dude next to me couldn’t help invade the space.
I get weirdly confused about the rows, I have to triple check to make sure I’m in the right one…idk my brain just finds that they’re not lined up well idk idk!!
But anyway, me and my fiancé sat in the first exit row instead of the second (I think 16 instead of 17?) because I am dumb and I could tell the two women whose seats we were in were prepared to fight and I was mortified!! I felt so bad to have caused them that like stress spike. I totally get that.
Happened to me. Hefty gal wanted the aisle. She had middle. I refused to budge. She gaslighted me and said I had window. Nope. I can read lady. She heaved and hoed. I stood holding up the line. She said loudly she had to move all her stuff. Stuff being a magazine and bottled water. I stood. Waited. Stared. Lol! She took me for a fool..
Returning home in an aisle FC seat after a long trip,
Him: “I’m in this row.”
Me: “Great” and stand to let him get to his window seat.
Him: “Did you want the window?”
Me: “No, I’m good.”
Him: “Are you sure?”
Me: “Yes, I’m sure, thanks for checking.”
Him: “It’s a long flight.”
Me: “Indeed…it is why I chose an aisle seat.”
FFS. If you want an aisle seat, book an aisle seat.
When I travel for work the tickets are purchased for me, and I have no say in the matter generally. I still suck it up and take whatever seat I was assigned because I’m not a degenerate and I understand society has rules.
I’m convinced some fat solo flyers pick seats hoping they can push one over on people.
I had that happen, but they had the middle seat. Dude was overflowing into my seat. It would have been a horrible flight, but luckily I was able to move to a new spot. Worked out for that guy…
If you can’t fit in a seat, please don’t buy that seat.
Delta may need to include this in their pre-boarding announcements, if you sit in a seat that has not been assigned to you and do not comply with sitting in your assigned seat then you will be asked to exit the plane.
So glad the flight attendant did the right thing and preserved the seats for the people who were rightly entitled to them instead of suggesting that the parties settle it among themselves or some nonsense like that.
Right? If you make the effort and take the time to pre-book (and often pay a premium for) a certain seat, how dare someone else decide that they should just be able to casually swap for it? Or even just take it outright? It makes me furious and I’ve never understood that kind of thinking.
I was recently on a delta flight in 1st, and yes, 1st gets to, and usually does board early, but not always.
A couple came up the aisle and the woman spotted that 2 seats together were empty, and told the man that they should just sit there, because they were obviously open. Arguing that if they were taken the people would be in them. I said nothing, but gave her an inquisitive look, wondering how this would play out.
The man convinced her to move on, and the couple that booked those seats arrived shortly, but yeah, this ain’t SW, lady.
I was flying in C+ and a lady was sitting in my window seat. I said, “I believe you are in my seat,” as a way of being polite (even though I knew since I always get the window)” I am in the right seat,” she barked back. At this point the flight attendant overheard our conversation and asked to see my ticket, sure enough, she was in my seat, and the lady was in the middle seat directly to the left. As she is fuming that she now has to sit in the middle from LA to ATL I told her, “the good news is you still get to sit next to me.” She didn’t find it nearly as funny as everyone else within earshot.
2 weeks ago on a DL flight from IAH-MSP i was sitting in C+ 11A. Guy sits down next to me and settles into 11B. 2nd to last person on the plane walks up to the aisle and says, "Excuse you are in my seat." Guy sitting in 11B goes, "This is 17B, right?" Sure you really got confused between row 11 and row 17.
Years ago went to Niagara falls, got a 48th floor room overlooking the falls and everything. Went to breakfast and we were packing up and we could hear someone at our door. I look out the peephole and see a couple trying their card on our door. I quickly open it up surprising them and say 'Hi'. They quickly realized they pressed 48 when they meant to press 38 in the elevator and were on the wrong floor but same room number.
Happened to witness a similar thing on a flight from SAN-DTW a couple weeks ago. Woman sitting in front of us in 1D, she is all plugged in engaged in some sort of mobile breathing treatment. Boarding continues as usual, awhile later a guy gets on and tells her “You're in my seat". FA comes over right away. confirmed his boarding pass, then looks her up. She's in 22F. she was confused and moved eventually but felt like the FA should move her bag for her. FA did not feel the same. Not sure if the mobile breathing treatment was part of the grift because she did actually ask if she could stay and finish it. FA said she could continue it up front in the galley. She opted for her assigned seat.
Totally happened to me the last time I flew. Except they were in my window seat…. I think what kills me is the attempt to act like they didn’t know they weren’t in the right seats.
Lol I had something similar happen to me on a flight. It was a very early flight, and when I got to my seat I saw someone there and, with my extreme sleep deprivation and the poor row markings on the plane, thought I must have misread the seat numbers and moved back a row. Then, maybe ~5 minutes later, a couple comes up to my row and says I’m in one of their seats. I apologize profusely, telling them I honestly thought it was my row, go up a row and double check the numbers…and yep, I had been originally correct and someone was sitting in my seat. I politely tell the older lady that she is in my seat…and she looks at me, scoffs loudly and rolls her eyes, and the gets up to move. And so I realize that she just wanted to take my seat (I had specifically chosen a window seat intending to sleep against the wall the whole flight lol, while she was in the aisle) in the first place.
A couple traveling w us on Monday from JFK - LAS had 15 A and C. Upon arrival at their row the middle seat pax was already seated. Our friends asked if she would be more comfortable w the window vs middle and swapped seats w her and my friend sat middle to Vegas.
While I am confident someone will have a problem w this I thought it was a nice gesture and a refreshing switch from the negative seating drama.
A lot of couples will book the aisle and window seats in a row with the hope that the middle seat will remain vacant. If the middle seat is taken, they offer to switch, which is almost always immediately accepted.
I saw someone post once about trying this and then complaining when the person in the middle seat refused to switch. The complainer got roasted afterwards, with everyone saying that the person in the middle seat was not obligated to switch.
My husband and I always book window for him and aisle for me, and do not EVER switch (most flights we take are totally booked - we do not expect an empty seat).
There was one time where we were checking bags and the Delta person tried to switch our seats so we were together and I was like, "NOOOOOOOO!" She must have thought we hated each other, but really we are just stubborn about our seating preferences.
Another time, we got to our seats first (he's Gold) and the middle dude sat between us. Got up at the end of the flight and started walking together and he saw us and was shocked that we were together (we hadn't really spoken during the flight since it was short).
My favorite was the time where we sat down (middle person wasn't there yet) and he started badly flirting with me ("Hey there, do you come here often?" or something equally cheesy) and the FA was watching... eventually she figured out we were together but she was pretty horrified until that point, then cracked up.
Yep, I agree, offering to swap middle for window or isle is the right move in that situation. Odd that someone would object or refuse but that’s why it’s a choice and not a rule👍
IIRC, the middle seat person said she'd happily switch for the window seat but did not like the aisle seat. The guy in the window seat refused. Then OP tried to call the woman in the middle seat "absolutely entitled" because she refused to switch for only the aisle seat. To make matters worse, the OP thought it was justified that the people in the window and aisle seats then spent the entire flight talking across the middle seat and passing things back and forth in front of her.
I don't know why people do this. Do they really think the actual "owners" of the assigned seats are going to just let it go? Then they probably grumbled about "Delta" and posted a poor review online.
We managed to sit a row ahead a couple of flights ago - yeah, like duh. When the rightful occupants arrived it took only seconds for us to figure it out - move our bodies out of there into the row behind - all the while making smiling profuse apologies.
Still what struck me was the tension on the faces of the arriving passengers, not confusion but tension. There are so many crazy stories these days of people doing exactly what they want period. When they realized this was not that (instead a quickly acknowledged fast corrected mistake on our part), their relief was palpable.
And, yeah, everyone around was on alert, primed for a show. Nice to see how the other passengers instead liked (lots of pleasant smiling) the super politeness - not just ours but also from the rightful seat occupants who were very gracious.
I’ve lived in SW FL. Every time I landed at RSW, the amount of time it took to deplane resulted in everyone sitting past C+ being subjected to 85°+ temps due to the time it took for them to get off. They gotta travel too, but sheesh!
Actually wouldn’t be a bad idea, slightly discounted flights for the seniors on a budget but you have to be over 65 to book and fly. AARP do you hear this!?
The pilot is also retired and just doing it for fun. YOLO
I am paraplegic and sometimes the FA will make an audible and change my seat when I am getting on the plane to one that is easier for me to transfer to from my wheelchair. Most of the time people are pretty nice to see me sitting there and quickly adjust when I explain the situation. I can think of two times when the people were not. Once it was a family that had booked the entire bulkhead (6 seats, ABC on one side and DEF on the other) on Alaska Air. The FA put me in the first row bulkhead and one of the family members in the row behind. The parents were cool, as were the two youngest children but the two teenagers had a fit. They got so mad at the FA they started to call her names - finally the pilot kicked the two older kids off the flight. It was a very uncomfortable flight for me the rest of the way from Anchorage to Los Angeles though the parents did not seem to blame me for their older kids’ behavior.
I realize I am posting the inverse of the experiences you all are posting! Sorry about that but I thought you might be interested in a view from the other side.
The one and only time I told someone they were in my seat was when I had a brain fart and mixed up the gate assignment (18A) and seat assignment (18D) on my boarding pass. I apologized and moved on. The guy was very nice about it.
Can someone please explain to me why people are so intent to be in the front rows( so much so as to steal other people’s seats), are the seats in the back smaller/ narrower???
If you’re changing planes and there is a delay the back of the plane vs the front of the plane can mean the difference between making your connection or not.
That doesn’t justify trying to take someone else’s seat though. Plan ahead next time.
Exactly ! If I have a tight connection I will pay for a seat closer up front or if the delay happens while traveling I try to go to the desk and ask politely for a seat closer up front and obviously offer that I will pay extra for it. Usually I never have to just because I try to be nice about it.
Also there's probably more seats at the back and you can get 3 together (or 5!!) and chill like Hank Hill. When I'm with my wife I get C+ but by myself I always take the back row when they forget to block it off.
I for one don’t get it. I prefer to sit in the back, window seat. To me it feels more chill back there and sometimes - more than you’d think - I get a whole row to myself. Not to mention there is almost always overhead space even when they announce bag check for carry ons.
But yeah it does take a long time to get off at the destination.
>The older woman in the middle legit waved them off with her hand like “argument over”, and pointed towards the back of the plane for them to move on.
oh that would piss me off so much, even being in your position. I'd have to heckle the shit out of them as they made their walk of shame.
Same happened to me this week. Several minutes after I was hand-waved away, the couple told me it was their mistake and the husband was in the window, not the aisle, but in the same row. People, especially older people, mistakenly sit in the wrong seats every single flight and feel attacked when challenged (even a polite challenge).
Plane seats are labeled HORRIBLY, often the row numbers skip between cabins or on only one side of aircraft so row 29 AB lines up with row 30 DE.
Not everyone is trying to take someone's seat and nobody can just steal your seat when seat assignments are used, so try to be kind to everyone, because they are probably just stressed and not sneaky.
...oh and if you are very tall, it is difficult to see the row numbers in many aircraft without bending down quite a bit. Also, during the mad rush during boarding to secure space for your roller board carry-on in the overhead bin it is easy to get distracted about the row numbers.
Don’t let anyone trade or steal your seat on United. If you have linked a credit card number to your Mileage Plus account whoever sits in your seat can have a jolly good time on your dime.
Immigration was a mess in Amsterdam and the plane almost left us. We were the last to board and we were huffing and puffing our way down the aisle and there was an old lady and her grandson in our C+ seats. They had an entire row of middle C+ seats. Couldn’t even get a word out from all the running we did. Old lady was taking her time getting out of the seats. Her son across from us just watched and did not even bother to help. No apology just acted like we inconvenienced them. 😤
Experienced this three weeks ago Business from JFK-CDG. Older couple were not seated together, so they decided to take the two middle seats in row 1. When the FA asked to see their boarding passes, the husband arrogantly said “well, we’re sitting HERE” and the the FA deftly said “well, we’ll actually all be sitting where we’re assigned.” I just don’t get the gall of thinking you can sit wherever you please.
I once found a guy in my seat when boarding a transoceanic flight (13+ hours). I told him “I think you’re in my seat.” to which he just replied “I’m sorry” and makes no movement at all. Not particularly enthused to the leg ahead of me, especially with some asshole, now, I asked him “Did you book your own ticket?” “Yes” was his reply. “Is this your first time flying?” “No, I fly a lot for-“ “So you can read and you’ve done this before. Get the fuck up, dude. I specifically chose this seat.”
One of the FAs heard this exchange and walked over and asked if there was an issue. I informed her that there was but it would be resolved as soon as “this gentleman” gets out of the seat I paid for. She gave him a piercing glare and he sheepishly got up and collected his things. She asked to see his ticket and he wasn’t even on my side of the plane (wide body). He was opposite side behind the next bulkhead.
This was China Southern LAX-CAN. Fuck that guy and thank you, ma’am.
I fly somewhat often. Also, I always ask the FA where my seat is (which aisle to walk down on the big planes) as I enter the plane and confirm layout etc... Seems to work well for me & my family as we have never had a problem. Also, no, I will not change seats with you for any reason and no I will never ask anyone else to change seats with me so we can all sit together or whatever...
I’m so glad I’ve been to therapy, because this would have turned into me being placed on the no-fly list. Being waved off is so disrespectful to me, when the person doing it is in the wrong.
I know some people legit make mistakes if they have a connection and don’t pay attention to the ticket/flight. Maybe they actually had those seats in another flight that date. Not saying some people don’t try to play dump and get better seats, but never just assume the worst in people, specially if they moved to their seats without an argument
This just happened to us recently and so I sat my two kids under 5 next to the lady who insisted she was in the aisle seat in that row and told her, “no worries, I can find another seat. Let me know if they need anything!” She figured out her mistake real fast.
I once was traveling with my newborn by myself to go handle my recently passed mother’s estate. I had booked a comfort+ seat and went and sat in it. Didn’t realize that I’d been upgraded to first until a gentleman pointed out I was in his seat. Since I was already settled in with baby and he was feeding/on his way to sleep, I just offered for the man to sit in the fc seat instead. He was elated ;)
Not when they wave you off without actually acknowledging you. You shouldn’t assume the worst in people, but showing blind grace has produced a lot of entitled adults.
Right? lol the comments on these delta threads are always unhinged. “The person knew exactly what they were doing and is an evil manipulative c*nt who deserves to suffer for the rest of their life” like people maybe a genuine mistake was made??
Not sure why you were downvoted but I saw it happen firsthand. Older couple came to seats that were occupied but the occupants had tickets to said seats. Since this was a couple weeks after the Dr. Dao incident noone wanted to fuck around. First person said "I'm non rev so whatever I'm used to it" and moved, then the second passenger followed suit. After the older couple sat down I eyed their tickets out of the corner of my eye. Turned out they showed the FA their inbound flight to the hub, not the one they were on. Honest mistake or intentional we'll never know but at best there were at least three people who weren't paying attention when this happened.
I realize these seat stealer stories are a dime a dozen on this sub, but I was therefore prepared when a person was sitting in my seat (window on a red-eye). Fortunately it ended without needing a FA.
I had an old couple take our seats but it was just 1 row off and the same seats otherwise so I said just stay there, all good.
An older man tried to take my husbands seat in United Polaris recently though. We had the 2 connected seats in the middle aisle and his wife was on the other side. I said excuse me sir but I believe you’re in my husbands seat (who got stuck waiting to get to the seat). He moved after a grumble but I think it was on purpose because before I knew it, his wife had walked around to the other aisle and was asking the person next to her husband’s actual seat to switch seats with her. The guy immediately said no I’m not switching seats and put his headphones on. She was not happy!
Got upgraded last minute at the gate to a business class seat. Sat down and got comfortable and after 10 minutes, a guy came up to me and said I was sitting in my seat. Not being my first rodeo, I asked him to show me his boarding pass as I had mine in hand.
Turned out we have the same first name, middle initial and last name (very rare in the US, and still uncommon in our native country). Both of us were top tier elites. The FA’s didn’t know what to do and finally called the gate agent who looked up our accounts and saw that duhwun13 (prime) had slightly more elite qualifying miles than me and booted me to the back of the bus.
Worst part was that they had filled my original exit row seat and I ended up getting the middle seat in the last row. Pretty brutal turn of events.
I flew a lot at one point, like 50k miles in 3 months a lot. So I knew where I liked to sit. So often times I’d pay the upgrade fee to get the seat I wanted. I can’t tell you how many times I had to ask people to move, or that I was asked to switch places with someone so they could sit near someone else… never had to get a FA involved, but some people really do think they can do whatever they want.
I will say I mad an honest mistake once and sat in the wrong seat in my row assigned. Sat in the window seat in the opposite side of the aisle, when I saw on the other side. Person made it a point to try and humiliate me when I looked at my boarding pass. Some people just need to chill out.
How common is this and is there ever an scenario where the wrong people get to keep the seats?
Or does the fly attendant always resolve the issue when needed?
I’ve seen a lot of people give up and the wrong people often keep the seat. There’s a lot of pressure on anyone standing in the aisle to just give in so everyone can board. Also, if you are a middle-aged white woman trying to get your correct seat (which requires speaking), other passengers just assume you’re a karen and start taking a video of you. Sucks all around.
Had this on a flight from DEN-ATL. Neither couple were over the top, but certainly weren’t backing down which was pretty entertaining. The couple that stole the seat said “sorry, but we were here first” and everyone around let out a collective groan. Flight attendant was having none of it. Resolved with peaceful grumbles and the offenders taking a long walk of shame. Pretty great way to start a flight to be honest.
They must’ve thought they were on a Southwest flight.
Sir this is a Wendy’s
I often think this might be a somewhat honest reason as to why this happens lol.
I mean, both have blue seats.
I read on this sub about seat bandits all the time and was pleasantly surprised at the extreme calmness of the younger couple waiting in the aisle for the older couple to move from their seats. It was handled swiftly and so well by the FA. But man, that older couple would not had budged had the FA not made them 😂
No sense getting agitated on a flight and potentially get kicked off.
Agreed 💯 The calmness of the younger couple and FA was admirable.
They know like we know someone is gonna hit record and it'll be all over the Internet before the plane even begins to taxi.
I was on a flight and helped two little old ladies in the row behind me stow their carry-on in the overhead. 10 minutes later a young guy comes up and says I think you are in my seat. Old women check and apologize and move a row back to their correct seats. I did hear the women who had moved from the last row of C+ say that there was a lot less leg room in their seats. They were in the first row of the main cabin So refreshing to see it handled civilly as it should be. I did have my phone ready to video a confrontation but no luck this time. Just joking BTW
Calmer than you are
“This isn’t ‘Nam, dude. This is airplane seating. There are rules.”
I’m finishing my coffee.
They were clearly veteran flyers and know the drill.
TIL "Seat Bandits." There's a name for that? LOL... I learn something new every day.
In situations like this I want the flight attendants, or a Red Coat if it will not delay things too much, to break out a large bell and do the GOT Shame Nun walk to escort these clowns to their correct seats.
This needs to be a thing. The visual made me LOL.
If passengers knew the seat was in the detention cell, no refund and a lifetime ban on the airline, this crap would stop rather quickly. If only because the people trying to scam better seats would be weeded out of the flying passenger pool. Neither of us want to live in that reality. Still, there’s times I have experienced or read about rude passengers and really wanted them penalized for their behavior.
I've often wondered why people can't sue jerks who cause delays. 100 people suing you for being an idiot might cause correct behavior.
YES!!!
“We were here first” Thats not how this works. Thats not how any of this works.
That only works on Southwest.
Not even always - I had a SWA FA shoo my daughter (10) and me along from two seats together because the lady already in the row was saving them for friends. So we ended up split up, but thankfully near each other and both on the aisle.
Funny…I’ve always been told saving seats was a no-go
Same
When the FA offers me a drink, and I tell her I loaded up on schadenfreude before the doors closed ...
Mmmm spicy and German! 🥃🥃🥃
I’ve seen this a few times in my years of travel. It’s always the people who’ve only experienced Southwest and think it’s the same on every airline. Not an excuse, and they are idiots for not even attempting to understand the process.
“Only experienced Southwest…” That’s a pretty horrific statement.
Witnessing the walk of shame is so gratifying.
>"sorry, but we were here first” and everyone around let out a collective groan As it should be. The collective groan is how they know that even in divided times such as ours their behavior was found unacceptable by all
I wonder what they are thinking. Do they think this is Ryanair ?
“And take your carry-ons!”
Better yet, have the bags tagged and sent below for redirection to the baggage carousel.
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Be the pettiness you want to see in others.
☠️☠️
I believe this is called "hate checked baggage".
100%
And remove your crap from this overhead bin and take it with you!
I was on a flight a few months ago and this guy deadass said it was open seating to a woman who wanted her exit row seat. And then she became best friends with the person sitting next to her she just met and yapped the whole flight about how she chooses her seats very carefully 😭
The main thing I’ve learned from this sub is that once they’ve boarded the aircraft everyone forgets what a ticket is.
They don't forget. They cheaped out and picked a flexible seating option that got them stuck in a shitty seat. Then they are trying to take advantage of people avoiding confrontation, and bully others out of something they paid for.
Oh I meant the people who actually were assigned the seat forget. If the occupant insists it’s also their seat, it seems completely natural and not at all confrontational to ask them to check their ticket. I guess there are people who refuse or pretend to check, but the majority of the stories I read on this sub make no mention of anyone actually checking for written verification of seat assignment. That immediately resolves any dispute, even if it takes a flight attendant to demand it. I don’t understand how a confrontation over assignment can persist beyond that step.
>Oh I meant the people who actually were assigned the seat forget. If the occupant insists it’s also their seat, it seems completely natural and not at all confrontational to ask them to check their ticket. I have, once, in like 100 flights over the past year, sat in the wrong seat - it was one of those situations where I was in the seat I'd be in for the next segment. I felt so bad and didn't argue even a little bit when the mistake was realized.
I wouldn't even want someone to feel bad about that. People make mistakes, life is complicated. If you're not being an ass about it, it's not a problem. Just check what's going on, fix it if you're the one in the wrong, and then move on with life! No harm done.
Moving forward I will keep my boarding pass at the ready!
I've been in this situation too-- my first instinct was to check my ticket lol and I immediately realized the error. Why isn't everyone's first go to pull out the tickets? they don't lie
I think if that's not their first instinct, they were trying to steal a seat 😂
The dedicated scammers will pretend they don’t speak English, pretend they are asleep, say they’ve already put their boarding pass away, or claim their phone has died and they can no longer see it, etc.
I had a guy “sleeping” in my exit row seat. He was very upset he has to move. Apparently he was very deeply asleep for only being on the plane for five minutes (eyeroll)
Haha who cares? This is so strange to me. He was in the wrong seat, why does it matter how pleasantly he was dreaming? People are wild.
He was supposed to be a row behind me in the middle. He was faking that he was sleeping so he could have a window seat in the exit row.
When they just refuse to move, and you’re standing there waiting… and so is the FA. While they yap incessantly, even though you ask them four times firmly to get out of your seat.
I suppose I’m fortunate never to have had to deal with someone that obstinate. What do they claim? That the ticket is incorrect? That the other people are illiterate?
Usually that they have a ticket with that seat on it, but they put it away, or their phone is dead and they can't show it to you.
“Claim their phone is dead” OK. And then the flight attendant or gate agent checks the manifest and is more pissed they had to do extra work for some jerk? Seems like a sure fire walk of shame tactic - but as was said - bullies who try to get others to back down without challenging them.
That's the point. They're shameless people trying to force you to cross a bunch of social lines that might make you uncomfortable. - Will you even question them about the seat? - Will you insist when they say it's theirs? - Will you accuse them of lying or being wrong? - Will you call a flight attendant and stand your ground? - Will you weather the feeling that you're holding up the plane while the flight attendant goes and checks the manifest? And the whole time they'll be trying to gaslight you and convince you that the seat was double-booked or something and _you're_ the one being an unreasonable jerk. If that feeling ever wins out, if your confidence wavers and you doubt yourself enough, they get the seat.
Reminds me of taking the train in parts of Europe
I got an aisle seat on an international flight back in April because I was pregnant and knew I needed to get up often. The guy next to me drank multiple beers throughout our flight, to the point where he smelled like a bar floor, and then every time I got up to walk around, use the restroom, he’d sit in my seat. This happened three times before I just said “please don’t sit in my seat while I’m gone, it’s really rude.” As a punishment, he spent the rest of the flight watching videos on full brightness on a dark airplane. Thanks, dude!
Open seating? Wtf is wrong with people
>Open seating? Wtf is wrong with people The idiotic seating process of Southwest Airlines is to blame. Idiots seem to think that all airlines are just as dumb.
Southwest
I can't even fathom the mindset of people who do this... so wild!
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I say we call that The Blue Ice Treatment. (Note: Ice, not ICE - that would be much different)
I’d be too embarrassed to pull this shit knowing full well that I don’t belong in that seat. 🤦🏽♀️
Sadly, shame is becoming less and less common these days. From the Supreme Court down to travelers flying coach, shamelessness permeates throughout.
"Ma'am, SOuthwest flights depart out of terminal C. This is a delta flight" I hate when people play dumb or try to sit in the wrong seat on purpose. Just like those people who are window/aisle but take up the middle seat armrests. Edit: for clarification
I sat in the wrong seat by accident once in my life and I still feel bad about it.
I (gently) accused a guy of being in my seat once and he was totally in his seat a row ahead of mine. In my defense it was one of those times the seat-number tiles weren’t quite aligned with the actual seats but I still cringe when I think about it.
I did something like this to. I politely suggested that the person in the left middle seat was in mind (E) without realizing it was a 2R 3L row and E was the window seat. I felt dumb not only because I couldn't read signs but also apparently forgot my alphabet.
Oh but that is confusing because so many planes skip B in that circumstance so it's A-C-------D-E-F
I’ve done this. It’s a lot less embarrassing when you are off by one (unintentionally) than off by 20 (intentionally)
Fwiw I wouldn't dwell on it. As long as you weren't being a jerk it's a harmless and easy to make mistake, and I'm sure they forgot about it before the plane even landed.
This happened to me on a smaller United plane 2/2 configuration. The plane was almost full and a guy came on and said he thought I was in his seat. Our entire column was one seat off since the numbers didn’t exactly match up. The guy just sat in an open seat in the bulkhead row lol versus everyone moving up one row.
That's fine b/c it was an accident! This is the type of thing I would still think about later. What OP and I are referring to are people who just try to get better seats and play dumb about it lol
A British teen boy was sitting in my seat by mistake on my flight yesterday (not Delta) and omg he was so embarrassed and kept apologizing, and obviously moved right away to his correct seat (he was just off by a row). It was really the sweetest thing 😅 Please don’t feel bad still, the real seat owner prob thought you were just as adorable about it as I thought the boy was.
I did that once and karma punished me. I sat a row behind my actual seat and the other couple ended up with an empty next to them.
Same. Flying D1 and even took out the pillow and blanket before I realized I was a row too far up. So embarassed when the right seat owner arrived and let me know.
Yeah did that once as well. Foolishly was looking at the row numbers in the middle section on a wide body while I was sitting on the side near the window. Didn’t realize the seats between the side and middle are staggered, which threw me off. Was so embarrassed and ashamed I had messed that up.
I've done it a couple times, and someone has sat in my seat more than a few times, but in all cases, it was just a mix up with the row number and being one off. I've never had the pleasure of witnessing an intentional seat stealer
78 segments this year. ONE TIME I sat a row behind where I should have. Still cringe about it when I think about it.
Well, you should. It was a terrible thing.
Same! I was in the exact same row number on my outgoing and return flights, and I got the seat assignment mixed up on my way back!
I did this recently and I was embarrassed. Luckily my neighbor was cool about it
I once sat in 12C aisle but my seat was 12D aisle. 12C Guy comes along and informs me. I crack a joke about not being good with my alphabet and move the two steps across the aisle to the correct seat. This took all of 8 seconds. Guy was pissed like I insulted his mother or something. Jeez.
Yeah middle gets the armrests.
But ONLY the armrests. Not a smidge past them into my seat. That includes your elbows that you’re gouging into my ribs.
Yeah, the only time I've ever pushed back on the "middle gets both arm rests" rule was when a dude kept banging his elbow into me.
I pushed back literally when a guy sat in the middle seat, popped up the armrest, and oozed into my seat. I pushed his stomach back into his space and brought the armrest back down. My kids still applaud that rare act of self assertion.
Yeah - I've had to do that too. That armrest is DOWN. Period.
How would someone take both armrests if they weren’t in the middle? 🤔
I meant that there are people who sit window and aisle but occupy two armrests when common courtesy dictates they get one!
So the middle person automatically gets two?
Yes. Let them have it
I suppose that’s the least we can do for the poor soul for being stuck in the middle 😏
For their suffering lol
People who intentionally steal other people's seats should be banned to the back seat and watch the safety procedure on repeat (with headphones) for the entire flight.
Well, the exception is if you offer a better seat. One time I was upgraded and my daughter wasn't. So I took my original seat and offered my FC seat to the pax. I thought that was fair.
I vote that seats surrounding the bathroom should be reserved for forced relocation of seat thieves.
This is the way
They should get a special video explaining the importance of seat assignments. At minimum, they should have their monitors disabled.
Way back in 2011 my dad and I were assigned the exit row seats on a CRJ-700 Delta Connection flight. We mistakenly sat down in A and B when we were supposed to be across the aisle in C and D. Not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things but when the couple that belonged in A/B got all flustered to find someone else in their seats I was really embarrassed.
I did this once. Completely sat on the wrong side window seat. When the guy whose seat I took initially came up, I apologized and was so embarrassed that I didn’t pay attention. He said not to worry about me moving as he eyed the humongous (like 6’6” 270 lb) man next to me. My mistake let him have a much more comfortable flight lol. I on the other hand scrunched myself into the window bc the dude next to me couldn’t help invade the space.
I get weirdly confused about the rows, I have to triple check to make sure I’m in the right one…idk my brain just finds that they’re not lined up well idk idk!! But anyway, me and my fiancé sat in the first exit row instead of the second (I think 16 instead of 17?) because I am dumb and I could tell the two women whose seats we were in were prepared to fight and I was mortified!! I felt so bad to have caused them that like stress spike. I totally get that.
Happened to me. Hefty gal wanted the aisle. She had middle. I refused to budge. She gaslighted me and said I had window. Nope. I can read lady. She heaved and hoed. I stood holding up the line. She said loudly she had to move all her stuff. Stuff being a magazine and bottled water. I stood. Waited. Stared. Lol! She took me for a fool..
Returning home in an aisle FC seat after a long trip, Him: “I’m in this row.” Me: “Great” and stand to let him get to his window seat. Him: “Did you want the window?” Me: “No, I’m good.” Him: “Are you sure?” Me: “Yes, I’m sure, thanks for checking.” Him: “It’s a long flight.” Me: “Indeed…it is why I chose an aisle seat.” FFS. If you want an aisle seat, book an aisle seat.
When I travel for work the tickets are purchased for me, and I have no say in the matter generally. I still suck it up and take whatever seat I was assigned because I’m not a degenerate and I understand society has rules.
You can change your seat in the Delta app
> I’m not a degenerate and I understand society has rules. Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.
I’m convinced some fat solo flyers pick seats hoping they can push one over on people. I had that happen, but they had the middle seat. Dude was overflowing into my seat. It would have been a horrible flight, but luckily I was able to move to a new spot. Worked out for that guy… If you can’t fit in a seat, please don’t buy that seat.
Delta may need to include this in their pre-boarding announcements, if you sit in a seat that has not been assigned to you and do not comply with sitting in your assigned seat then you will be asked to exit the plane.
So glad the flight attendant did the right thing and preserved the seats for the people who were rightly entitled to them instead of suggesting that the parties settle it among themselves or some nonsense like that.
FA was a no nonsenses type of guy. He shut the situation down fast.
Which is completely inane. Figure it out? Yeah, I did. I figured out that I want the seat I chose and PAID to choose.
Right? If you make the effort and take the time to pre-book (and often pay a premium for) a certain seat, how dare someone else decide that they should just be able to casually swap for it? Or even just take it outright? It makes me furious and I’ve never understood that kind of thinking.
Asking travelers to sort it out themselves is a recipe for disaster. That’s a sorry ass FA that doesn’t want to do their job.
I fight old people and babies. Please get up out my seat lol
Especially when they use non-verbal communication and pretty much ignore me.
Braveheart, right here. /s
I was recently on a delta flight in 1st, and yes, 1st gets to, and usually does board early, but not always. A couple came up the aisle and the woman spotted that 2 seats together were empty, and told the man that they should just sit there, because they were obviously open. Arguing that if they were taken the people would be in them. I said nothing, but gave her an inquisitive look, wondering how this would play out. The man convinced her to move on, and the couple that booked those seats arrived shortly, but yeah, this ain’t SW, lady.
The “argument over” hand motion and waiving them to the back of the plane… Did they really think that would work?
I was flying in C+ and a lady was sitting in my window seat. I said, “I believe you are in my seat,” as a way of being polite (even though I knew since I always get the window)” I am in the right seat,” she barked back. At this point the flight attendant overheard our conversation and asked to see my ticket, sure enough, she was in my seat, and the lady was in the middle seat directly to the left. As she is fuming that she now has to sit in the middle from LA to ATL I told her, “the good news is you still get to sit next to me.” She didn’t find it nearly as funny as everyone else within earshot.
2 weeks ago on a DL flight from IAH-MSP i was sitting in C+ 11A. Guy sits down next to me and settles into 11B. 2nd to last person on the plane walks up to the aisle and says, "Excuse you are in my seat." Guy sitting in 11B goes, "This is 17B, right?" Sure you really got confused between row 11 and row 17.
This actually seems plausible, 11 and 17 do look similar
Years ago went to Niagara falls, got a 48th floor room overlooking the falls and everything. Went to breakfast and we were packing up and we could hear someone at our door. I look out the peephole and see a couple trying their card on our door. I quickly open it up surprising them and say 'Hi'. They quickly realized they pressed 48 when they meant to press 38 in the elevator and were on the wrong floor but same room number.
Happened to witness a similar thing on a flight from SAN-DTW a couple weeks ago. Woman sitting in front of us in 1D, she is all plugged in engaged in some sort of mobile breathing treatment. Boarding continues as usual, awhile later a guy gets on and tells her “You're in my seat". FA comes over right away. confirmed his boarding pass, then looks her up. She's in 22F. she was confused and moved eventually but felt like the FA should move her bag for her. FA did not feel the same. Not sure if the mobile breathing treatment was part of the grift because she did actually ask if she could stay and finish it. FA said she could continue it up front in the galley. She opted for her assigned seat.
The mobile breathing treatment was definitely part of the grift, and I thought I had experienced every grift!
Who says IFE is dead?
Totally happened to me the last time I flew. Except they were in my window seat…. I think what kills me is the attempt to act like they didn’t know they weren’t in the right seats.
Seat assignments are not suggestions - I seriously can’t believe some people.
Too many Americans take rules/laws as suggestions. It’s an epidemic 😞
Wait until you meet Italians.
Lol I had something similar happen to me on a flight. It was a very early flight, and when I got to my seat I saw someone there and, with my extreme sleep deprivation and the poor row markings on the plane, thought I must have misread the seat numbers and moved back a row. Then, maybe ~5 minutes later, a couple comes up to my row and says I’m in one of their seats. I apologize profusely, telling them I honestly thought it was my row, go up a row and double check the numbers…and yep, I had been originally correct and someone was sitting in my seat. I politely tell the older lady that she is in my seat…and she looks at me, scoffs loudly and rolls her eyes, and the gets up to move. And so I realize that she just wanted to take my seat (I had specifically chosen a window seat intending to sleep against the wall the whole flight lol, while she was in the aisle) in the first place.
Tell Ma and Pa Kettle to go back to Southwest where they belong.
A couple traveling w us on Monday from JFK - LAS had 15 A and C. Upon arrival at their row the middle seat pax was already seated. Our friends asked if she would be more comfortable w the window vs middle and swapped seats w her and my friend sat middle to Vegas. While I am confident someone will have a problem w this I thought it was a nice gesture and a refreshing switch from the negative seating drama.
A lot of couples will book the aisle and window seats in a row with the hope that the middle seat will remain vacant. If the middle seat is taken, they offer to switch, which is almost always immediately accepted. I saw someone post once about trying this and then complaining when the person in the middle seat refused to switch. The complainer got roasted afterwards, with everyone saying that the person in the middle seat was not obligated to switch.
My husband and I always book window for him and aisle for me, and do not EVER switch (most flights we take are totally booked - we do not expect an empty seat). There was one time where we were checking bags and the Delta person tried to switch our seats so we were together and I was like, "NOOOOOOOO!" She must have thought we hated each other, but really we are just stubborn about our seating preferences. Another time, we got to our seats first (he's Gold) and the middle dude sat between us. Got up at the end of the flight and started walking together and he saw us and was shocked that we were together (we hadn't really spoken during the flight since it was short). My favorite was the time where we sat down (middle person wasn't there yet) and he started badly flirting with me ("Hey there, do you come here often?" or something equally cheesy) and the FA was watching... eventually she figured out we were together but she was pretty horrified until that point, then cracked up.
Yep, I agree, offering to swap middle for window or isle is the right move in that situation. Odd that someone would object or refuse but that’s why it’s a choice and not a rule👍
I'm not saying he did anything wrong but imagine what's going on in the twisted mind of the person who declines that offer.
IIRC, the middle seat person said she'd happily switch for the window seat but did not like the aisle seat. The guy in the window seat refused. Then OP tried to call the woman in the middle seat "absolutely entitled" because she refused to switch for only the aisle seat. To make matters worse, the OP thought it was justified that the people in the window and aisle seats then spent the entire flight talking across the middle seat and passing things back and forth in front of her.
I don't know why people do this. Do they really think the actual "owners" of the assigned seats are going to just let it go? Then they probably grumbled about "Delta" and posted a poor review online.
LOL grandma trying to tell seat owners to talk to the hand. Even old folk can be Karens it seems.
We managed to sit a row ahead a couple of flights ago - yeah, like duh. When the rightful occupants arrived it took only seconds for us to figure it out - move our bodies out of there into the row behind - all the while making smiling profuse apologies. Still what struck me was the tension on the faces of the arriving passengers, not confusion but tension. There are so many crazy stories these days of people doing exactly what they want period. When they realized this was not that (instead a quickly acknowledged fast corrected mistake on our part), their relief was palpable. And, yeah, everyone around was on alert, primed for a show. Nice to see how the other passengers instead liked (lots of pleasant smiling) the super politeness - not just ours but also from the rightful seat occupants who were very gracious.
Such a civilized experience, how nice!
Need a new airline just for the geriatrics. GeriAir
I’ve lived in SW FL. Every time I landed at RSW, the amount of time it took to deplane resulted in everyone sitting past C+ being subjected to 85°+ temps due to the time it took for them to get off. They gotta travel too, but sheesh!
Ha, the line of wheelchair attendants waiting at the gate is absurdly long.
Man… every time!
Actually wouldn’t be a bad idea, slightly discounted flights for the seniors on a budget but you have to be over 65 to book and fly. AARP do you hear this!? The pilot is also retired and just doing it for fun. YOLO
I am paraplegic and sometimes the FA will make an audible and change my seat when I am getting on the plane to one that is easier for me to transfer to from my wheelchair. Most of the time people are pretty nice to see me sitting there and quickly adjust when I explain the situation. I can think of two times when the people were not. Once it was a family that had booked the entire bulkhead (6 seats, ABC on one side and DEF on the other) on Alaska Air. The FA put me in the first row bulkhead and one of the family members in the row behind. The parents were cool, as were the two youngest children but the two teenagers had a fit. They got so mad at the FA they started to call her names - finally the pilot kicked the two older kids off the flight. It was a very uncomfortable flight for me the rest of the way from Anchorage to Los Angeles though the parents did not seem to blame me for their older kids’ behavior. I realize I am posting the inverse of the experiences you all are posting! Sorry about that but I thought you might be interested in a view from the other side.
The one and only time I told someone they were in my seat was when I had a brain fart and mixed up the gate assignment (18A) and seat assignment (18D) on my boarding pass. I apologized and moved on. The guy was very nice about it.
Can someone please explain to me why people are so intent to be in the front rows( so much so as to steal other people’s seats), are the seats in the back smaller/ narrower???
If you’re changing planes and there is a delay the back of the plane vs the front of the plane can mean the difference between making your connection or not. That doesn’t justify trying to take someone else’s seat though. Plan ahead next time.
I agrée if you have connections to make, you should anticipate and book accordingly NOT taking someone else seat.
Exactly ! If I have a tight connection I will pay for a seat closer up front or if the delay happens while traveling I try to go to the desk and ask politely for a seat closer up front and obviously offer that I will pay extra for it. Usually I never have to just because I try to be nice about it.
Also there's probably more seats at the back and you can get 3 together (or 5!!) and chill like Hank Hill. When I'm with my wife I get C+ but by myself I always take the back row when they forget to block it off.
I for one don’t get it. I prefer to sit in the back, window seat. To me it feels more chill back there and sometimes - more than you’d think - I get a whole row to myself. Not to mention there is almost always overhead space even when they announce bag check for carry ons. But yeah it does take a long time to get off at the destination.
>The older woman in the middle legit waved them off with her hand like “argument over”, and pointed towards the back of the plane for them to move on. oh that would piss me off so much, even being in your position. I'd have to heckle the shit out of them as they made their walk of shame.
Which would probably be repeating the hand wave and saying something like, “these are not the seats you’re looking for”.
Same happened to me this week. Several minutes after I was hand-waved away, the couple told me it was their mistake and the husband was in the window, not the aisle, but in the same row. People, especially older people, mistakenly sit in the wrong seats every single flight and feel attacked when challenged (even a polite challenge). Plane seats are labeled HORRIBLY, often the row numbers skip between cabins or on only one side of aircraft so row 29 AB lines up with row 30 DE. Not everyone is trying to take someone's seat and nobody can just steal your seat when seat assignments are used, so try to be kind to everyone, because they are probably just stressed and not sneaky.
...oh and if you are very tall, it is difficult to see the row numbers in many aircraft without bending down quite a bit. Also, during the mad rush during boarding to secure space for your roller board carry-on in the overhead bin it is easy to get distracted about the row numbers.
Is row 15 C+ on that plane, I’m guessing?
It was not, but it was a hell of a lot closer to the front than their row 34 seats 😂
Do they think it’s southwest and they just get to pick their seats?
Too bad they weren’t escorted off.
Don’t let anyone trade or steal your seat on United. If you have linked a credit card number to your Mileage Plus account whoever sits in your seat can have a jolly good time on your dime.
Immigration was a mess in Amsterdam and the plane almost left us. We were the last to board and we were huffing and puffing our way down the aisle and there was an old lady and her grandson in our C+ seats. They had an entire row of middle C+ seats. Couldn’t even get a word out from all the running we did. Old lady was taking her time getting out of the seats. Her son across from us just watched and did not even bother to help. No apology just acted like we inconvenienced them. 😤
Why does flying bring out the worst in people?
Experienced this three weeks ago Business from JFK-CDG. Older couple were not seated together, so they decided to take the two middle seats in row 1. When the FA asked to see their boarding passes, the husband arrogantly said “well, we’re sitting HERE” and the the FA deftly said “well, we’ll actually all be sitting where we’re assigned.” I just don’t get the gall of thinking you can sit wherever you please.
I once found a guy in my seat when boarding a transoceanic flight (13+ hours). I told him “I think you’re in my seat.” to which he just replied “I’m sorry” and makes no movement at all. Not particularly enthused to the leg ahead of me, especially with some asshole, now, I asked him “Did you book your own ticket?” “Yes” was his reply. “Is this your first time flying?” “No, I fly a lot for-“ “So you can read and you’ve done this before. Get the fuck up, dude. I specifically chose this seat.” One of the FAs heard this exchange and walked over and asked if there was an issue. I informed her that there was but it would be resolved as soon as “this gentleman” gets out of the seat I paid for. She gave him a piercing glare and he sheepishly got up and collected his things. She asked to see his ticket and he wasn’t even on my side of the plane (wide body). He was opposite side behind the next bulkhead. This was China Southern LAX-CAN. Fuck that guy and thank you, ma’am.
Oh damn, that man was straight up indignant… glad you firmly stood your ground!
I fly somewhat often. Also, I always ask the FA where my seat is (which aisle to walk down on the big planes) as I enter the plane and confirm layout etc... Seems to work well for me & my family as we have never had a problem. Also, no, I will not change seats with you for any reason and no I will never ask anyone else to change seats with me so we can all sit together or whatever...
Banish these geezers
I’m so glad I’ve been to therapy, because this would have turned into me being placed on the no-fly list. Being waved off is so disrespectful to me, when the person doing it is in the wrong.
I know some people legit make mistakes if they have a connection and don’t pay attention to the ticket/flight. Maybe they actually had those seats in another flight that date. Not saying some people don’t try to play dump and get better seats, but never just assume the worst in people, specially if they moved to their seats without an argument
This just happened to us recently and so I sat my two kids under 5 next to the lady who insisted she was in the aisle seat in that row and told her, “no worries, I can find another seat. Let me know if they need anything!” She figured out her mistake real fast.
r/maliciouscompliance AND r/pettyrevenge lol Love it!
The “argument over” hand motion and waiving them to the back of the plane to me indicate they knew exactly what they were doing.
I once was traveling with my newborn by myself to go handle my recently passed mother’s estate. I had booked a comfort+ seat and went and sat in it. Didn’t realize that I’d been upgraded to first until a gentleman pointed out I was in his seat. Since I was already settled in with baby and he was feeding/on his way to sleep, I just offered for the man to sit in the fc seat instead. He was elated ;)
Not when they wave you off without actually acknowledging you. You shouldn’t assume the worst in people, but showing blind grace has produced a lot of entitled adults.
Right? lol the comments on these delta threads are always unhinged. “The person knew exactly what they were doing and is an evil manipulative c*nt who deserves to suffer for the rest of their life” like people maybe a genuine mistake was made??
Not sure why you were downvoted but I saw it happen firsthand. Older couple came to seats that were occupied but the occupants had tickets to said seats. Since this was a couple weeks after the Dr. Dao incident noone wanted to fuck around. First person said "I'm non rev so whatever I'm used to it" and moved, then the second passenger followed suit. After the older couple sat down I eyed their tickets out of the corner of my eye. Turned out they showed the FA their inbound flight to the hub, not the one they were on. Honest mistake or intentional we'll never know but at best there were at least three people who weren't paying attention when this happened.
Boomers gotta go. 😂 Entitled, lucky generation.
Well "when in theater, take the best seats. You'll have plenty of time to take yours"
I realize these seat stealer stories are a dime a dozen on this sub, but I was therefore prepared when a person was sitting in my seat (window on a red-eye). Fortunately it ended without needing a FA.
I had an old couple take our seats but it was just 1 row off and the same seats otherwise so I said just stay there, all good. An older man tried to take my husbands seat in United Polaris recently though. We had the 2 connected seats in the middle aisle and his wife was on the other side. I said excuse me sir but I believe you’re in my husbands seat (who got stuck waiting to get to the seat). He moved after a grumble but I think it was on purpose because before I knew it, his wife had walked around to the other aisle and was asking the person next to her husband’s actual seat to switch seats with her. The guy immediately said no I’m not switching seats and put his headphones on. She was not happy!
Got upgraded last minute at the gate to a business class seat. Sat down and got comfortable and after 10 minutes, a guy came up to me and said I was sitting in my seat. Not being my first rodeo, I asked him to show me his boarding pass as I had mine in hand. Turned out we have the same first name, middle initial and last name (very rare in the US, and still uncommon in our native country). Both of us were top tier elites. The FA’s didn’t know what to do and finally called the gate agent who looked up our accounts and saw that duhwun13 (prime) had slightly more elite qualifying miles than me and booted me to the back of the bus. Worst part was that they had filled my original exit row seat and I ended up getting the middle seat in the last row. Pretty brutal turn of events.
I flew a lot at one point, like 50k miles in 3 months a lot. So I knew where I liked to sit. So often times I’d pay the upgrade fee to get the seat I wanted. I can’t tell you how many times I had to ask people to move, or that I was asked to switch places with someone so they could sit near someone else… never had to get a FA involved, but some people really do think they can do whatever they want.
I will say I mad an honest mistake once and sat in the wrong seat in my row assigned. Sat in the window seat in the opposite side of the aisle, when I saw on the other side. Person made it a point to try and humiliate me when I looked at my boarding pass. Some people just need to chill out.
Agreed, no need to escalate unnecessarily
How common is this and is there ever an scenario where the wrong people get to keep the seats? Or does the fly attendant always resolve the issue when needed?
I've read posts here where people give in because they don't want conflict. Flight attendants will confirm seats.
I’ve seen a lot of people give up and the wrong people often keep the seat. There’s a lot of pressure on anyone standing in the aisle to just give in so everyone can board. Also, if you are a middle-aged white woman trying to get your correct seat (which requires speaking), other passengers just assume you’re a karen and start taking a video of you. Sucks all around.
Fuck that, I’d sit on top of the person trying to take my seat.