Purchasing Extra Seat

[Synergy]

Has Southwest started allowing a person to purchase an extra seat?  Not for excessive size, just because?  I'd be willing to carry an instrument or wedding dress if that was absolutely necessary, but I was hoping that they'd expanded the policy.

[DancingDavidE]

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@Synergy wrote:

Has Southwest started allowing a person to purchase an extra seat?  Not for excessive size, just because?  I'd be willing to carry an instrument or wedding dress if that was absolutely necessary, but I was hoping that they'd expanded the policy.

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As in to secure a middle seat next to your window seat? No I haven't heard of this other than customer of size or the two exceptions you mentioned.

[Synergy]

Thank you.  I imagine I'm not the only person who would happily buy a second seat to ensure an empty middle.  I hoped perhaps the pandemic had given them reason to allow this.  I never much liked that kind of proximity, I like it even less now.

All good.  A nice camera might be the perfect solution, as it would often be more useful than an instrument upon arrival.

[ffflyer]

Or you could just fly Delta. At least through March. 

[gsking]

Most flights are still less than 2/3 full.   They notify you if your plane is filling any or many middle seats

 Most people traveling with family sit next to them.

They notify you if your plane is filling any or many middle seat. 

Sit in the back and you'll have an empty seat next to you nearly all the time. 

[Synergy]

Oh, we're pretty good at getting an empty middle - high rate of success even before all this.  It helps that my other half is a big guy (not quite COS big) and so he's not anyone's first choice to sit next to in a middle. 

Right now, though, I'd certainly pay to guarantee that seat remain empty.  Many planes are flying under capacity, yes, but there are plenty of full flight emails going out.  

Even before the plague, I'd have been willing to purchase an extra seat on longer flights, but was also willing to take my chances.  I'm less inclined to risk it these days - and yes, if I was planning on flying before Delta ends their middle seat empty policy, I'd pay a premium to fly with them if it worked out cheaper than buying an extra seat for my sensitive electronics on Southwest.  

[bwallet]

Clutch an air sickness bag and look really nervous during boarding. People will sit next to a fat #$%& like me before they sit next to you.

[DancingDavidE]

Also make sure that you don’t look like a couple - there are some hawks out there boarding in C group looking for couples sitting aisle and window knowing if they plop down in the middle you’ll most likely offer to swap one of those for the middle. If it’s all middles left at that point anyway what do they have to lose.

Now we have kids so we’re pretty safe. 

[SWFlyer007]

@gsking  we must be flying very different routes, I've been on 4 flights since the middle seat policy was lifted, each one was full, and seen stand by names prior to boarding on each flight as well.  I'm sure that isn't the case for many flights, but I'm just saying, full flights for me has been the norm.