[nedliston]

Here's the email I submitted to USAirways for yesterday's flight:
I fly almost every week (often four or five flights a week) and experience all the normal inconveniences, but my experience on yesterday's flight was surprising for the raw aggression of the flight attendant. After everyone boarded and took their seats, I politely asked the flight attendant if I could move to a different available seat. She snapped, "No. We're still boarding." Not "I'm sorry" or "let's wait a few minutes and see" or some other human response. After they shut the doors (and after one more person boarded, though there were multiple available seats) she came down the aisle again and I asked again if it would be possible to relocate now that the flight was fully boarded. Now she had a different response: "Those are premium seats." (Well, weren't they premium seats the first time I asked? Clearly she had no interest in helping a customer or offering a decent explanation.) t was interested in the empty exit row just a few rows behind me. I said "but the seats are empty." She said "those are premium seats for a fee." I said, "Yes, I understand, but they are empty." I pointed out that the captain had just announced "if there's anything we can do to make your flight more enjoyable please ask." She made some vague threat about taking me to the gate agent. Clearly, since the doors were shut, it would disrupt the flight if she were to remove me from it. I understand that airlines charge more for different seats on the plane. I had chosen not to pay more, and would have fully accepted my current seat had the flight been full. I did not change seats without asking. I did not call her from other duties or in any way take her time or attention from more important duties. I was not intending to displace any paying travelers from the available seats. I simply asked if I could move a couple of rows to give myself more legroom and the passenger next to me more room as well, and her response was nasty, aggressive, and petty. It would have cost USAirways nothing to accommodate the simple request and would have made a number of us more comfortable but it was important to her that the better seats remain unoccupied and that she communicate her intention in the nastiest possible way. (By the way, there were two flight attendants, a petite blond and a brunette. The blond seemed nice though I didn't interact with her. The brunette was the nasty one.) Is it USAirways policy that customers cannot change seats even when there is no disruption or cost to UsAirways? Is it standard to hire nasty people who cannot empathize, be polite, or offer any plausible explanation for causing unnecessary discomfort? I was not trying to remove anyone else from a better seat, merely asking to use the one sitting empty (one of many empty "premium" seats). Everywhere else along my trip, at hotels and restaurants, everyone has been gracious and helpful and does their best to make my visit comfortable and enjoyable. But her attitude was pointless and nasty, saved USAirways zero money, and cost immeasurable goodwill. If it's policy to make sure the premium seats remain empty even after no one books them, that's a disgraceful way to treat your customers. Regardless, I will do my best to avoid flying USAirways ever again given the lack of training or management direction that allowed such a vicious person to interact with customers.

[alwaysflyin]

I suppose if you buy a cheap car with no options, the dealer should give you one that's loaded because one is just sitting in the lot? Putting passengers in open premium seats DOES cost money. If you know you can have one for free if open, people gamble instead of buying the seat when they make the reservation. You got the seat you paid for. If you want a premium seat, pay the premium fare.

[bilingual]

Originally Posted by nedliston

Here's the email I submitted to USAirways for yesterday's flight:
I fly almost every week (often four or five flights a week) and experience all the normal inconveniences, but my experience on yesterday's flight was surprising for the raw aggression of the flight attendant. After everyone boarded and took their seats, I politely asked the flight attendant if I could move to a different available seat. She snapped, "No. We're still boarding." Not "I'm sorry" or "let's wait a few minutes and see" or some other human response. After they shut the doors (and after one more person boarded, though there were multiple available seats) she came down the aisle again and I asked again if it would be possible to relocate now that the flight was fully boarded. Now she had a different response: "Those are premium seats." (Well, weren't they premium seats the first time I asked? Clearly she had no interest in helping a customer or offering a decent explanation.) t was interested in the empty exit row just a few rows behind me. I said "but the seats are empty." She said "those are premium seats for a fee." I said, "Yes, I understand, but they are empty." I pointed out that the captain had just announced "if there's anything we can do to make your flight more enjoyable please ask." She made some vague threat about taking me to the gate agent. Clearly, since the doors were shut, it would disrupt the flight if she were to remove me from it. I understand that airlines charge more for different seats on the plane. I had chosen not to pay more, and would have fully accepted my current seat had the flight been full. I did not change seats without asking. I did not call her from other duties or in any way take her time or attention from more important duties. I was not intending to displace any paying travelers from the available seats. I simply asked if I could move a couple of rows to give myself more legroom and the passenger next to me more room as well, and her response was nasty, aggressive, and petty. It would have cost USAirways nothing to accommodate the simple request and would have made a number of us more comfortable but it was important to her that the better seats remain unoccupied and that she communicate her intention in the nastiest possible way. (By the way, there were two flight attendants, a petite blond and a brunette. The blond seemed nice though I didn't interact with her. The brunette was the nasty one.) Is it USAirways policy that customers cannot change seats even when there is no disruption or cost to UsAirways? Is it standard to hire nasty people who cannot empathize, be polite, or offer any plausible explanation for causing unnecessary discomfort? I was not trying to remove anyone else from a better seat, merely asking to use the one sitting empty (one of many empty "premium" seats). Everywhere else along my trip, at hotels and restaurants, everyone has been gracious and helpful and does their best to make my visit comfortable and enjoyable. But her attitude was pointless and nasty, saved USAirways zero money, and cost immeasurable goodwill. If it's policy to make sure the premium seats remain empty even after no one books them, that's a disgraceful way to treat your customers. Regardless, I will do my best to avoid flying USAirways ever again given the lack of training or management direction that allowed such a vicious person to interact with customers.

A lot of airlines are charging for premium seats which includes emergency exit seats, if seat comfort was your primary concern, you could have offered to pay a surcharge for sitting in the emergency exit.
So if business class was neither full , you think you have the full right to switch seats?

[Burgers]

You claim you fly up to 4 or 5 flights a week (I have doubts) you should have status and thus free upgrades. I fly once a week, add in a few times a year for leisure and I easily have status. I get free upgrades and that would be the case with every major carrier.
Protecting premium seats from seat poaching is effective yield management and I don't blame any company and its employees for doing so.