Date: 202006
Local time of day: 0601-1200
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Parked
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Reporter qualification: Flight Attendant Current
Human factors: Communication Breakdown; Confusion
Second reporter function: Flight Attendant (On Duty); Flight Attendant In Charge
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Flight Attendant
When detected: Pre-flight
Result: General None Reported / Taken
Contributing factors: Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors
Primary problem: Company Policy

Narrative: I was the D FA. As we started to board I was standing at seat 1X/Y. A gentleman boarded and said he was in 1Y. (Due to COVID these seats are blocked for the FA jump seat.) We sent a text to the agent(s) requesting them to re-seat passenger. There was a back and forth via text then we requested a Supervisor. Two supervisors came down and said they had talked to Dispatch. Dispatch told them for weight and balance passenger needed to be seated in 1Y. We showed them the document stating these seats were blocked but he said Dispatch required passenger to sit in 1Y. We explained weight and balance is a zone not a specific seat. After the supervisors argued with the Captain and the FAs one of the supervisors said 'if you won't let him sit in 1Y then I'll have to ask customers if they are ok with being seated next to someone else.' Which I believe is what they are supposed to do. I explained that passenger could be seated in 1Z if [Flight Attendant] 1A was comfortable. The Supervisor then went to our First Class passenger in XX who was on the phone. The Supervisor rudely interrupted the passenger saying 'I need to talk to you' over and over. I stopped him and told him to either ask someone else or at least wait until he was off the phone. The Supervisor then asked [Flight Attendant] 1A and she agreed to have passenger sit next to her. After we closed the door passenger told me that an agent had told them once we got up in the air he could just sit in my seat in 1X for the entire flight.Please make it clear to the ZZZ Station that seats 1X & 1Y are currently FA jumpseats.


Second narrative: Agents in ZZZ seated a passenger in 1Y. They claimed it was due to weight and balance at the direction of Dispatch. They were specifically saying the passenger had to be sitting over there even though we told them those seats were blocked due to social distancing for the D Flight Attendant per our policy. They (a customer service Supervisor and a couple of agents) did not want to follow procedures to ask passengers if they were willing to sit together. They kept insisting this was required for weight and balance that the passenger sit in 1Y. They said they'd have to ask another passenger in First Class if they would be willing to sit next to another passenger. And I asked ' Isn't that procedure?' Then they asked if after takeoff the gentleman could move over into 1XY. I said no. So the agents did not want to follow our new social distancing procedure and wanted to displace a flight attendant. Meanwhile; they put a non-rev in the seat previously occupied by their upgraded passenger.


Synopsis: Flight Attendants reported COVID-19 seating related issues involving flight attendant pre-assigned seats.