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Home » United Airlines » United Airlines Flight Attendant Demands Payment For Passengers To Move To Open Seats After Takeoff
United Airlines

United Airlines Flight Attendant Demands Payment For Passengers To Move To Open Seats After Takeoff

Matthew Klint Posted onNovember 26, 2024 27 Comments

a row of seats in an airplane

I commend a United Airlines flight attendant for not allowing a self-upgrade to extra-legroom economy class, even if the message could have been conveyed a little more gently.

United Airlines Flight Attendant: No Free Upgrade To Extra-Legroom Economy Class, Even After Takeoff (Yes!)

While flights tend to be more full these days, there are situations where the rear of the economy class cabin is packed full while the front (with extra legroom seats available for an upcharge or complimentary for MileagePlus elite members) has many open seats.

A passenger complained that on one such flight with many open seats in the front, a light attendant refused to let anyone move for free, such that everyone was “packed in like sardines” in the rear of the aircraft. He called it “poor customer service.”

@united insisting people either pay for upgrades or stay packed in like sardines on flights with plenty of open seats is poor customer service. pic.twitter.com/MoRW9PD5US

— Ben Houg (@benhoug) November 25, 2024

No, it’s very simple: you want a seat with more legroom or closer to the front? Pay for it. You can do so on a transactional basis with miles or dollars or if you fly United often enough, you can do so at no extra charge.

Rubbing salt in the wound of the traveler, he further complained that a flight attendant told passengers, “If you wanted to move seats, have your payment method handy.”

They made an announcement saying “if you wanted to move seats, have your payment method handy.”

— Ben Houg (@benhoug) November 25, 2024

That’s called revenue protection and that is exactly what United flight attendants are supposed to do. Sure, maybe this could have been communicated more gently (I wasn’t there, though), but just because there are open seats within the same cabin does not mean you are entitled to move to them.

View From The Wing argues, “Passengers who buy Economy Plus get Economy Plus and are in no way harmed when other passengers get it free – via elite status, via luck of the draw or otherwise.”

I respectfully disagree.

So much of the value of elite status on United has eroded, but EconomyPlus is one of the few things left that makes pursuing elite status worth something. While it is rare, having an open middle seat makes the flight experience so much more enjoyable and is a modest reward for loyalty.

So Mr. Houg is wrong here: he got what he paid for and United has very good reasons not to allow for free upgrades to extra-legroom economy, primarily to reward those who do pay and not incentivize people to game the system (not pay in advance in hopes of upgrading for free after boarding).

The flight attendant handled the matter well…

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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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27 Comments

  1. Christian Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 1:37 pm

    Yes! Let’s put those poors in their place for not being properly rich. Let Them Eat Cake.

    • Econ Man Reply
      November 26, 2024 at 4:45 pm

      Ok, so let’s consider an example. Let’s say there are 60 (or even 2 or 3) people in Economy that want the ONE seat in Economy Plus that is unoccupied. Like the sporting event example Dave offers, it would be ridiculous to allow a stampede of passengers to the open seat to see who would get it first. Who gets the right to call the unoccupied seat for themselves? Whatever problems we are seeing on the airlines today would only be multiplied if this practice was allowed. Maybe the flight attendant (FA) didn’t communicate the solution to this situation in the best way possible, but the FA was obviously correct in handling this issue.

  2. jfhscott Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 1:41 pm

    I wonder if Mr. Houg was self upgrading to an empty economy plus middle seat – that would have distinctly harmed passengers who paid or earned access. Were he poaching on an entirely empty row, not nearly as much – but it is still boorish.

    But the more keen observation is that airlines cannot dilute the product my allowing it to be “first come first served after the door closes”. Allowing the passenger to roll the dice, forgoing the opportunty to pay in hopes that he will eventually engage in self help is a poor business model.

  3. Klaus Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 1:47 pm

    Yes, generally agree.
    Aer Lingus charges more for economy class upfront seats (unless Elite or Full Flex). I am willing to pay for the seat reservation not because I like to sit in the front but because I know that my chances of having a free middle seat or even row by myself are good.

    And as not all seats are created equal, I just find it fair that basic economy and cheap fare classes are automatically assigned a middle seat. I would even argue that basic eceonomy passengers should only receive seat assignments when boarding starts because i find it super annoying to have an expensive full flex ticket and change flights last minute only to find middle seats available.

  4. Stefano Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 3:08 pm

    This is a pathetic take.

    United could be promoting loyalty and future earnings by letting people move. Trying to glean every last dollar at the margins just leaves a poor taste in everyone’s mouth, and creates incentive to look elsewhere in the future.

    Classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

    • Dave W. Reply
      November 27, 2024 at 3:18 am

      I disagree. A plane has one empty seat, 10B, an economy seat with extra legroom. The pax in 22B (regular economy) moves there, and is a big winner. The pax in 22A and 22C also win. The pax in 10A and 10C lose. So, you punish the pax paying more for this flight or who are loyal. You reward those paying less and who are less loyal. This is nothing like cutting off your nose…..

    • jb Reply
      December 1, 2024 at 3:39 am

      So, you go to a Yankees game, oh look, a seat is open right behind home plate, three seats back, and you bought the nosebleeds. You just go and take it????

  5. Bhn Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 3:19 pm

    He had the same opportunity as every other passenger to select a more comfortable seat and pay for it at booking. Now he’s whining because he has to sit in the seat he chose. No different than the passengers who refuse to pay to sit together and expect someone else to trade with them. HARD NO. Buy the seat you want at booking and quit complaining when you have to live with your choice.

  6. Skedguy Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 3:21 pm

    Anyone can upgrade provided they pay for it. Sure I would be upset if I were in 6 abreast nirvana in the back but I would have looked at the seat map, seen where I was and then looked at upgrading and if the price / length of flight made sense I would pay for it.

    Not being as PC as you I would have aid if you want that cheap fly Frontier or Spirit.

  7. Chris Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 3:34 pm

    Gary saves rows of seats on Southwest, so take what he says with a grain of salt.

  8. Dave Edwards Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 3:51 pm

    Someone commented a comparison to a sporting event. Should the upper deck get to move to box seats if they are empty? Of course not.

    Ben is obviously an idiot, may he end up drinking his despair away in a bar next to Aaron and wakes us with a sore a## and a c#ck smelling like sh#t.

    • Chi Hsuan Reply
      November 26, 2024 at 4:08 pm

      Ben doesn’t look like Aaron’s type. He prefers older conservative men to service.

      • Aaron Reply
        November 26, 2024 at 4:48 pm

        Tbh, the only ones who are probably waking us with a sore a## and a c#ck smelling like sh#t on a regular basis are probably the two of you, given how obsessed you are with all of this…

  9. Levy Flight Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 5:30 pm

    Yeah, View from the Wing is dead wrong on that one.

  10. Origami Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 5:31 pm

    Yeesh. I know you’ve said that your “click bait” articles are harmless fun, but this one is on the edge of even that. You quoted VFtW here, and that’s fitting: he has long valued faux-rage over actual content. Please don’t go that route.

    (I clicked on this simply to deliver this message. You can enjoy the .0004 cent click through on me. 🙂 )

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      November 26, 2024 at 5:44 pm

      I think this is an interesting issue.

  11. Askmrlee Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 6:42 pm

    If the headline was clearer (United FA depends payment to move from economy to economy plus extra legroom seat) no one would click.

    This isn’t news. I flew UA transpacific last summer and someone moved from e to e+ and the FA politely told them that these were extra legroom seats and pointed to the Economy Plus sign and said it would require a $300 payment to move. Without incident they moved back to e.

  12. Joe United Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 6:55 pm

    The View from the Wing guy thinks it is okay that someone sneaks up to an economy plus seat with extra legroom without paying for that seat, but he just went on a rant on his site about how crowed airport lounges have become and how these people are disruptive of his serenity while in a lounge. I don’t think he would find it acceptable if I snuck into the lounge that he was in and sat in the empty seat next to him? Perhaps he can explain the difference?

  13. Jan Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 7:37 pm

    By Thought Leader in Travel’s logic, we can also take that empty lie-flat seat because it’s empty

    • Maryland Reply
      November 26, 2024 at 9:09 pm

      If the plane was a garbage dumpster then free pickings would be available when the door is closed. Last I checked it was still not a dumpster.

  14. John Reply
    November 26, 2024 at 9:14 pm

    Perhaps another example could help those who don’t get it.

    Someone goes to a German Automotive Dealership. They pay for a VW but on the way out, they say, I like that Mercedes Benz better. I want to leave with that. What would the sales person say?

    • Pete Mitchell Reply
      November 26, 2024 at 10:43 pm

      That has to be the dumbest analogy I’ve ever heard.

      • John Reply
        November 27, 2024 at 1:34 am

        I was always taught, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything. “You have a better one to offer?

    • Dave W. Reply
      November 27, 2024 at 3:24 am

      Your problem here is that the dealership would eventually sell the Mercedes, but UA can’t ever sell the more premium seat on a departed flight. I contend self upgrades are wrong, but your analogy is not a good one. A better analogy is moving to an empty seat in the theater after the door close.

    • Jan Reply
      November 27, 2024 at 9:39 am

      Sorry sir but I must agree this analogy was not good. Mine above was more apt, I think

  15. Jason Reply
    November 27, 2024 at 1:51 am

    Charging on the plane for an upgrade to a better seat on United has been possible for 9+ years. I don’t understand why this is now a big deal because someone complained. They didn’t want to purchase the seat, then don’t sit there! It’s like saying you should get a better hotel room if the room is empty, but you don’t have any status and don’t want to pay for it.

  16. Tony N. Reply
    November 28, 2024 at 7:43 pm

    It’s not her money so she should not be asking for payment. But on the other hand, it’s not free for all and you shouldn’t be sitting anywhere you want.

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