I’ve come across numerous accounts of entitled individuals insisting on swapping seats or demanding the seats they desire on planes and throwing fits. So, I’m keen to share a rather peculiar one with you.
Ten years ago, my husband, my sister, and I were scheduled to fly to the Azores with a tour group. The flight wasn’t exclusively for our group. Seating was allocated at the check-in counter, where we also checked in our luggage. We approached as a group, and [Husband], [Sister], and I presented our tickets to the attendant simultaneously.
When we reached the gate to await boarding, we discovered that our boarding passes indicated we weren’t sitting together. We brought this up to the tour guide, who suggested that we might be able to swap since a couple of others in the group weren’t assigned seats together either. It later transpired that the attendant had randomly assigned seats for everyone. Essentially, no one was seated with their friends or family members.
We boarded the plane and everyone took their assigned seats. Once the boarding process was completed, we asked the flight attendant if it was permissible to switch seats and received the green light. This initiated a rapid reorganization where nearly all passengers stood up and moved about, and everyone managed to secure seats next to their travel companions. It was as seamless as playing Tetris and caused no delay.
The flight was extremely pleasant, and we had an amazing trip. At check-in on our way back home, we specifically requested to be seated together. The attendant looked at us as if we were being foolish, as if to say, “Of course you can sit together.” Everyone was content with their seats.
A bonus during the flight: there were no children on board, yet they screened the animated movie Epic in Portuguese with English subtitles. Another bonus: a storm forced us to fly above land, and I was fortunate enough to witness the most breathtaking late-night view of Paris.
