Adam’s letter yesterday laid bare what smart travelers already know: you can request a seat upgrade (like the emergency exit row which boasts more legroom) for free once you’re aboard.
They can turn you down, but it’s worth a shot.
You might opt for that instead of a potentially costly upgrade, unless of course you want the guarantee.
Or, book it right the first time! — BEN POPKEN
(Photo: Andrea Harner)
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You can–for now. If enough people like Adam start filing fraudulent chargebacks, the airlines might do away with free upgrades entirely.
When I check in there is usually the option to upgrade to “economy plus” for a reasonable fee, usually $20 to $40. At the same time I can usually see which seats are available in all sections, so I know whether that extra few inches will be useful, or whether I can expand widthwise with an empty middle seat beside me.
This doesn’t always work. I was on a 1/2 empty (1/2 full?) flight from Amsterdam to ATL and asked the flight attendant if I could move to first class. She pulled out this book and quoted me a price of $2500 for a mid-flight upgrade. It never hurts to ask, though.
It’s all good, bc I had an entire row (10 seats i think) to myself.
Please do NOT request an exit row seat unless you really need the extra room. I’m very tall, and the exit row is the only seat I can feel comfortable in when flying economy. But no matter how early I check in, all of them are always full (since 9/11 you can’t book an exit row online for several airlines). When I board the plane, I take a look at sitting in the exit row…tiny old people who don’t need the room and who couldn’t even LIFT the handle to open the door, let alone the door itself. So in an emerency all they would only be directly in the way of everyone else, and I probably wouldn’t give a crap because my knees would be too malformed for me to bother trying to escape.
So please, at the request of someone willing and able to do whatever I can to help strangers in the event of an emergency, and who needs a few more inches for my oversized knees, don’t sit in the exit row unless you are over 6’2″
I’m 6’3″, can I sit there?
I doubt this is unique to my limited air travels, but have any of you ever been asked by a passenger to switch seats? I usually accommodate people who get separated by a “ruthless ticket agent” who ask. (Is there anything wrong with that?)
However… if I board the flight and you are in my seat and all “moved-in” with thoughts of “eminent domain” in your head, you better believe your ass is getting up; if only to teach you to ask next time.
@MercuryPDX: Yeah, usually I try to be accommodating of others, in the hope that Karma will aid me when I need to move around. Also, just use seatguru.com, and I don’t think there is any need to upgrade midflight.
I almost always get an exit row just by asking when I go check in. Even if it’s self-check in, I just ask the agent behind the counter and I’m accommodated about 90% of the time.
Please DO NOT request an exit row unless you’re me. I am not you, and my special circumstance hence makes it much more fair that I (and not you) are comfortable. Being me (and not you), my comfort is much, much more important than yours. Thanks!
@getjustin:
Same here. And it doesn’t hurt to ask nicely. Especially if everything at the airport is screwy, you might be the nicest person that the airline employee has seen all day.
@max andrews: Make that “please don’t sit in the exit row unless you are capable of following emergency instructions”. Being tall has nothing to do with whether or not you can follow instructions. You can be tall and not be able to operate the emergency mechanism or open the door. Or you can be skinny, or short, and be able to do both very easily.
Exit rows don’t exist for comfort reasons. Exit rows exist to make it possible to evacuate in the event of an emergency. The aisle is a little wider there for that reason.
If you see old people or young kids in the exit row seats, you need to talk to a flight attendant and state that you’re concerned about evacuation and explain why. Old people and small children should be reseated.
I do not sit in exit rows myself because I’m hearing impaired and if my hearing aid were to be damaged in a crash, I wouldn’t be able to hear instructions.
This probably wouldn’t work on UAL…They’re pressing hard to keep the Economy Plus separate, and normally won’t move you. Or maybe the few flights I’ve taken with them the last few months, the flight attendants have been jerks.
I’ve switched to an open seat on a sparsely-occupied row, and the flight attendants have never cared. It lets me and the passengers on my former row all spread out. It might not be an “upgrade”, but definitely worth doing.
@Greeper: Thanks for the chuckle. Nothin’ quite like pwning an entitled dipshit after lunch.
@jacques: I’m sorry if you feel mistrated, but a significant portion of United’s customers are entitled to Economy Plus access based on either status or a buy-in. The flight attendants aren’t being jerks, they’re protecting a benefit that customer’s have paid for with loyalty (and many thousands of dollars) or as an outright purchase.
It’s a disservice to me if Economy Plus access is not enforced.
I read that tall people make more money than me and that they get all the online hotties based on nothing more than their height. Now they want my exit row seat?
This isn’t really an “upgrade” as it doesn’t cost any more for an exit row than a regular seat. Why not just ask for an exit row when you make your reservation on line or when you get to the gate? An “upgrade” would be to first class or whatever that airline calls it.
I’m 6’8″ and I if I’m flying coach, I usually ask if an exit row is available when I check in (my wife, who has Delta’s Silver status, can pick them online when she buys the tickets). It’s nice, especially on long flights, to not have my knees burrowed into the seat in front of me BEFORE the person in front of me even reclines. I also always as the person behind me if they mind if I recline in advance because of the number of times I’ve had to straddle the reclined seat in front of me. If I could afford to upgrade, I would, but asking nicely at the gate usually nabs me an exit row if the flight is not too full.
I don’t think I have a sense of entitlement regarding the seat but, well, a little consideration would be nice. It’s the least you sub-6ers can do considering the restraint I show when you ask me for the millionth time if I play basketball.
Speaking as a moderately tall person (though not tall enough to fit his criterion), Max has a point.
All you height-impaired haterz can load your own oversized rollaboards into the overhead bins from now on, as far as I’m concerned…
On our American Airlines flight last month from Heathrow to O’Hare, we were told that over the loudspeaker by the Captain that, due to FAA regulations, we were not allowed to move between cabins – i.e., we were not allowed to even WALK through business or first, and that there would be no upgrading between classes. It worked both ways too… first classers weren’t allowed to come back with us “normals”.
I had never heard this rule before – not even on our AA O’Hare to Heathrow flight the week before.
@leftistcoast: Sounds like a sense of entitlement to me. You are asking the person who gives up the exit row seat to be uncomfortable so that you can be comfortable. That person got the seat somehow–paid for it, got upgraded due to elite status, got there first. In any event, fair and square. If you want a more comfortable seat, you should also consider paying for an upgrade or attaining elite status.
@leftistcoast:
But if you’re 6’8″, shouldn’t you be able to buy the first class seat with all your basketball cash??
@Greeper:
Bwahahahahaha! That was classic. Thank you!
I’m just an average 6′ tall person, and have no compunction at all about asking for an exit row seat. If I can’t get what seatguru.com says is a good seat assigned before the flight, I’ll ask for exit row at check in.
Secret: Continental allows online check in 24 hours before a flight. You can beat the hoi polloi to the exit row by using continental.com to check in to your flight and get assigned an exit row.
@not_seth_brundle: I’ve never asked anyone to give up their exit row seat. I’m just saying that if you’re sub-6 foot, you don’t need that extra leg room necessarily. You can stretch your legs under the seat in front of you in coach, even with the seat in front of you reclined. I, however, cannot. And, trust me, if I could afford to upgrade, I would.
Also, (and you’re free to call me a crazy hippy liberal for saying this) but just because you can afford something doesn’t mean you need it…or even deserve it. But that’s another issue entirely…
@leftistcoast: I’m guessing that you don’t *need* the extra leg room, either. You’re just more comfortable when you have it. So am I.
I fully agree with your second point as a general matter. But it is another issue entirely. Until I can determine whether a total stranger “deserves” an exit row seat, I’ll continue to claim one when I can.
What I dont understand is why it costs money to go to a seat thats EMPTY anyways……
Maybe on a plane, since they server first class better meals and the attendants are better, but on a train, first class and second and third class are exactly the same, its just that first and second are usually empty, there NO food service, and the ticket checkers are still assholes….probably only in eastern europe….
@shdwsclan: While the seat is empty, there still is a cost, in time, to the attendants servicing you. If I paid for a higher level of service, and some no-goodnik came up grubbing for a free upgrade without cause, you best believe I’d be an unhappy camper.