A flight attendant has explained how she convinces passengers to swap seats when they don't want to.
Occasionally, in the world of aviation, groups of passengers may find themselves sat apart from one another, especially when it comes to budget airlines. While this isn't a huge problem for most passengers, it can be a little more difficult for others, including families with children.
In cases when groups are determined to sit together but are allocated split-up seats, it falls to the cabin crew to try and work out a solution. Mitra Amirzadeh, a flight attendant based in Orlando, told The Wall Street Journal that she looks for volunteers to swap when a parent and child want to move.
If stubborn passengers refuse to move for whatever reason, Mitra has a trick up her sleeve that can get the awkward customer moving. "I have said before, 'OK, so you’re going to watch the toddler?'" she explained. "You’ll want their snacks and their colouring books then, because they’re going to need that."
The seat is central to tricky politics of planes (NurPhoto via Getty Images)However, those adult couples who find themselves apart during the flight are less likely to receive the help of cabin crew. Mitra rarely steps in to help such customers as she does not want to move other passengers without good cause.
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She added: "The next time you feel yourself getting angry or getting frustrated that you’re not getting the seat you want, you need to remind yourself that you didn’t pay to pick your seat. Otherwise, you’d be in it."
While it might seem perfectly reasonable to ask the person sitting next to you to swap seats, there are a number of etiquette rules that you may want to consider before asking if you want to lead the interaction yourself. Some people travelling can make such a fuss that they feel like they are entitled to get a seat.
Experts warn that you should never say 'no' when someone asks to swap seats straight away, nor should you expect someone to give up their assigned seat. Etiquette expert John-Paul Stuthridge said: "Feeling a little bit grumpy or miserable over the seat we have is normal and unfortunately one of those things in life through which to just grit our teeth. Can we not just swap seats though? When two adults agree to it voluntarily, then sure they can.
"The etiquette of asking another passenger to swap seats depends on one pivotal factor for me: does the person asking have a good reason to swap? What constitutes a good reason may be in the eye of the passenger whose seat is being requested at the time, but we all intuitively sense what a good reason is."
John explained that good reasons for wanting to swap seats include a personal or medical affliction, or being in the window seat (e.g. 1A) but your friend is behind you in the middle seat (2B) so ask the person in the window seat behind (2A) if they'd like to swap. "They aren't giving anything up as such, it's still a window seat and nobody really loses out," he said.
He added: "It's good to have a good reason that seems fair. However, everyone is entitled to sit where they have either paid for or have been allocated. If asking somebody to swap seats, then state your request clearly and politely, and be prepared to have it declined with no hard feelings."
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