Flight etiquette?!

InsideInsurance

Mands wrote: »

The airlines assign a pre-determined weight to adults and children and distribute weight accordingly.

Which is how a Qantas plane got into difficulties when someone gave a group of 87 children adult weights in error.

87 passengers being wrong is very different to 1 passenger changing seats

There is some basic balancing done but its not to the level of accuracy that a couple of people switching seats is going to make a material difference.

Mands

InsideInsurance wrote: »

There is some basic balancing done.

Agreed, although your earlier post seemed to suggest that wasn't the case, hence the link to the Qantas story

Mands

tomtontom

InsideInsurance wrote: »

87 passengers being wrong is very different to 1 passenger changing seats

There is some basic balancing done but its not to the level of accuracy that a couple of people switching seats is going to make a material difference.

But it won't just be one person seeing the empty rows and wanting to move, will it? For the sake of a few minutes, it would be polite to stick to your original seat.

It is also a bad idea to request a middle seat in the hope the other two will be free. All it takes is for another flight to be cancelled/ delayed and you've got a very uncomfortable flight in between two strangers

rs65

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Never had any issues with sitting in spare seats and certainly seen people ask and move prior to take off. I wouldnt buy the "weight distribution"

I guess you've never flown on a half full Dash 8 Q400.

DUKE

The first time I asked I got the seats, the second time I asked someone else jumped up & took them right from under my nose. So do you want to be the one lying across 4 seats or would you prefer it if they were? Or just turn up a the airport early & ask for the seat you'd like, don't forget to at them.

Everynamestaken

dickydonkin wrote: »

You must be a flight attendants nightmare.

haha not at all.

Obviously it depends on the flight. The time I laid across for around 11 hours was Abu Dhabi to Sydney and in my defence I'd flown sydney to Manchester via Abu Dhabi only 9 days before. Like someone said, if you don't do it, someone from Iran, Argentina, Israel etc will.

We are very polite, its in our nature, and I like to think I go about it the right way.

One last thing. I even once had a flight attendant asking me to go to a manchester city game with, so I can't always be a nightmare

peachyprice

Mands wrote: »

The airlines assign a pre-determined weight to adults and children and distribute weight accordingly.

Which is how a Qantas plane got into difficulties when someone gave a group of 87 children adult weights in error.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/03/qantas-flight-struggles-to-take-off-as-child-passengers-tip-balance

I hardly think the odd adult moving around the cabin is going to have the same effect as 87 primary school children all being seated at the rear of the plane.

Mands

peachyprice wrote: »

I hardly think the odd adult moving around the cabin is going to have the same effect as 87 primary school children all being seated at the rear of the plane.

Nor did I say it would. It was a direct response to one comment that implied airlines did no weight balancing.

Mands