You are finally on board your flight and settling in when someone asks you to swap seats. Some people would be happy to do so, while others are not going to entertain the notion.
Considering the fact everyone can select seats from the time they book through to check-in, you would think being asked for a swap on board would be a rare occurrence. It is, but it still happens.
Seat Swap Stories
One time I was travelling on standby on a staff ticket. We were finally cleared, but as the flight was quite full my travel companion and I were seated separately. He asked the girl beside him if she’d swap with me and she happily did so, which was really nice.
There are stories online such as the one where a father and daughter arrived at the end of boarding. The person beside the daughter in business class was asked if he would swap and it ended up that the swap was into the father’s first class seat. Now that’s a swap I’d like!
Seats on the upper deck of the Boeing 747 are more coveted than those on the main deck. Having one half of a couple wanting to move upstairs to sit with the other and displacing the real occupant downstairs is likely to get a negative answer.
Overall Thoughts
What’s your opinion on a seat swap? I would do it if it was like for like. For example, if I had a window seat and it was another window in the same cabin, I’d be pretty fine with moving. For something like a window or aisle to a middle seat, I’d probably say no.
I’d certainly be more inclined to move if I was asked nicely. Being blatantly lied to or commanded to move by another passenger would make me dig in and stick to my guns. Considering how much thought I put into selecting my seats, I’m usually quite glad not to be asked.
What do you think? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!
Happened to me only once. I was connecting in Sydney on a Qantas flight to LAX. But because I was on Westjet flight, Qantas would not let me select a seat ahead of time and pay the fee. When I arrived in Sydney Airport and checked the seats available….only 3 left….all middle seats. Went to the service counter and they showed the same 3 seats…and they assigned me one of them. The only benefit was that I did not have to pay the $50 fee. It turns out my seat was not only in the middle seat in the center… Read more »
You make a good point there, sometimes on certain connecting tickets, you actually can’t select a seat online. You really lucked out on that Los Angeles flight – I think you went from possibly having a terrible flight to having a pretty decent one. Fantastic the kids were well behaved too – that can sometimes be a real fly in the ointment on a long haul. Thanks for the comment, great story!!
People should be smarter when asking to switch seats. For example, try to get a rear aisle and a front middle. You will likely find someone in the middle seat next to the rear aisle who gladly wants a front middle. The old Virgin America planes flying for Alaska have chat. So does Jet Blue, I think. People traveling together can chat with each other even if seated far apart. Some people have free text messaging on certain airlines and phone companies. I think Alaska + T-Mobile is one of them. Sit apart and chat. With texts, they can talk… Read more »
Hahaha! Rock and roll all the way! Loved that 🙂 You make a good point there of course – it would make perfect sense if people are offered to swap into something better. You’d be hard pressed to find someone saying no in that situation, I expect. I’ve not been on a flight with a chat feature from memory, but I wouldn’t generally notice it as I usually travel on my own. Thanks for the comment!
I’ve swapped seats many times. It is a function of who is asking and the length of the flight. If it is a younger kid trying to sit with a family member (parent – child, young siblings, etc) I will almost always switch. Granted, i haven’t been asked on a really, really long haul, but if looked like it would really help a family I probably still be willing to swap.
I agree, you do need to take into account the other factors and with kids, I’d be very amenable to moving if they were split up. I’ve not been asked on a long haul though – that would depend. Thanks for the comment!
I will usually move if reasonable !!
Yes, reasonable is the key word I think. Thanks for the comment!
At the risk of sounding like a selfish curmudgeon, I would only swap seats for those who :
1. Are either kids with parents or older couples
2. Someone with a disability.
3. They ask nicely
If you dont ask nicely, you can go cry
Hahaha! I don’t think it’s selfish at all – if I’m not asked nicely about anything, I generally am reluctant to do it just because of the manner in which I’ve been asked. Totally understand you there! Thanks for the comment!
I’ve switched more than once. Sometimes to sit next to child, which I truly enjoy!
Well, there’s nothing wrong at all with switching if you’re happy to do it, of course. Thanks for the comment!
I have never been asked to switch in business class. If I was asked, it would depend on the airline and the seat. BA’s club world can be a disaster if you get the wrong seat. I would decline on bA.
Yes, I wouldn’t want to be sitting in the middle seats facing backwards in Club World, that’s for sure! It’s definitely a cabin where seat selection nice and early is vital. Thanks for the comment!
Nope. I have actually offered better seats to people so I don’t need to bother them by stepping over them or if a person annoys me but I book way in advance and anyone who needs a whole row or seats together needs to plan ahead. Or ask at the gate so the mover can be conped. (Unless there aren’t assigned seats) but again they should fork out for priority boarding. I was asked to give up my window on a short flight of an hour so a whole family could have 1 row instead of having 1 member in… Read more »
I wouldn’t have moved for that reason – if one member of the family is literally arms length away across the aisle, I would have stayed in my seat too. There’s no reason to move there! Very true, anyone who needs to have seats together should arrange this beforehand. It’s not like they don’t know they’re going to be travelling anyway! Thanks for the comment.
That’s actually the type of comment I was referring to. It sometimes *is* exactly like they didn’t know they were going to be traveling.
Exactly! I hear you on that!
On a recent AA domestic flight, a woman with a baby who was in a middle seat wanted to sit next to baby’s grandmother who was in a middle seat in a different row, so the two of them could take care of the baby. Any switch meant that someone in an aisle or window seat had to take the middle seat that the woman and the baby had or the one that the grandmother had. The flight attendant asked the customers in the row that the grandmother was in to switch. No one in that row was willing to… Read more »
That’s really good of you to do the right thing. I’m sure everyone was very grateful! The fact that the flight attendant rewarded you for your gesture is really lovely too. I can understand the other passengers not wanting to move, but not moving to help out a mother and baby is a bit tough. Great story – thanks for the comment!
I’ve had people offer to trade when my wife and I were seated apart. I think that any exchange that works out even or better for the person being helpful is fine.
Oh offering is the best of all really and it shows how nice people can actually be! Thanks for that comment, a really good point. People can be proactive and make an offer!
Yes, right. I have offered few times a seat for people apparently travelling together. Once I get an answer from an older couple that they enjoy their seating apart for that short flight home after ftravelling back from Europe to US 🙂
Hahaha! Sometimes it might be nice if you’ve been “stuck” with the same person for a couple of weeks on holidays. I love it 🙂
I’ve only been asked once in all the flights I’ve taken to swap seats. It was an older couple who asked rather nicely if I wouldn’t mind switching so they could sit together and it was a short (2hr) flight so I had no issues with it. I probably wouldn’t have any problems switching in any short haul situation, long as it was a similar seat to what I’m giving up. (aisle/window, cabin class). On long haul, I pick aisle seats for ease of standing up and going to the lav so unless the new seat is an aisle too,… Read more »
Yes, I think people who ask nicely will usually have a better chance than anyone else of getting the swap. I’m the same as you – I always choose aisle for long haul as I like to get up and down whenever I like. I’d be hard pressed to swap to a window on a 12 hour flight. Though I imagine if someone paid me I could be swayed 😉 Thanks for the comment!
Like for like, I really don’t mind. Sometimes, though, it’s not like for like and it’s unavoidable. Coming back from my Dad’s funeral (and therefore, short notice booking), my wife and preschooler had the middle and window seat, while I and the infant had the middle seat immediately behind them. My wife asked the guy in the aisle seat if he would switch with me. He looked decidedly unhappy, which I totally get. His alternative was having a baby passing back and forth over the seat, though. On the flight out, my son was assigned a seat a couple rows… Read more »
You are completely correct – when it comes to close in booking that people have had to make for one reason or another, the chances are that you’re not going to be able to have everyone sitting together. I imagine most people would switch instead of having to entertain a three year old on a transcon! 🙂 I think it’s a good strategy to select a decent seat for the outlier, as people would generally be happy to trade to something that isn’t crappy. Thanks for the comment, enjoyed the points you made there!
This comment bothers me a lot. I do not have kids to travel with but being told “either you switch or you babysit my kid” annoys me. I’m not going to do either if it’s proposed that way as it was once to me. A woman had done basic economy for a party of 12 with 7 or 8 being kids under 8 and announced, “either people are going to have to move or you’ll be babysitting our children.” I found that horribly rude and it made me mad because I paid to choose a seat. She was banking on… Read more »
I agree – that party of 12 sounds like a nightmare of epic proportions! Not the best flight ever from the sounds of it. People should ask the crew in the first instance, I would think. Usually they then ask people who might be amenable for it and they’re also the best bet to make sure someone is swapping into a better seat. Thanks for the comment!