@AndrewBurr wrote:
Hey folks. Recently flew from Baltimore to West Palm. Upon entering cabin saw first row had empty middle seat full of laptops and other stuff. I had to stare down the two fools in the aisle and window seats in order to claim this seat. I got no help from flight attendants. They would not make eye contact and ignored the confrontation. These two grown men then harassed me for the entire flight. Flight attendants witnessed this and looked the other way. I had to shove them off the armrests and fight for my space. Fortunately I am perfectly capable. I communicated with Southwest and they sent me $150 voucher which I will probably never use. I’m done. They refuse to admit they have a problem and continue to allow bullies to run the boarding process. Saving middle space fore their on comfort and saving window and aisle seats for friends who did not register early. Not right. They know it.The most stressful issue their flight attendants have and they don’t give a hoot.
thanks for reading.
andy burr
Hello-
The seat saving issue has been discussed numerous times on this board. I have not seen a written rule about this item: I don't see a clause in the policy that seat saving is allowed; I also don't see one that outlaws this.
It looks like you've already chatted with Customer Service about your incident and received a LUV Voucher, but for this circumstance as well as pre-boarding, my moral rule kicks in to keep the environment positive...Be proactive, be humble.
Typically when I board Southwest flights, I look for the first open Window seat starting from the second row on...Since I typically board in the A-Group, I first look for a whole empty row first and claim the window seat but sometimes I'll notice upon entering the cabin that somebody is already occupying the Aisle seat, Middle, or both for the entire full first half of the plane on both sides, especially for through-flights.
At that point, I'll look for the first open Window and I'll ask if I can take the Window. Almost always, they'll let me sit there; if they claim it's "saved", I accept it and move on to look for the next available Window seat further back. That proactively averts unwanted altercations with my seatmates.
Likewise, I will do the same thing but in reverse if I'm seated with nobody else in the section. If the flight is not full and I find an empty row, I will not attempt to 'save' (i.e.: block) the other seats in the area. If somebody wants to sit in the open seats there despite how empty the flight is, I'll let them sit there.
