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How much do you ask for when a couple request that you swap seats so they can sit together?
Last time I was asked, I pointed out that I’d paid £80 for my extra legroom seat, and I’d move if they paid me the cost. Harrumphing, refusal to pay me, and a lurking sour faced husband the entire flight from Boston.
A colleague tells me that, whilst he didn’t pay extra for his seat, he managed $250 to swap economy aisle for economy centre middle on BA just before Christmas. Payment was under protest and the cash was thrown at him.
What’s a fair and reasonable amount to swap to a less satisfactory seat?
None? Either swap willingly or don’t swap.
Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of expecting money to swap seats seems distasteful. Although that said, fair enough if you’ve paid for a specific seat you should be reimbursed (but why would you agree to swap if you specifically wanted that seat?). But per your second example, if I’ve understood it correctly, that just feels wrong, and I can see why the cash was thrown at him. But as I say, maybe it’s just me 😉
Is this a thing? I’ve never heard of anyone paying other passengers to swap seats. Isnt that the point of paid seat reservation in the first place ie to get your preferred choice?That said if you’ve paid to reserve a specific seat I guess that it’s right you get reimbursed that cost although in that case why would you agree to change unless it was for a better one?
When a swap is done appropriately, payment shouldn’t need to be involved.
Why? Because the rule should be that the person wanting to swap offers up a more attractive seat.
The most outrageous / funny request that happened to me was when I was in BA CW. I arrived at my seat to find a man already there. His female companion claimed they were on their honeymoon and asked if I would swap with him.
I was going to agree until I saw that his original seat was in WTP! Whereupon I said if they really wanted to sit together, I would bet them that the passenger next to the husband’s original seat would gladly take the wife’s CW seat.
It seemed that they genuinely didn’t consider that, because they both disappeared off to WTP and another man soon arrived at the wife’s CW seat looking quite pleased.
My colleague had a similar situation on the other side. He was upgraded to F at the gate but his wife, on a separate booking, wasn’t. They asked permission from the cabin crew, went to CW and offered the passenger opposite the wife a free upgrade. Apparently the other guy took out his wallet and offered him the entire cash contents, which was something like £100 in various currencies, but my colleague declined since he hadn’t paid for the upgrade; eventually he accepted a bottle of “duty-free” whisky.
Oops got a bit carried away with typing out my stories. I was going to conclude, with regard to the OP – the only info provided is “Boston” – if the couple wanted Andrew. to move so they could sit together, does that not mean the husband was sitting next to him, also in an extra legroom seat? So why not offer the good seat to a solo traveller next to the wife, then everyone’s happy, no need to involve money.
Unless what they really wanted was an extra legroom seat without paying for it.
Otherwise I agree with the others, if I paid for a seat that means I want to sit there, it doesn’t mean I want to be refunded and get a bad seat.
If someone offered me $250 I’d take it, but not if they were being a dick about it – in that case I’d return it to them and let them have their original seat back.
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