Airline Seating - How to sit together

unforeseen

Doshwaster said:

unforeseen said:

I book to specifically stay separate from my Travelling companion as each of us want different things for our seat position which are incompatible

One in First Class the other in Steerage?

She wants a window seat and I want an aisle seat so that I can stretch my legs.
I'd be happy in the hold if it meant I could stretch my legs out straight

Doshwaster

unforeseen said:

Doshwaster said:

unforeseen said:

I book to specifically stay separate from my Travelling companion as each of us want different things for our seat position which are incompatible

One in First Class the other in Steerage?

She wants a window seat and I want an aisle seat so that I can stretch my legs.
I'd be happy in the hold if it meant I could stretch my legs out straight

I'm with you. Can't stand a window seat in Economy for any flight longer than an hour as I just feel trapped. 

MalMonroe

I don't mind, as long as I don't have to sit next to the window as I'm claustrophobic. Doesn't really matter how long a flight is - I don't do many short haul though. We usually do our own thing - whoever I'm with - read, write, watch a movie or the TV - it's a lot better now flights have personal screens - or even have a little snooze. I don't have to sit next to my daughter/friend/whoever because when we get to our destination we will get together anyway. It's just not that crucial.

Flying back from Canada one time when my daughter was 11 there was an airline mix up and we were not seated together. I did ask if people would swap with one of us so we could be together but nobody would. (Typical Brits, if we'd been flying the other way I'm sure someone would have!) Anyway we just had to accept that was the way it was and were fine, even though I had been worried that my daughter would be upset. She wasn't and so I wasn't. We made it.  

maman

I'm happy to pay a reasonable amount to sit in my preferred location on a plane. I do the same at the theatre and the football ground. If prices become extortionate then I'd rethink. 

sheramber

We once travelled beside a couple who paid to chose their seats. Not because they wanted to sit together but because , being tall, they both wanted an aisle seat.  

Pollycat

sheramber said:

We once travelled beside a couple who paid to chose their seats. Not because they wanted to sit together but because , being tall, they both wanted an aisle seat.  

That makes sense.

When we used to travel Monarch and Thomas Cook long haul, we used to pay to choose our seats.

Not because we wanted to sit together but because we both wanted an aisle seat in the central section.

So (on a 3 - 3 - 3 configuration) I'd choose 15D and OH 16D.

Almost always, E & F would be a couple so they would get out to the loo on their side and I could sleep undisturbed.

OH rarely slept so he wouldn't mind me reclining my seat so I didn't have someone pushing me in the back throughout the flight because they didn't want me reclining.

Worked really well for us.

We did the same when we flew scheduled - but waited for the free seat choice - and many a check-in agent tried to put us side by side until we explained.

I'm not sure the OP understands that it's less about choosing to sit together but more about choosing the seat that you are comfortable with.

So the OP's suggestion below wouldn't work as it is based purely on people not being separated:

JOMO50 said:

Why do people insist on booking their seats together, if NOBODY booked a seat early in the process you would get the next available seats, so as long as the airline seat people as they check in 1A-Z nobody should be separated, that's my theory anyway, I never pay extra despite the idea of being sat apart or next to some undesirable, I think its a fear tactic to extract more money from the general public, don't we pay enough for the flight to expect a seat next to our travelling companions.

martindow

I don't think that booking seats necessarily guarantees that you will get them.  We booked seats, but when we came to print the boarding passes the site wouldn't let us and we were told to check in at the airport.  We ended up with seats together, but different ones to those we had chosen. 

This was BA a few years ago  - the girl on the desk had no explanation apart from mentioning something vague about computer problems.  I've no idea what the real reason was.

Sandtree

martindow said:
This was BA a few years ago  - the girl on the desk had no explanation apart from mentioning something vague about computer problems.  I've no idea what the real reason was.

Obviously could be system problems but for your type of issue I think the most common reason is because they change which aircraft is going to be used and it has a different seating configuration. On the day you can have issues when a parent plus young child turns up having not booked seats and they shuffle people around to ensure the toddler is sat with the parent.

maman

DH and I choose aisle seats but across the aisle from each other.

I have been asked to move seats to accommodate other people but always had the option to say no. The best one was flying back from NYC. A young woman wanted to swap to sit next to her friends. I jumped at the chance of her extra legroom seat by a door! 😁

VWPolecat

This sums up my luck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JqRXLQYF9o