Quite a discussion going on in this thread that makes me want send folks to the pollin’ place.
The scenario:
A couple is booking a flight and choosing their own seats. They select the aisle and the window seats in a 3-seat row.
Their thinking:
If the flight is not fully booked, it is unlikely that anyone would select the middle seat between them. There is a small chance they would have the row to themselves.
If someone does book that middle seat, the couple would offer to switch with him or her, offering either the window or the aisle seat so the couple could sit together. The idea is that virtually anyone would prefer a window or aisle to the middle and would be happy to switch.
If the person declines the switch, everyone stays put and buckles their seat belts.
The question:
Is the couple being dickish in employing this strategy?
mmm
Isn’t another couple more likely to have to sit apart because of this, by producing an unnecessary amount of single seats? If three couples on the flight do it then I think that’s what’s ultimately happening.
Granted they knew when they booked, but they mightn’t have had to if others hadn’t done this little trick.
Really? I’m surprised you get enough flights that are not completely booked. It’s pretty rare for me to get on a flight where every seat isn’t completely filled. (Or at least it seems so. Used to be much more common 20 years ago, from my experience.)
This is really the key element of the strategy. If the person who booked the middle seat is interested in keeping it, for whatever reason, then the couple must graciously retain their assigned seats, without attempting to shame or annoy the person in the middle. That behavior would be dickish.
I’ve never been in this situation on an airplane, but as a single woman, I have been bullied into giving up my preferred seat at an event so that two people can sit together. Making me feel uncomfortable because I had the foresight to choose the seat I wanted is seriously dickish.
It still “works” because the guy in the shitty, I mean middle, seat is obviously going to trade with one of you. But I agree that in the many flights I’ve been on in the last few years, that’s what’ll happen, not a row to yourself. So in a full plane scenario this an obviously bad strategy as you don’t get to choose your preference- middle guy does.
Knowing the hacks is not being a dick. Being a dick would be if the couple loved the smell of strong onions, and rubbed them on themselves before every flight so their fellow passengers would move away if at all possible.
How so? The “hacking” couple is booking two seats (one each) in a 3-seat row. Regardless of which two seats in that row they choose, there’s still only one seat left for anyone else to take. They aren’t modifying the number of free seats in that row, they’re just hoping other people will only book the middle seat as a last resort and betting whoever does will be game to swap with one of them.
The same amount of single seats will happen if three couples grab any three pairs of seats, leaving one free in each of their rows, whether they “hack” or just choose the middle/aisle or middle/window they really want to begin with. Unless you’re against people booking seats together in general…
All things considered, I feel pretty neutral about it.
I read the original thread when it was posted and thought “dickish,” which is part of the reason I didn’t reply to that thread. It sounded to me to be a selfish thing to do. I’m not entirely sure why however. It’s bending the rules so you might get more space.
It’s not a totally horrendous thing, but it does show a lack of empathy for fellow humans.
When the 4 of us travel together we always book window, aisle, aisle, window with empties between. If it is a full flight, it just requires a single seat change to put the four of us together again and a huge upgrade for someone who thought they were stuck with a middle. Not dickish at all, good strategy and reward for an early booking.
It’s at most neutral to the couple. They could have picked together with an aisle seat or together with a window seat but now the middle guy gets to choose for them. Additionally, they could have chosen from the two seater row where they get both but lose their chance at free leg room.
It’s dickish, but only mildly so. You’re engaging in a deceptive maneuver to try to fool others into thinking your row is less desirable than it actually is, in order to benefit yourselves by hopefully persuading everyone to leave your row’s third seat empty. This deception is ‘justified’ by the assertion that anyone who calls your bluff will prefer to high-five you for your cleverness and swap for an end seat.
Myself, if I found myself shunted into your row due to lack of better options, I’d be tempted to just stay in the middle, aggressively shutting down efforts to talk over me. And yes, I’d take both armrests. (I’m a big guy; it’s basically unavoidable.)
(I never fly, though, so this will never come up for me.)
So “not dickish” seems to be winning. Would any of you actually tell middle guy honestly how you specifically planned this seat situation before you asked him to trade seats with one of your couple?
I think it’s much less dickish than what I’ve experienced twice before which is people flying together who took the seats and did not offer to switch with me. Okay, the second time wasn’t so bad, but the first time it happened, they talked to each other over me through the entire flight!