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Home » United Airlines » Musical Chairs On United Airlines
United Airlines

Musical Chairs On United Airlines

Matthew Klint Posted onDecember 8, 2021December 8, 2021 22 Comments

United Airlines Basic Economy International

Ah yes, the game of musical chairs. The music stops and everyone rushes to find a seat. You have to move quick because there are not enough for everyone. While perhaps you can think of a better analogy, the latest United Airlines app update offers a very helpful middle seat avoidance feature…but the potential to promote a mad scramble.

Musical Chairs: New App Feature Will Help You Avoid Middle Seats On United Airlines

No one likes a middle seat. Well, except for this guy–

To help, United’s latest app update offers a new feature: if you are in a middle seat and a better seat opens, you’ll receive a push-notification alerting you the seat opening.

Sounds great…and it is great. If you are fast.

So imagine a Boeing 737 MAX 9 with 27 rows in economy class, meaning 54 middle seats. A woman is upgraded and all of a sudden an aisle seats opens. If the flight is pretty full, imagine 40 people receiving that alert. Now let’s say that half of those passengers are traveling with a companion and don’t want to move. That’s still a lot of people who will be encouraged to pounce on the seat.

To be clear, this isn’t a complaint. This is better than nothing at all and fairer than just auto-assigning the seat to a random passenger. I do think some passengers will get the alert, get excited, act quickly, only to be disappointed when the seat is already gone…but that’s the nature of scooping up airplane seats, so I hope they won’t hold it against United.

CONCLUSION

Kudos to United for its frequent app improvements that are moving it in a linear positive direction. The United app is far and away the best in the business and the ability to help passengers avoid middle seats is just another cherry on top.

(H/T: Zach Griff at TPG)

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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22 Comments

  1. Alvin Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 12:58 pm

    I see an issue with this. Say for some reason the app glitches and un-saves the seat you preselected (happened a few weeks ago to me on Iberia). This means that everyone rushes to grab your seat before you even have a chance to realise the glitch, and next thing you know you’re in a middle seat despite pre-booking an aisle or window months in advance.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 8, 2021 at 1:18 pm

      A very good point, Alvin.

  2. JohnC Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 1:19 pm

    I played that game once and ended up in a middle seat to Sydney. I vowed never to fly again. I was watching the app and a aisle seat popped up. I went to the customer service agent to have my seat changed. I had only booked the ticket two days earlier and it was a super cheap airfare from LAX so seat selection was not very good. I did manage to snag at least a window seat. When the plane starts boarding, I heard my name being called to go to the counter. The agent apologized that the computer had released the seats for a couple who were flying from San Diego and their flight was delayed but they managed to still make the flight. By that time, my window seat was taken, so she said I can move you up to economy plus but it will be a middle seat. Worst flight I ever had. When you board the flight and the window seat passenger is in your seat, it is not a good sign that things are going to get better.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 8, 2021 at 6:58 pm

      I know “seats are not guaranteed” but did you ask for your original seat back?

  3. Ryan Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 1:52 pm

    Expertflyer already offers this. I’d rather that level of info only be available to those willing to buy an EF subscription.

  4. Alec Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 1:57 pm

    Would be great if you could select to automatically be moved and then they prioritize by status. Sometimes get stuck with a bad seat when booking last min biz trips.

  5. jm Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 2:11 pm

    An astonishing number of United’s customers do not have the app so I don’t think there will be as many people competing for that aisle or window seat as you think. An even more surprising number just don’t choose to change their seat when a better one is available.

    • Acura Reply
      December 8, 2021 at 4:53 pm

      I’m sure the plan was to mandate their app along with vaccine passports.

    • Arthur Reply
      December 9, 2021 at 9:25 am

      I was thinking the same thing. The number of people who might use this feature or make a change if they get an alert could be so small that it would not make much difference. Not everyone is a frequent flyer who reads this blog, flyertalk and the rest. On the other hand, there always seems to be 40+ people with some sort of status on the average domestic upgrade list, so who knows.

  6. DC not in DC Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    Zero of the whiners have used this new feature on the best app in the business.

    What about “try first,whine later, if applicable.”

    I agree with #Alec that United should give open aisle or window seats based on status but this way the most motivated might be rewarded.

  7. JoEllen Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 3:33 pm

    Totally unnecessary – just another solution for lazy gate agents to avoid any discussion or questions from passengers to change seats. Hope it bites them.

    • CT Reply
      December 8, 2021 at 3:56 pm

      Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. What a sh!tty attitude! It must be difficult being you. Hope you make it through the day.

    • Dave D Reply
      December 8, 2021 at 5:47 pm

      I wouldn’t say “lazy” gate agents; more likely there’s only one gate agent working the flight and the automation helps them rather than slows their gate boarding process. The same as automated standby onloading. Tools designed to assist the lone gate agent.

    • Neps Reply
      December 8, 2021 at 5:53 pm

      Agreed. When I have a crappy seat, I start looking for a better one once the CPU window opens and GS and higher up 1Ks get cleared. This new feature may have just outflanked me.

  8. Terry K Reply
    December 8, 2021 at 10:20 pm

    @Neps. You are 100% spot on!

  9. Doug DeNunzio Reply
    December 9, 2021 at 8:38 am

    The astonishing way to play a laptop on a plane happens.

  10. Mark S Reply
    December 9, 2021 at 9:31 am

    There is no better airline app than United’s as far as transparency of info goes (seat maps, upgrade lists, inbound aircraft). Many times I am on the seat map page until I scan my phone to board the plane in hopes of swapping to a better seat. Most of the time I am maneuvering to get a row with the aisle or window seat taken and middle seat open to have some extra space.

  11. Argosy314 Reply
    December 9, 2021 at 11:09 am

    I realize I’m subject to getting flamed for this, but at what timeframe would this feature stop before a flight? For those of us that take advantage of same day flight change or heck even for non-rev’s there is usually a point where you can look at a flight and have general idea as to what your chances are for upgrades, seats, etc. So are we talking up to 20 mins prior to departure, 1 hour out? 1 day?

  12. David P. Reply
    December 9, 2021 at 1:16 pm

    Shocking that no one has yet mentioned who the actor in the middle seat was. It’s none other than super hunk, Milo Ventimiglia. (This Is Us, Gilmore Girls) Go ahead, spread out, no problem…it’s “Just Jack”.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      December 9, 2021 at 1:50 pm

      I recognized him from Heroes, the old NBC drama series.

  13. Flyoften Reply
    December 9, 2021 at 4:37 pm

    A better way to avoid fistfight (looking you, Gary, Ben and Jerry) for that aisle seat is to let everyone opt-in for a “I have mid11e 5ea7s” queue.and assign in order.

    Heck, they can even let the snooty silver status folks cut in line.

    They already have this feature for first class upgrades.

    Lazy product managers and management.

    United, if you want tomoffer me a product manager job, wink twice.

  14. Lindsey Reply
    December 10, 2021 at 1:27 am

    Can I just say… can the gate agents have some kind of article. Now when the app goes bad or someone says I went for the non middle and said it went through but now it didn’t….. who deals with the angry person. The gate agent. Who doesn’t get paid enough, just more to deal with and less recognition, we’re always the nobody’s of the industry, yet deal with so much.

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