When Will You Trade Seats?

We’ve all been there.

You booked your flight weeks in advance, secured your favorite premium seat, and waited for the day of departure.  On the day of the flight, you lingered a bit in the airline lounge sending that one final email, finally strolling on to the plane to take your coveted throne only to find someone comfortably lounging there.

“Excuse me, but I think you are in my seat?” you politely say.

“Oh right… would you trade seats with me?” the interloper grins and asks, following with any one of a litany of reasons why your seat is needed.

*sigh*

What do you do?

The everyday dilemma

It is the everyday dilemma that plays out on one flight after another.  Airlines are making it more difficult for all passengers to reserve seats (or at least desirable seats) at the time of booking.  Upgrades are clearing closer to the time of departure.  And passengers may simply not be paying enough attention to their own reservations.  The result is that many passengers find themselves separated – by a row, an aisle, or even a cabin.

My own personal view

This question was posed recently in an elite status forum I frequent.  The subject brought about much discussion and even a bit of controversy.

Here was my (somewhat dry) response:

I’ll trade aisle for aisle and non-bulkhead for non-bulkhead. But don’t ask me to trade my non-bulkhead aisle for your bulkhead window.   And don’t definitely don’t sit in my seat and unpack all of your belongings into the seatback pocket, rip open the blanket bag, stow the pillow in the overhead bin, rip into the amenity kit, and start on your pre-departure beverage because I WILL CUT YOU!  That’s just next level rudeness and entitlement and at that point, I do not care what the circumstances are, I will say no on general principle.

Another poster commented “I am guessing that this has happened to you?”  And yes, it has – quite a few times.  And while no, I’ve never actually resorted to violence, I have had to bring a gate agent on board to sort out the mess.

The most extreme example I cited above happened on an international flight on a three-class 777.  I had a fairly coveted window seat in first class – someone came and took my seat, dug into the amenity kit and put on the socks and used the lotion, wrapped up in the blanket, unloaded all of their belongings in the seatback pocket, and had reclined the seat and started sipping a mimosa by the time I boarded.

It turned out that they were in one of the center seats and yes, I did not only make them move, but I made them swap out the amenity kit, blanket, and pillow.  The passenger insisted on having a gate agent brought on board because he *always* has a window seat and cannot fly in a middle seat because he is claustrophobic.  The gate agent had to explain to him that I had actually been booked in first class weeks in advance whereas he had been upgraded at the gate – but he was welcome to move back to his window seat in business class and she could upgrade another passenger instead.

The reality is, however, that I’m regularly asked to trade seats.  And occasionally I’m NOT asked.  That usually makes a difference in how I will respond.

The rules of engagement

If you want to trade seats on the plane, there are a few basic rules of the road:

1. Like for like:  You are more likely to be successful if you are asking to swap for something that is like what the other passenger already has so they aren’t giving up anything in the process (i.e. legroom, a view, easy lavatory access, etc.).  Some examples of this:
   • Bulkhead-bulkhead
   • Nonbulkhead-nonbulkhead
   • Window-window
   • Aisle-aisle
   • Exit-exit
   • Front of plane-front of plane
2. Trade up:  If you can’t trade like for like, then be willing to trade up.  Don’t ask someone to move to a crappier seat to help you out.  You are getting the benefit of sitting with your companion so that means YOU give up the exit row or end up taking a middle to get what you want.  Sorry… that’s fair trade.
3. Shift benefits: If special privileges came with that seat (earlier meal ordering, free drinks, whatever), make certain that the flight attendant knows when you trade seats so that neither party loses out on those benefits.
4. Don’t be ridiculous unless there is compensation involved: Believe it or not, I’ve actually seen people ask someone in business class if they’d be willing to give up their seat and go to coach so their partner could move up.  If you are going to do that, you’d better be willing to pony up some cash.  (And yes, I’ve actually seen that go down on a plane too… I once saw a guy pay a teenager $400 onboard to move to coach so his wife could move up to business on a flight to Europe.)
5. Don’t be presumptive: Don’t assume someone is going to swap with you before the deal is done.  Nothing is worse than boarding and finding someone already settled into your seat.  That often makes my decision for me.  It’s generally not in favor of the person requesting the swap.  Stay politely out of the way until they agree to the move.  If you need to stand, do so as unobtrusively as possible.  But do not stow your belongings or use any of the seat amenities.
6. Don’t be a jerk:  If a passenger won’t make the swap for whatever reason, don’t be a jerk about it.  Don’t talk over them for the duration of the flight or be disruptive.  They may have a valid reason for not moving.  For example, I once refused to give up my aisle seat because my stomach was queasy.  I didn’t want to be locked into a window seat during a meal service! I also once witnessed two individuals trying to guilt trip a Federal Air Marshall for not switching seats.  And I’ve never heard of an otherwise solid relationship not surviving a seat separation on a flight.

What is your opinion on this topic?  Will you trade seats on an airplane?

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