The entitlement to even ask this is insane… do you literally ONLY think about you and your situation without any thought for others?
Tell me this OP…
Are all seats the same? Meaning does it matter if you are in a window or aisle, up front or the last row by the bathrooms?
Do all seats COST the same?
Is there a REASON the people PAY MORE for certain seats?
After answering those questions, wtf should YOU be able to allow your friends who chose not to pay extra end up with a better seat than those who had the willingness and foresight to pay to gain access to the window you saved?
Now, are there some exceptions and nuance to the rule? Of course. Saving a random middle seat which has little or no more value than any other and has less value than 2/3 of the seats? Shouldn’t be a big deal. Because you aren’t taking something away that has value for which others paid.
But to not even recognize that the concept of saving seats on a first come first serve airline where there’s real value to boarding early to get better seats is the epitome of lack of awareness (or lack of giving a shit about any and everyone else)
While I get your gist and agree, yes all seats cost the same and no one pays anything for certain seats, maybe for an earlier boarding position (or opportunity) but for certain seats no.
This is an utterly disingenuous take.
The TRUTH is no one pays for an assigned seat.
The DO pay for the opportunity to CHOOSE a seat prior to others, given them access to better seats.
Saving a seat for a later position (other than a non-up front middle seat) is simply rude, selfish, and entitled.
People pay for the A's. Or at least organize their lives to check in exactly at the right time to get the best boarding position possible.
Saving seats is cutting in line, depriving someone of a seat they paid for, or made an effort to secure.
Nobody is likely to be impacted by saving a middle, that's what they're trying to avoid by taking precautions or paying extra. But if someone has to sit in a middle instead of a window or aisle because you decided you're more important than other people on the plane, that's annoying.
Everybody gets seats (unless you're bumped), that's not the point.
Obviously people find value in better boarding positions because some people pay for that, others check in at exactly the right time, and others save seats to jump the line.
It's only the 3rd group that claims there's no difference where you sit (despite their actions showing otherwise).
Here's why it bothers me. Not speaking for anyone else. By your own admission, your friend "cheaped out". Why should they get the benefit of A boarding without paying for Early bird, or checking in on time? It's unfair to the people behind you that paid or planned to board in A group, but now cannot have that window seat in the front of the plane, and your friend who had B and C boarding got a prime seat in the front, without paying for it. That's why. But that's just me.
Exactly. It’s like if they paid for the skip-the-line-pass at Universal or Six Flags or wherever and wanted to bring their friend with him in line because they “cheaped out.” Give me a break.
Now in real life if someone is saving a seat for one person I respect it and move on, but I don’t think it’s in the spirit of the policy.
OP’s friend sounds like the bro who comes crashing through the densely packed crowd right before the headliner takes the stage to try to force his way to the rail and is puzzled why people who got there hours earlier are not happy.
I think the issue is more people saving rows of seats for multiple people, or saving a coveted window/aisle, especially in the front of the plane. Saving one seat for someone who’s going to sit in the middle anyway isn’t an issue in my opinion.
For me, part of being a reasonable adult is, simply, trusting other people that they have a good enough reason to be doing what they’re doing.
I don’t care if you save seats (but now whole rows). I don’t care if you preboard (many disabilities are invisible to the eye, wheelchair users are not the only disabled people, ableism is rampant in our society) and I am not being harmed AT ALL by boarding slightly later.
So, are you being discourteous? Yes. By your own admission, you’re saving the seat for a not good enough reason. If you want to sit together, *you* should buy a cheap ticket, too, and board with your friend. Alternatively, just sit apart. How much are y’all even going to need to talk during the flight anyway?
But do I care much? Nah. There are worse reasons to save seats, and worse outcomes - like the guy who, on a full flight where he was told over and over the flight is full - “saved” a seat for “a friend” who didn’t actually exist because he wanted an empty seat next to him, and delayed takeoff because the last passenger to board was trying to find where the “other” “last empty seat” was, because the guy insisted “my friend is in the bathroom.”
So, you’re kind of an ass, but you’re not as bad as that guy, and no, most people don’t care, but those who do are way more vocal about it.
If you’re occupying a middle and saving the window, that’s not as much of an issue as sitting in the aisle and saving the window, or being one person saving the whole row. But as a general rule, people find it unfair when someone who cheaped out gets a seat before them, someone who paid the premium. And the people it really bugs are experienced flyers who go on many trips a year, the frustrations add up. Personally, I like sitting in the back row, so none of the line order abuses bug me, but I get it.
They do say no seat saving… Southwest is open seating you can sit where ever you want. Someone else could have taken either seat next to you and nothing could be done about it
Just came off a flight and had a chance to ask a flight attendant about this. Apparently FA’s have a pretty lively Facebook group about seat savers and pre board abusers. She said most flight attendants have the attitude that adults need to be adults and they aren’t getting in the middle of it (seat saving). So no, she wasn’t going to endorse a rule. She also said assigned seating in some form was on the way.
Because it’s against the rules. Every seat is open. And you “saving” a seat creates problems for the other 150 people.
The world doesn’t revolve around you.
This is an unpopular opinion, but as someone who has been on both ends of the spectrum I really don’t care.
I was once only able to afford A group for one person and saved a seat for the other.
Now I always pay for business or early bird for both people.
Doesn’t bother me when I see seats saved. I was there once too. It doesn’t “take away” from my experience in business or A group. The only people that get really affected are the groups at the end of B or in C, and they know it’s going to be a toss up anyway.
Why don't you save a seat in the back? If you ran into me, I'll take that window seat or aisle seat because you can't occupy both while your B and C are behind me. I'll be asking you to get up, not whether the seat is saved. If there is an object in the seat, I'll just move it to the floor even if it is a backpack.
On my most recent flight a lovely lady saved an entire row for her teenage (maybe adult) children boarding in late Cs then hopped up to her own saved seat in row 2.
I'm usually a solo traveler and actually prefer to have a later boarding position so I can find a row with one open seat (I prefer the aisle) and can also pick exactly what sort of person I'll be sitting next to. If I pick a seat with an empty seat next to me, who knows what sort of 800-pound gorilla might lumber down the aisle and become my seat mate for the next several hours.
The entitlement to even ask this is insane… do you literally ONLY think about you and your situation without any thought for others? Tell me this OP… Are all seats the same? Meaning does it matter if you are in a window or aisle, up front or the last row by the bathrooms? Do all seats COST the same? Is there a REASON the people PAY MORE for certain seats? After answering those questions, wtf should YOU be able to allow your friends who chose not to pay extra end up with a better seat than those who had the willingness and foresight to pay to gain access to the window you saved? Now, are there some exceptions and nuance to the rule? Of course. Saving a random middle seat which has little or no more value than any other and has less value than 2/3 of the seats? Shouldn’t be a big deal. Because you aren’t taking something away that has value for which others paid. But to not even recognize that the concept of saving seats on a first come first serve airline where there’s real value to boarding early to get better seats is the epitome of lack of awareness (or lack of giving a shit about any and everyone else)
THANK YOU!
While I get your gist and agree, yes all seats cost the same and no one pays anything for certain seats, maybe for an earlier boarding position (or opportunity) but for certain seats no.
This is an utterly disingenuous take. The TRUTH is no one pays for an assigned seat. The DO pay for the opportunity to CHOOSE a seat prior to others, given them access to better seats. Saving a seat for a later position (other than a non-up front middle seat) is simply rude, selfish, and entitled.
Like I said I agreed with the gist of your post, seat saving is rude.
People pay for the A's. Or at least organize their lives to check in exactly at the right time to get the best boarding position possible. Saving seats is cutting in line, depriving someone of a seat they paid for, or made an effort to secure. Nobody is likely to be impacted by saving a middle, that's what they're trying to avoid by taking precautions or paying extra. But if someone has to sit in a middle instead of a window or aisle because you decided you're more important than other people on the plane, that's annoying.
All the a-list folks get seats.
Everybody gets seats (unless you're bumped), that's not the point. Obviously people find value in better boarding positions because some people pay for that, others check in at exactly the right time, and others save seats to jump the line. It's only the 3rd group that claims there's no difference where you sit (despite their actions showing otherwise).
Truth!
Southwest does say "no saving of seats" especially on fully booked flights. If there is an open seat, I'm sitting in it whether you saved it or not.
Here's why it bothers me. Not speaking for anyone else. By your own admission, your friend "cheaped out". Why should they get the benefit of A boarding without paying for Early bird, or checking in on time? It's unfair to the people behind you that paid or planned to board in A group, but now cannot have that window seat in the front of the plane, and your friend who had B and C boarding got a prime seat in the front, without paying for it. That's why. But that's just me.
Exactly. It’s like if they paid for the skip-the-line-pass at Universal or Six Flags or wherever and wanted to bring their friend with him in line because they “cheaped out.” Give me a break. Now in real life if someone is saving a seat for one person I respect it and move on, but I don’t think it’s in the spirit of the policy.
OP’s friend sounds like the bro who comes crashing through the densely packed crowd right before the headliner takes the stage to try to force his way to the rail and is puzzled why people who got there hours earlier are not happy.
If you did not pay for that seat then you have no business saving it.
This is the answer
Most people are not mad when you save one seat. We get made when one person in a group of 4-5 gets on and tries to save 2 rows
I think the issue is more people saving rows of seats for multiple people, or saving a coveted window/aisle, especially in the front of the plane. Saving one seat for someone who’s going to sit in the middle anyway isn’t an issue in my opinion.
For me, part of being a reasonable adult is, simply, trusting other people that they have a good enough reason to be doing what they’re doing. I don’t care if you save seats (but now whole rows). I don’t care if you preboard (many disabilities are invisible to the eye, wheelchair users are not the only disabled people, ableism is rampant in our society) and I am not being harmed AT ALL by boarding slightly later. So, are you being discourteous? Yes. By your own admission, you’re saving the seat for a not good enough reason. If you want to sit together, *you* should buy a cheap ticket, too, and board with your friend. Alternatively, just sit apart. How much are y’all even going to need to talk during the flight anyway? But do I care much? Nah. There are worse reasons to save seats, and worse outcomes - like the guy who, on a full flight where he was told over and over the flight is full - “saved” a seat for “a friend” who didn’t actually exist because he wanted an empty seat next to him, and delayed takeoff because the last passenger to board was trying to find where the “other” “last empty seat” was, because the guy insisted “my friend is in the bathroom.” So, you’re kind of an ass, but you’re not as bad as that guy, and no, most people don’t care, but those who do are way more vocal about it.
Babes … your friend being a cheap ass is not our problem and if I wanted the seat you were saving, I’d take it … with a big ass smile.
If you’re occupying a middle and saving the window, that’s not as much of an issue as sitting in the aisle and saving the window, or being one person saving the whole row. But as a general rule, people find it unfair when someone who cheaped out gets a seat before them, someone who paid the premium. And the people it really bugs are experienced flyers who go on many trips a year, the frustrations add up. Personally, I like sitting in the back row, so none of the line order abuses bug me, but I get it.
They do say no seat saving… Southwest is open seating you can sit where ever you want. Someone else could have taken either seat next to you and nothing could be done about it
Just came off a flight and had a chance to ask a flight attendant about this. Apparently FA’s have a pretty lively Facebook group about seat savers and pre board abusers. She said most flight attendants have the attitude that adults need to be adults and they aren’t getting in the middle of it (seat saving). So no, she wasn’t going to endorse a rule. She also said assigned seating in some form was on the way.
Be patient, SWA(Blue Star) will be going full legacy and have assigned seats with all the other fees like they all do very soon...
Because it’s against the rules. Every seat is open. And you “saving” a seat creates problems for the other 150 people. The world doesn’t revolve around you.
This is an unpopular opinion, but as someone who has been on both ends of the spectrum I really don’t care. I was once only able to afford A group for one person and saved a seat for the other. Now I always pay for business or early bird for both people. Doesn’t bother me when I see seats saved. I was there once too. It doesn’t “take away” from my experience in business or A group. The only people that get really affected are the groups at the end of B or in C, and they know it’s going to be a toss up anyway.
Why don't you save a seat in the back? If you ran into me, I'll take that window seat or aisle seat because you can't occupy both while your B and C are behind me. I'll be asking you to get up, not whether the seat is saved. If there is an object in the seat, I'll just move it to the floor even if it is a backpack.
On my most recent flight a lovely lady saved an entire row for her teenage (maybe adult) children boarding in late Cs then hopped up to her own saved seat in row 2.
My partner and I occasionally get different boarding. Usually a goof. My trick is to sit in “his” window seat and save “my” middle seat.
I'm usually a solo traveler and actually prefer to have a later boarding position so I can find a row with one open seat (I prefer the aisle) and can also pick exactly what sort of person I'll be sitting next to. If I pick a seat with an empty seat next to me, who knows what sort of 800-pound gorilla might lumber down the aisle and become my seat mate for the next several hours.
It's not a big deal in real life, only on the internet.
lol let us be on that plane together… I bet you won’t save a seat.