Forum: travel.stackexchange.com
Tags: <air-travel><seating>
Title: How can I get a different seat after boarding a flight?
Question: There is always this thrill of boarding a plane. "Where am I sitting" or more importantly who is sitting in close proximity to me. If it turns out to be a disappointment, reseating is often not an option.    What are valid reasons to be reseated after boarding a plane?

Answers:
sents: text: You do not have much options, but you can always try one of the following: Simply move to an empty seat:
text: After boarding is done and doors are closed, move to any empty seat within the same class.
text: Flight attendants will not mind.
text: Ask other passengers to swap: Be smart and ask people who are not with family or friends so it will not be a problem for them to swap seats.
text: Older people hate window seats, younger people love window seats, ask the right people with a good smile for the seat and they will swap.
text: Talk to the cabin crew:
text: They are always willing to help (if they can).
text: Just tell them your reason and be honest, you can even say something like "the guy next to me smells bad!", or "I am planning to sleep
text: and I do not prefer sitting next to babies", of course say that in private not in public, and they will help you as long as they can.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/10051/Nean Der Thal
score: 22
sents: text: Some more info on top of what @MeNoTalk said:
text: It mostly depends how full the airplane is and why you want to switch.
text: If the airplane is rather empty, there is no issue, you do not need a reason and you can switch as you like.
text: If it is full, it depends how personal the reason is and if another (higher or lower) class is still free or if it is acceptable to get someone else into the seat.
text: Examples: If your seat is broken, they will not put someone else there, same if it is next to a baby etc.
text: If you are a woman and can argue that you feel uncomfortable sitting next to a specific man, they will most likely re-seat you.
text: If it is about sitting next to your friend/spouse, you can simply go and find someone single to switch with you or your friend.
text: Make sure that the other person switches to the better seat (towards the front etc)
text: If the staff is very busy, you likely better help yourself and find someone who would switch with you.
text: General rules:
text: If you see the issue right away, ask immediately during the boarding procedure if the airplane is full.
text: If it is not, either sit down or stand at an emergency exit and wait for the doors to close.
text: Make sure you get your hand luggage into a bin already however.
text: Discretion and politeness is 99% for a good switch.
text: Talk to the staff in private (as mentioned) and indicate that you are fine to switch later, too.
text: So you take the pressure off them.
text: Try to indicate your wish to switch as your problem/weakness instead of a demand towards the staff.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/3778/uncovery
score: 12
sents: text: A few quick comments: I've had people who were seated beside me get up and go sit somewhere else.
text: It's not that weird, and nobody gets offended.
text: IMHO,
text: you should NOT get up and go sit beside someone else you don't know (without a really good reason).
text: That other person was about to enjoy a comfortable flight with some extra room, and you would be taking that away (basically saying your marginal increase in comfort is worth a significant decrease in their comfort - that's not right).
text: If your goal is to sit next to the pretty girl, then you shouldn't be doing that.
text: For the longest while, prior to the carry-on-luggage madness of today, I would make a point of being the very last person to board the airplane.
text: That way I could walk down the aisle and literally pick any seat I want, knowing that nobody else would show up to claim it. ...and by the way, it isn't the end of the world if you claim a seat and someone else shows up who actually has it assigned.
text: That's happened to me too, and I just admit I was hoping to snag a better seat and surrender it to them.
text: Nobody cares.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/30530/RobotAndy
score: 5
sents: text: Just move!
text: I've never had a problem moving to an empty seat on a plane.
text: Normally this works best when the plane is half-empty anyway
text: and there's an entire empty row.
text: Just remember to wait until everyone else is boarded (so you don't annoy anybody) - very shortly after the doors are shut is a good time - and be quick, as there's often only a short period before the plane pushes back.
text: I've also switched seats after takeoff (and the sign is switched off), and again, I've never had a problem with that.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/2555/Andrew Ferrier
score: 3
sents: text: Don't just move!
text: Extremely bad advice.
text: Always involve the crew when moving to a different seat.
text: Some flights have weight distribution concerns and certain seats will be blocked off.
text: You have no way of knowing this as there will be no signs, simply those seats won't be assigned.
text: And it's not something that can be handled later, the weight distribution is most important at take off time.
text: The manifest on most domestic flights and definitely all international flights has information on who sits where.
text: This can be important after a catastrophe and theoretically the crew will update it if you swap.
answer_details: author: travel.stackexchange.com/users/4188/chx
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
It mostly depends how full the airplane is and why you want to switch. You can often ask to be reseated if you are a woman who feels uncomfortable being seated next to a particular man, or you could ask someone single to switch with you if you want to sit next to your friend/spouse. While it is rarely a problem to move, some flights have weight distribution concens and you should always  involve the crew when moving to a different seat.
It is considered correct to involve the crew when moving seats on a plane. If you have a good reason and the plane is not full, they will not object. However, moving on your own is open to debate: some people consider it OK and others say it may cause weight distribution problems.