United Airlines Passengers Clash Over Moving To Empty Economy Seats

making this a safety issue is indeed ridiculous, but it is exactly the culture that US airlines have bred by proclaiming that FAs are "primarily here for your safety" and making every FA whim a safety issue.

it really should not have been hard to predict that passengers will take their cue from the airlines accordingly, and decide that their whims are all safety issues too!

You’re giving the first passenger too much benefit of the doubt. This isn’t a case of them not understanding, they clearly stated why they couldn’t move. They understand perfectly well; they just don’t like the answer. Happens all the time.....
The second passenger is correct. Depending on the aircraft, Some airlines limit how many upgrades can be accommodated due to weight and balance constraints. That said, the crew isn’t responsible for policing the cabin to ensure every single person is in their exact assigned seat.

Is there a United policy that allow or disallows seat changes, e.g. within the same paid seat category? I am not referring to moving to an extra legroom seat, simply moving into a less busy row or moving from a middle to an aisle seat if such is available.

I was on a UA flight from MIA to SFO. I got the exit row to myself due to Ua silver status. The exit row ahead of me only had 1 guy in the aisle. But we each had entire rows.

There was a few behind us that moved when the door closed. It was across from me and ahead of me. Still empty beside each of us. Then a few more went to the aisle across from him and then behind him. So 4 people moved. Including all thier stuff.

Now i wasn’t going to do or say anything because i still had my space and lets just say i could be accused of baseless identity politics if i did. So i let it be. I got it for free.

The other guy though turned them all in. The FA marched everyone of them back to thier middle seats. They protected and the FA was clear that they could pay the few to sit there (she even had the payment machine) …around 150 for the flight or move back.

Protests and insults to the FA about being cheap and nasty. But they all marched back to thier middle seats.

Im happy we didn’t have to get police involved.

Mads Campbell is entirely right. If I buy VIP access to an event and the area is half empty, I would feel entirely entitled to a refund if the organizers started allowing general admission ticket holders into the VIP.

Both sound like Karen's. At the end of the day you should expect to be seated in the seat you chose or were assigned with another passenger right next to you. If open seats are available then ask the cabin crew if it's ok to move.

A while back I was flying SFO to Tokyo in United economy and I was mentally prepared for a rough ten hours. I boarded in group two and took my window seat with the hope that my seatmate would be of reasonable size and clean. Amazingly nobody sat in my three seat block so I was delighted to have poor man's business. Before takeoff two women asked to move to the empty seats next to me. It was a little disappointing but I didn't feel like I had any right to complain or get bent out of shape. It ended up being a pretty pleasant flight

It's bizarre. Being able to move into an empty seat within the same cabin has always been normal apart from the likes of Ryanair etc (for obvious reasons). I consider it a default, except when crew makes an announcement that we should keep our assigned seats for weight and balance. There's a reason why those announcements are only made on select flight where pax distribution impacts performance and not on all flights. Never had a problem with that. But then again, my main and only requirement is as much privacy as possible so I only move if that gets me further away from other pax, not closer.

Moderately frequent United flier here, flying a lot of basic economy (unless I find a cheap cash upgrade):

I review the seatmap on the United app for empty rows (but not exit rows) immediately prior to boarding. If there is an empty row that I fancy, I board in group 2 (brandishing my Explorer Card, having already used my two United Club passes and two $50 hotel credits for rando positioning airport hotels [shout out Charlotte Red Roof Inn for $49]), and firmly and quietly sit down in my chosen empty row. I have done this dozens of times, and not been called out in it. I then relax, deploy my laptop on one tray table, my mouse on another tray table, and observe the jammed domestic first class cabin featuring bad food and free-flowing poison while I complete remunerative tasks.

Don't be a loudmouth and enjoy the friendly skies.

The only problem I have is when I have paid for a blocked seat next to me (or as a Star Gold have a courtesy block as is common on airlines like Ethiopian) and then another passenger tries to occupy the seat in violation of the service (or perk) that I am entitled to. Your entitlement to change seats ends where that seat is something I have either paid for or entitled to as a benefit of my frequent flyer status.

It is almost always American tourists on safari who try to do this to take over exit row seats that require payment to actually assign, and they are also the ones who invariably argue with the cabin crew as to how this is not fair. Fair has nothing to do with business. If you want it, buy it. You don't get to take what someone else has already paid for.

It's not an issue for me, as I'm nearly always in F/J. But my attitude is the following. Let's say I get my normal aisle seat and at takeoff the seat next to me is empty. Hey, I won the lottery! Now, if I have a winning lottery ticket and someone steals it, I'm p!$$ed, more for the act than the loss. It makes no difference if they think it is right. Well, stealing my extra space is wrong, too. If you get the great seat, you won the lottery and I won't take it from you. And, yes, I have no expectation of an empty seat or a winning lottery ticket.

The weight and balance argument from airline is bull. The calculations support occupying or not occupying every seat in the plane. I was pilot. Only in extreme circumstances of carrying heavy cargo aft is there ever a concern. The plane has measures to adjust for weight as it redistribute during flight, like burning fuel. SW airlines ran for years without seat assignments. What is the difference now? GREED Solution, don't say anything, just do it. Nobody will question.

There are two issues here and if they're separated it makes it clear as to "who is right" (or not).

2. Karen wrote the FAA, but the FAA doesn''t enforce W&B and CG calculations. The PIC does and he relies on company SOPs. Some airlines assume a "base weight" for all seats, so you can move without issue -- on larger aircraft. On a (smaller) Dash-8 with two pax, if they want to move from front left to aft right they should clear it with the flight deck.

It is unlikely the FAA has the mandate, time, or resources to review and airline's policies vis a vis W&B and CG envelopes, let alone do more than send Karen a "thank you for bringing this to our attention" F.O. canned response.

1. Pax asks a good question, and maybe (picture and Gary's analysis) there weren't 10 totally empty rows. Really it makes little difference. Once the door is closed and so long as the FSB light isn't illuminated there should be no restrictions on moving to similarly situated seats. It's "OBVIOUS" one can't self-ugrade to e.g. Polaris Suites, La Premiere, or even run of the mill domestic F, which is nothing as good as baggage hold on International carriers.

However, going from economy for midgets to economy for people who don't like being pretzels for 2-6 hrs, if an empty seat is there it costs the airline NOTHING to allow someone willing to get up, leave their oversized carryon many seats behind, and "be movin' on up" to that deluxe economy plus seat "in the sky-y-y."

Some may argue that the airlines disallow this to force people into purchasing those "premium" seats. Call it what you like but if there are 10 rows of it sitting empty perhaps bludgeoning the leggy pax in economy is not the answer.

SJ spoke well and this topic and I tried not to duplicate it. I'm hold an FAA commercial pilot certificate -- helicopters only -- but the regulations apply to all of us.

Last week I flew on an AA international flight, 772. Coach had 121 empty seats, with 21 non-rev on standby. The first several rows (MCE) were mostly empty. But they gave the non-rev's pretty much a row to each person. One guy in back section wanted to move to a bulk head - and finally an AA FA made him pay for it.

I hate it when I in extra row with empty middle and someone with a boarding group 9 bp - moves up to the middle seat. Now I believe AA will do something about it.

Imagine if people were not so damned entitled to things they didn’t pay for. Want an aisle or window seat? Pay for it. Want extra leg room? Pay for it. Want to sit next to your boyfriend? Book seats together, or endure the heartache of sitting apart for a couple hours. People need to grow up.

SJ - Any licensed pilot (including myself) will tell you that weight & balance in a plane is very much a real requirement.

During my 1K days with UA, I once complained to an FA when I was in a bulkhead seat and someone sat next to me in what was supposed to an empty seat (as per the seat map). The FA asked the errant passenger to go back to their assigned seat. I felt bad but it was a 14 hour flight.

I do not agree with your comment that the second passenger should not make a formal complaint (I assume that this is after an unsuccessful attempt to get the airline to reply).
I'm sure United contacted her personally to apologize for allowing other passengers to self-upgrade (not).
Getting any response these days usually requires a bit more at stake - like for other matters filing a small claims court action.

The most egregious move was on porter. SFO to YYZ….empty flight. Inwas flying the extra legroom seat. I was the only one in three rows. A guy comes from the back and sits across from me with no ear phones and blaring his phone. I politely ask to have ear phones. He says he doesn’t have any and that i can move to the back of the aircraft if im bothered. Ugh. I paid to sit here. You didnt. He said tough and he can move seats.

I march to the galley. Told the FAs. He is immediately escorted back to his seat and must have ear phones and they will watch him like a hawk. I got the evil eye. But if he was just polite and used phones i would have said nothing. I had the space beside me.

The problem is that if airline ok this and passengers know this, they'll compete for seats and move seats before the plane is even finish boarding. You know it will happen. And that will absolutely affect boarding time, overhead bin confusion especially on disembarking and increase fighting.
If it's just within the same class would basic economy be able to move to economy? Can you tell which empty seat is economy, basic preferred or plus?
I see this all the time even in first class outside the us where the middle seat is blocked and people from the back jump next to me even though the plane is not done boarding and the FA just says you shouldn't do that but don't really enforce it. I personally don't care. I paid for my seat and that's it. Don't care if you manage a better seat without paying the difference. More power to you. However, if you tell me if I pay for economy and can get econ+ during in-flight fight club then I'm in.