Unwritten rules (until now)...let's talk about 'em

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Okay, here is DBB's guide to switching seats on an airplane:

1) You may not ask someone to switch their seat for a worse one. I don't care that you want to sit next to your friend/lover/kid/whatever.

2) You may ask someone to switch their seat for a better one.

3) If two seats are possibly equivalent, but it depends on personal preference, you may ask once, but you must back off after a single polite decline. For example, if you want to switch an aisle for a window or vice-versa, this is okay, because it is debatable which is a "better" seat, but the askee has the right to say no.

4) The better/worse calculation takes into consideration not just aisle/middle/window, but also proximity to lav (ew), row number (front is generally better), bulkheads, etc. The askee is entitled to decline for any/all of these reasons.

5) In the event that you and your kid are in far apart shitty seats, you may violate rule #1, but you should acknowledge that you are asking someone for a big favor, and offer to buy them a drink or something in return. Again, however, the askee is entitled to say no.

[BraveMaroon]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Okay, here is DBB's guide to switching seats on an airplane:

5) In the event that you and your kid are in far apart shitty seats, you may violate rule #1, but you should acknowledge that you are asking someone for a big favor, and offer to buy them a drink or something in return. Again, however, the askee is entitled to say no.

This happens on at least one flight a month that I'm on.

Now, if it's Southwest and people are just being douchey, that's one thing, but if you're on an airline that ASSIGNS SEATS (ie; the vast majority of all airlines), you generally know you're hosed as you're buying the tickets. That's when you call the airline and get them to try and help.

We had a woman very passive-aggressively asking no one in particular, "Ok, sooooo....who's gonna help me so me and my kids can sit together?" on a flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis. She had two middles and a window. She ended up in a middle one row ahead of her two young kids who took middle and window. Understandably, nobody was willing to budge on a five hour flight. The aisle guy on her row had the added bonus of just having had shoulder surgery and was trying to be as still as possible. I question his choice of not picking window, but what do I know?

Anyway, I was sitting on the other side of the plane in my aisle seat, so even if I'd have been willing to move, it wouldn't have helped. Also, I ended up sitting next to a guy who stank, so it's not like I had a luxury ride.

I travel 70% of the time for work. Your rules are SPOT ON.