# Airline selling empty, paid-for, seat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408 "2017-07-16T16:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/21 "2017-07-16T18:37:38Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > I believe what Ms Coulter paid for is a seat with extra legroom, not a second seat that she wished to leave empty so as not to have another passenger sit next to her. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I feel like there are important facts that are still unclear. Did she pay for two seats and they gave away one? Did she pay for an extra-space seat and get bumped to a regular seat? Something else? On re-reading, it looks like **Iggy** is correct, and I am wrong. I read it as Coulter having bought an extra seat so she would have extra room, but on re-read it looks like she bought a single seat with extra legroom. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/22 "2017-07-16T18:55:49Z")
From the linked article: > [@](#): > > Coulter claimed she was upset over the alleged seat change because she took the time to “investigate” Delta’s aircraft and meticulously chose her “pre-booked seat.” She pointed fingers at the female passenger in the above photo, claiming that she had “waltz[ed] at the last min” and took her seat. So it sounds like she went on [seatguru.com](http://seatguru.com) and found the seat with the most legroom and selected it. In the article is a photo of the woman who she says took her seat. And indeed it appears to be an emergency exit row seat. The seat next to her is occupied, so obviously it’s not an extra seat Ann Coulter purchased next to her own. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/23 "2017-07-16T18:57:46Z")
The ticket is a contract to transport the purchaser or an object, accordion, package etc. Coulter bought a second ticket but nothing showed up to occupy the space. Had she arranged for something else to be transported and placed it in the seat she would have an argument. Of course if it was just the airline extortion for leg room she has no argument. Crane ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/24 "2017-07-16T18:58:36Z")
nm, forgot what forum we were in. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/25 "2017-07-16T19:03:32Z")
Colibri, Yeah, sorry. Crane ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/26 "2017-07-16T19:04:07Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > The ticket is a contract to transport the purchaser or an object, accordion, package etc. Coulter bought a second ticket but nothing showed up to occupy the space. Had she arranged for something else to be transported and placed it in the seat she would have an argument. > > Of course if it was just the airline extortion for leg room she has no argument. > > Crane As I understand it she purchased a seat that had more room (like one can pick the seat just behind 1st class for more $). I believe this was the case, not that she purchased an extra seat. Note to mod: Sorry about that! ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/27 "2017-07-16T19:08:20Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > The ticket is a contract to transport the purchaser or an object, accordion, package etc. Coulter bought a second ticket but nothing showed up to occupy the space. Had she arranged for something else to be transported and placed it in the seat she would have an argument. > > Of course if it was just the airline extortion for leg room she has no argument. > > Crane _If_ she had bought a second seat it would be simple to present cabin baggage to occupy that seat. Have the gate agent scan both boarding passes and place her purse or other hand baggage in the second seat and secure it with a seat belt. Requirement met. It is so trivially easy that it seems unlikely that Delta is claiming her cabin baggage did not show up. But it appears that Coulter likely purchased a single Delta Comfort+ seat and made a seat reservation. So long as Delta provided her a Comfort+ seat then they did their part even if it was not the exact seat Coulter chose when she made her seat assignment. It seems she is complaining that her seat assignment was changed. Much ado about nothing unless she did not get a Comfort+ seat. She did have a reasonable expectation of getting a seat in the class of service she paid for. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/28 "2017-07-16T19:10:07Z")
> [@Hocus\_Pocus](#): > > As I understand it she purchased a seat that had more room (like one can pick the seat just behind 1st class for more $). I believe this was the case, not that she purchased an extra seat. If you mean the “Comfort+” seat that cost slightly more than economy class - I don’t think she even did that. If she’d paid for an upgrade to Comfort+ and got bumped back to regular economy without receiving a refund, she has a legitimate complaint. But I think in this case she simply chose an emergency exit row seat which costs the same as any other economy seat. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/29 "2017-07-16T19:22:59Z")
As others have noted, it does indeed look like she did just have one seat in a space with extra legroom and was moved to a regular spot. Delta makes it pretty clear that all they do is try they’re very hardest to get you to your destination, but that’s kinda it. They go on to say that your seat assignment is subject to change and not part of any contract you have with them. So, based on that, she’s got nuthin. They may do something for her out of goodwill, but I think they shouldn’t because she’s being a brat. As for why, if I had to take a guess, maybe gate people didn’t know why or even that she requested that specific seat so they moved her to another single seat to put the girl with her family (assuming that was her family next to her). ---
**Author:** ![Hocus\_Pocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/41988e/32.png) [@Hocus\_Pocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hocus_Pocus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/30 "2017-07-16T19:24:18Z")
> **[Preferred Seating](https://pro.delta.com/content/agency/us/en/policy-library/seat-programs/preferred-seating.html)** > > Delta allows you to offer our most valued customers preferential advance seat assignments. This service is called Preferred Seating ( ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/31 "2017-07-16T19:26:39Z")
A friend of mine broke her knee while out of the country. She went to the airport for her return flight in a cast and said she wanted an aisle seat because she couldn’t bend her knee. They made her buy an extra seat before they let her on the flight, which was not full. But then, when she boarded, the extra seat they made her buy, at full price, wasn’t even next to her. It wasn’t even in the same row. Although as far as she knew, that seat did remain empty for the flight. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/32 "2017-07-16T19:55:18Z")
I was asked to move recently, to accommodate a family with a small child. I had paid for “comfort plus”, or the equivalent on whatever airline it was. They first tried to move me to the bulk head, and I objected, since I wanted ready access to cabin baggage. Then they offered me an emergency exit row seat, which I accepted. Despite having as much legroom as the seat I purchased, they refunded the extra fee for a larger seat. They didn’t tell me they would do that, it just showed up as a credit card credit. I had no complaints. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/33 "2017-07-16T21:52:14Z")
There’s occasional stories in the news about heavy folk buying tickets for two seats and having the extra one given to someone else, resulting in a very uncomfortable flight. Since these stories make the news, the person has clearly made a squawk about it. It’s not just political commentators that get unhappy about this. It would seem to me that as long as the seat is paid for, the airline should usually be okay with it. But there might be other issues such as passengers from canceled flights whose needs outweigh the comfort of others. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/34 "2017-07-16T22:10:24Z")
I’m having trouble understanding why the airline moved Coulter. She says that they moved her and gave her booked seat to another passenger (apparently a woman who doesn’t appear to be very big). Why didn’t they just put that women in the seat they moved Coulter to and leave Coulter alone? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/35 "2017-07-16T22:20:43Z")
You know what’s interesting? Google “ann coulter flight attendants” and check out the wildly varying headlines on different sites. Washington Post-“Ann Coulter’s tirade after she had to switch seats on a Delta flight” The Blaze-“Ann Coulter obliterates Delta Airlines in viral tweet-storm after being booted from seat” Forbes-“Ann Coulter Angered by Request To Change Seats…” Washington Post-“Delta allegedly boots Ann Coulter from reserved seat” Fox News-“Delta allegedly boots Ann Coulter from reserved seat” (Apparently Fox doesn’t write their own headlines) AVClub-“Ann Coulter cruelly inconvenienced after Delta asks her to switch” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/36 "2017-07-16T22:30:17Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I’m having trouble understanding why the airline moved Coulter. She says that they moved her and gave her booked seat to another passenger (apparently a woman who doesn’t appear to be very big). Why didn’t they just put that women in the seat they moved Coulter to and leave Coulter alone? Possibly to keep her with a traveling companion, although since children, and people with the kind of special needs that would require a companion aren’t allowed to sit in the exit rows, it would be for that person’s pleasure, not her needs. It wouldn’t be because she needed extra legroom for an injured leg or something, because people with injuries can’t be in the exit row either. I recently flew with my son, and I wanted to make sure we flew together. I had to book several months in advance (non-refundable), and pay extra for guaranteed seating. He is not a small child, but he is still a minor, and if he were traveling alone would need special arrangements, so I didn’t think I was out of line. He had flown before, but not since he was a toddler, and didn’t remember ever having flown, and was a little nervous. It was worth the extra money not to worry about him. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/37 "2017-07-16T22:47:07Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > You know what’s interesting? Google “ann coulter flight attendants” and check out the wildly varying headlines on different sites. > Washington Post-“Ann Coulter’s tirade after she had to switch seats on a Delta flight” > The Blaze-“Ann Coulter obliterates Delta Airlines in viral tweet-storm after being booted from seat” > Forbes-“Ann Coulter Angered by Request To Change Seats…” > Washington Post-“Delta allegedly boots Ann Coulter from reserved seat” > Fox News-“Delta allegedly boots Ann Coulter from reserved seat” > (Apparently Fox doesn’t write their own headlines) > AVClub-“Ann Coulter cruelly inconvenienced after Delta asks her to switch” **Moderating** Again, let’s keep this thread about airline policy and not about Coulter or politics. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/38 "2017-07-16T23:01:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderating** > > Again, let’s keep this thread about airline policy and not about Coulter or politics. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Sorry. I actually wasn’t thinking of the politics. Just amused at the difference in headlines. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/39 "2017-07-17T01:36:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Sorry. I actually wasn’t thinking of the politics. Just amused at the difference in headlines. Horseshit, you clearly made a political jab at Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408/40 "2017-07-17T01:45:34Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Horseshit, you clearly made a political jab at Fox News. Editorial. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-selling-empty-paid-for-seat/791408.md?page=3)