Why it’s dangerous to change seats on an airplane without permission
Airlines may restrict seat changes for various reasons. Here’s what you need to know before you move.
- Moving to an empty seat on a plane without permission may result in additional charges.
- Airlines use assigned seats to calculate aircraft weight and balance for safety purposes.
- Things like premium seats with extra legroom are considered separate, more expensive products.
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Not all airplane seats are created equal. Passengers should remember that just because they have a ticket doesn’t mean they can sit wherever they want. Even Southwest Airlines is eliminating empty seats.
It may be frustrating, but just because a seat is available on a plane doesn’t necessarily mean it will be specifically offered to you. It could be a premium seat for which you have to pay extra. Or it may be unavailable for some reason. Or there could be another reason why you shouldn’t sit there for safety reasons.
I know it’s frustrating to see a seat vacated when you’re elbow-to-elbow with your neighbor on a plane, but there’s a good reason for the policy of keeping passengers where they are, and it’s not just about maximizing profits.
Here’s why sitting still on a plane isn’t such a bad thing, and why you should always ask first if you’re moving.
Safety first
General readers are probably tired of seeing me write about how everything in aviation has a safety component, but it’s true. And you might be surprised to know that this extends to seating assignments as well.
“There’s weight and balance, and airplanes need to be balanced in order to fly safely,” Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge, told me.
Snyder acknowledged that weight and balance are more of an issue in smaller planes, but weight and balance can still be a safety factor in larger planes. Regardless of the size of your airplane, if it’s out of balance it may not be able to take off or land safely, and even a small amount of weight in the wrong place can affect your airplane’s ability to fly.
Last winter, I was flying home from Utah on a relatively empty plane, and the gate agent kept announcing that many of us would be given new seat assignments at the gate. They emphasized the importance of remaining in your newly assigned seat during takeoff and landing to keep the plane properly balanced.
“Airlines will know where people are sitting, use their systems to calculate weight and balance, and load cargo and baggage appropriately to ensure balance is maintained,” Snyder said. “That can still be an issue, and travelers don’t want to mess it up on their flight.”
benefits and privileges
Perhaps this (profit motive) is why most people think that airlines will not allow passengers to move after the boarding doors are closed, and there is certainly some truth to this. The company charges a premium for some seats, and allowing passengers to travel without paying would devalue the product for those who paid for it.
“Once you started getting more legroom, people paid for it, and they felt like it was worth paying for.” “It’s not fair to them, when the people who actually paid for it are angry,” Snyder said.
A United Airlines passenger charged $86 to change seats was most likely trying to move to a seat with more legroom, which many airlines consider a separate ticket class.
United themselves posted (somewhat cheekily) about this kind of move on social media in 2019, and I think what they said then still applies today.
“Customers who choose to pay Economy Plus will be given that extra space. If you bought a Toyota, you wouldn’t be able to drive in a Lexus because it was empty.^BA,” the airline’s post said.
That idea makes sense to me too. If there are customers who are willing to pay extra for extra space, or who have been upgraded as a result of their loyalty to the airline, shouldn’t those passengers also experience greater benefits on less-than-full flights?
I also think more companies should post on social media with the philosophy that if you ask a stupid question, you’ll get a straight answer, but that’s not the problem.
What to do if you are dissatisfied with your assigned seat
If you’re getting ready to board a plane and aren’t happy with your assigned seat, there are a few things you can do.
First, you should check whether you can change your seat on the airline’s app or website.
“In many cases, you can do it in an app, and that’s perfectly fine,” Snyder said. “Self-service is the best.”
If that doesn’t work, you can try talking to the gate agent in charge of your flight, but he cautioned that they may not always be able to help you.
“Generally, what’s best is when someone at the gate isn’t overwhelmed and has time, but they’re trying to do a million things to get the plane out on time,” Snyder said.
Snyder cautioned that your last resort is to talk to a flight attendant, but that’s only worth doing if there’s a serious problem.
“Maybe the flight attendants will be able to help you, and if you want to move to a seat with more legroom, they’ll take the fare on board, but if you don’t, it just makes the flight attendants’ job that much harder,” he said, but cautioned that “if you’re on a plane and you have legitimate concerns, such as health or safety concerns, you should absolutely talk to the flight attendants at that time.”
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and can be reached at zwichter@usatoday.com.
