Earlier today I wrote about an incident that occurred onboard an American Eagle flight in which two flight attendants bickered over whether a first class passenger could swap seats with a man in economy class so that she could sit with her husband. While the context of that story was the behavior of the flight attendants, here I want to explore the rules and etiquette surrounding seat swapping onboard.
Seat Swapping Onboard: Can A First Class Passenger “Give Away” Her Seat?
To recap the context, a woman was seated in first class and wanted to sit with her husband, who was seated in economy class. She wanted to go to the man sitting next to her husband and ask if he was willing to swap seats with her (I think that is the kind of seat swap most of us would never turn down, especially if traveling solo).
She asked one of the flight attendants, who told her she was welcome to make the swap. But another flight attendant quickly interrupted, denying the request and explaining it was against policy.
So what is the policy?
While the rules for seat swapping are generally not spelled out, generally there are two ways to approach this:
- Position One: The seat is mine and I can swap it with another passenger as I see fit.
- Position Two: If you are upgraded, you cannot just give your seat away to another person when there is a long list of eligible passengers waiting for a premium cabin seat. That isn’t fair!
The rationale for the second position is that if you do not want the upgrade, it should go to the next eligible passenger, not the person in economy class whose seat you want.
I personally take the first position, though. Think about it. If you want to sit with your husband, you are not going to be able to sit with him unless you can offer a better seat swap. And if your frequent flyer status earns you the upgrade, why shouldn’t you be able to make a trade onboard, as long as it happens just once (no going back and forth)?
CONCLUSION
I am of the opinion that seat swapping should be allowed as long as the exchange is voluntary and does not disturb other passengers.
The bottom line is that your mileage may vary in the sense that you might get different answers from different flight attendants on the same airlines, as we saw in this specific context. Thus, I recommend you just make the swap…
image: American Airlines
My view is if you’ve been upgraded, the seat should go to the next person on the list, if you paid/booked the premium seat you can do whatever you want with it.
That’s literally what the article said
Well, my argument only applies to position 2, NOT IF SHE PAID FULL FARE FIRST: So why not just refuse the upgrade upfront at the gate to begin with, where I imagine she was upgraded?? It completely defeats the point of the upgrade and it just doesn’t make sense. It’s actually kind of stupid, if you ask me. To the point of position 1 or 2, of course I stand with 2 for the reasons above explained. If she wanted to to sit right next to her husband so badly, she could’ve just said no in the first place!! And if she was full fare first, silly her, if you want him so badly next to you, just buy 2 tickets in the same cabin to begin with, Voila!
I was flying internationally with my wife recently in economy, as we boarded her pass was scanned no issue but then mine made a bleep and I was told I had been upgraded to business. I tried to refuse the upgrade, saying I wanted to sit next to my wife. The gate agent just told us to get on the plane and it would be dealt with onboard.
Long story short, we stood around like lemons as out of the way as we could after boarding while everybody else got on. After a bit of faffing about, where I was fully expecting the attendant to go to the passenger who would be sitting next to my wife in economy and give them the pleasant surprise of their life, we were eventually told that even though we had been continuously told that the business cabin was completely full, they could now upgrade my wife, too.
So we got to sit next to each other in business. Despite my best efforts and pleas to get my upgrade switched with another passenger in economy I failed…. upwards.
My point is just that sometimes it’s not easy to refuse an upgrade and they might encourage you just to get on the plane anway, so as not to disrupt boarding.
You failed successfully! LOL anyway, amazing, hope you had a nice flight…
Yeah, I imagine something like that happened in this situation as well. If the upgrade happens while you are boarding, it isn’t always so easy to decline the upgrade and the gate agent will be reluctant to delay boarding to do so telling you to handle it on the plane. Also, wouldn’t the husband be next in line for the upgrade if he was on the same record, meaning the gate agent would also have to process his declining the upgrade? In that case, the passenger would be fully justified in doing what she did if the upgrade separated her from her husband.
I had this exact situation the other day, i was top of the upgrade list and my wife second on a recent flight. 2 seats available became one and I got the upgrade automatically prior to boarding, prior to the gate opening I requested a downgrade so I could sit with my wife and the upgrade went to the person below us. The gate agent was blown away and said she hardly ever sees husband’s giving up their upgrade to sit with their wife. What is the world coming too…
I think Position 2 is the way to go. Otherwise you can have weird situations where top tier elites can “sell” their upgrades to whoever they want, screwing the next in line for an upgrade.
If the person is a top tier how does that ‘screw’ the next person in line? They weren’t going to get that seat anyway.
Was told by a Delta FA that the company policy is that you may “freely exchange” seats with another person provided
1) you both agree to the swap and 2) it is a one-time switch (no moving back and forth). I have no way of knowing if this is an official policy but I’ll leave out here as a data point.
I’ve done this many times in Delta but only with my family. If I am traveling for leisure and I get upgraded I always get my wife of one of my teenagers to take my first class seat as I get upgraded all the time and they don’t. A few times I was upgraded at the gate on international flights (they needed my coach seat so I was the first on their list for a bump) and I politely asked the FA if one of my sons could take my seat. The FAs loved the idea and treated my kids like kings. This upcoming summer, I paid for two Delta One seats to Europe and redeemed miles for 2 coach seats. One of the paid seats in under my name so I get the miles to keep my status but one of my sons will take my seat.
Depends on how you acquired that F seat.
If you paid for it, whether in cash, miles, or upgrade instruments, then it’s yours to do with it as you want.
If it’s a gate or operational upgrade, though, I think it’s a real slippery slope to allow someone to just give it to another person. Like Jan said, this opens the door to illicitly selling upgrades. It’s one thing if two people are traveling together, only one receives an upgrade, and you decide to let your companion take the seat in F instead (hint: always give it to the wife if you know what’s good for you). If you insist on sitting together, then turn down the upgrade and let the next person on the list have it. Problem solved.
Someone who paid for their seat can sell their seat just as easily as someone who got a free upgrade. So, I’m not sure why that would matter. Either allow people to swap seats or don’t. I get E+ seating as a perk of status with United. Am I to be prevented from swapping my sweat with someone in a regular economy seat because I didn’t “pay” for it?
I don’t see “selling” being a frequent problem. If it’s a straight swap, I see no issues. Even if upgraded. I look at upgrades as this, I’m not *owed” anything. I have been upgraded probably 8 times this year and it’s nice. But, to me, once the upgrade is given, IMO, it is yours. I would be willing to concede if you were caught “selling” an upgrade, then you should be banned from the frequent flier program. Otherwise, no harm, no foul.
I’m not sure “illicitly selling upgrades” is even illegal. One would need to pour through the long list of small print in the frequent flier program… In any case, I’m chuckling at FF’s hoping to get their upgrade in that they can restrict someone from trading it to some random passenger rather than just letting it go to stay with their spouse in that… what are the odds of that anyway? 🙂
Now regarding “give it to the wife if you know what’s good for you”. Perhaps you’re joking, but there are men who are afraid of their wives in the states. It’s rather sad, really, to live like that and if the genders were reversed, it would be called out as a toxic relationship. If someone is going to have to demur to their wife for fear of retaliation, quite frankly, don’t get legally married. Keep assets separate so she can’t rob him in a divorce.
What about travelling with a toddler over 2? At best, I’d be able to get two award seats in F, so if I use those awards for my wife and toddler and then pay for an economy seat, would I be able to “swap” with my toddler for the first class flight and my toddler would just sit with my wife and I would sit in her seat. Is that possible?
From Seinfeld – Jerry takes the free upgrade at the gate leaving Elaine to fly in the back. Elaine says why should you get the first class, Jerry replies, Elaine, have you ever flown first class? Elaine replies, no. Jerry says all right then. See? you won’t know what you’re missing I‘ve flown first class, Elaine – I can’t go back to coach. I can’t …I won’t ! Later in the flight, Elaine sneaks up to First Class. FA: Excuse me, excuuuse me. Elaine – what? Oh no. Nothing for me, thanks. FA: what is your name? Elaine Benes. FA: you’re going to have to go back to coach. Elaine – no…but there was nobody sitting here. FA: yes, but you’re still not allowed. These seats are very expensive. Oh, no, please, don’t send me back there. Please, I’ll do anything. It’s so nice up here. It’s so comfortable up here. I don’t want to go back there. Please don’t send me back there. FA- you’re going to have to go back to your seat! Elaine- OK, fine, I’ll go back. You know, our goal should be a society “without classes“ – elaine screams to the back: do you realize that the people up here are getting cookies!
Thought this was the episode with the sundaes? I remember one with the chocolate at the bottom?
Moving from Guam to California with my family (wife and five kids). I was a kid level United elite at the time and I got a very early upgrade for the red-eye leg from HNL to LAX. We decided it would be best to have both parents with the kids, since three were under five, so I called United and asked them to restore my original seat. I forget if they did and then upgraded me again later, or just shrugged and couldn’t do it, but on moving day I found myself with a first class boarding pass.
Obviously, I handed it to my wife when we got in line, and it just wasn’t a problem.
When they close the flight, the FAs get (used to be a printout) the final upgrade priority list. But there may be no way for FAs to know who in F bought F or was upgraded to F. Given SKW at LAX can be working for multiple mainlines, this can be a messy situation.
I often do this on DL when a member of our Armed Forces is in uniform fresh out of their basic training. Least I can do given the potential sacrifice. A tv dinner and free drinks means little to me at this point when travelling domestic…. First class now is what domestic coach was pre 9-11…
If the plane is still at the gate, doors open, and the manifest can be changed to reflect the seat exchanges…okay. If not, it’s too late. Because if the plane crashes, you want the rescuers to have an accurate list of who was seated where.
So then what happens when a SWA plane crashes???
My policy is don’t ask the agents. Get up and speak with the passenger and make it happen. AA agents can be a bish sometimes.
The husband could have been #2 in the upgrade list and sometimes they could upgrade him after the door closes… so its #1 option all day.
If you give me an upgrade it isn’t yours to redistribute. It’s mine.
My wife and I were approached by a passenger wanting to sit with their family and do a swap with us. We were sat in Business, and my wife said we didn’t mind without asking where the other passengers seats were located. We had already paid £300 it so to upgrade from Economy. This was Emirates Dubai to Hong Kong.
Well to our amazement, the other passengers had their seats in First. The Stewardess didn’t mind and said it was the first time this had ever happened.
So we moved and got the full service on the A380 including a wonderful mid- flight shower
Karma!
That sounds amazing. Lucky you.
I once had a colleague who was in business class while i was in coach (a long haul from lax to Dubai) and he missed the flight. Once boarding was complete and nobody had been upgraded to his seat (not certain why), i approached the FA, saying that the seat belonged to my colleague (he had emailed me his ticket) and that I’d like to take it. She refused, saying it was against policy for him to give me his seat, which is true. That said. It only took $200 cash to change her mind very quickly and I was given his seat. (Not the first time that worked for me, either).
On a flight from Monterrey Mexico to Miami a couple of years ago,a guy was flirting in the boarding area with a lovely girl, when we board that lady got the seat next to my and the guy was seated in first class, before departing the guy approached me and offered to switch seated so he can seat next to the lady, I gladly accepted, all were very happy
On a flight from Monterrey Mexico to Miami a couple of years ago,a guy was flirting in the boarding area with a lovely girl, when we board that lady got the seat next to my and the guy was seated in first class, before departing the guy approached me and offered to switch seated so he can seat next to the lady, I gladly accepted, all were very happy
I’ve traded when I got upgraded and others didn’t. I don’t know how all other airlines handle this, but on UA as a 1K they might upgrade you and not others. I don’t recall ever being given a choice to keep my original seat. Or that my original seat had not been given to someone else in the meantime. So if you want to keep your original seat, you have to be able to trade with the person it was given to. I’ve never had that trade turned down or questioned.
So saying it should be given to the next person on the upgrade list makes no sense if you are not willing to bump the person who was given my original seat.
The thing is we don’t know much about the circumstances in this particular situation. As a general rule, I think Part 2 is probably the best way to go, but that’s only the case if the upgrade is given in a timely enough manner for the upgraded passenger to decline without causing a delay or slowing things down too much. As we know, oftentimes, the last upgrade is given as a passenger is boarding making it difficult to decline the upgrade without slowing the entire boarding process down for everyone (not to mention if they were on the same record, the husband probably would have been next in line for an upgrade, requiring the gate agents to process two declined upgrades). Furthermore, oftentimes those last minute upgrades are processed simultaneously with standby passengers getting the newly freed up seat, which would have been almost a downgrade for the woman in question if she had previously been seated next to her husband only to have to take the seat of whomever was next in line for the upgrade (which might not be as easy to switch to get her old seat back).
Finally, this is all happening in the context of a Skywest flight, where the gate agents and FAs staff flights for different airlines with different upgrade policies. I don’t know AA’s actual policy, but others on here have commented that DL would have had no issue with the passenger giving her upgrade to a random passenger. It’s entirely possible that both FAs were right depending on the airline, not to mention that I think AA’s contract with SkyWest is relatively new.
TL;dr. If the upgrade was relatively last minute, I don’t really fault the passenger for deciding to deal with it later, assuming that it would be less of a headache to switch her seat on board instead of slowing the boarding process down for everyone else. Sure, you could argue that its not that big a deal not to sit with your husband for the relatively short flight from LAX-IAH, but its also not that big a deal if someone behind her on the list who would have otherwise received an upgrade has to sit in coach for that flight either. If it were last minute, processing the upgrade correctly would have inconvenienced the whole plane instead of only inconveniencing the passenger who would have been upgraded instead. After all, if flying first is that important, it should be worth paying for outright.
As with others I do this all the time switching my work paid business class seat with my wifes economy seat. She also gets to bring our baby up to the front of the plane and I get to sit with our naughty for old in the back of the plane.
I was listed first and my wife was second on the upgrade list. I was scanned as first class while boarding, my wife coach. She didn’t care, it was only an hour-and-a-half flight and we’d been up all night. So I looked around after takeoff and saw two empty seats in first class. Go figure.
Somebody saw Seinfeld the other night on rerun. Lol. Loved it.
Elaine had never flown first class so she didn’t know what she was missing. A true classic.
I was separated from my goddaughter due to an equipment switch and was told that nothing could be done about it as we were on two different itineraries. I was upgraded and offered to switch with her middle seat neighbor. The guy almost ran me over to move up front.
Maybe they should just give upgrades to single travelers instead of these people with families making it complicated with their swapping. These people with families sound exhausting.