The Dreaded Seat Swap

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How many times have you been asked to swap seats on a flight? And how many times have you asked? The subject rears its ugly head almost daily on travel websites, the news, and various airline blogs.

On my rather long and circuitous trips through Asia and Europe, I rarely get asked. It seems the request comes most often in the Business Class seats that I have booked several month is advance.

It appears two passengers have upgraded their seats at the last minute, either with money, points, or comped by the airline. I was already seated in an aisle seat in a 2x2 configuration in Business Class. I was asked not once, but twice to change seats, and ended up in the last row window seat. Not terrible, except for one thing. The guy next to me had a terrible cough! I wore a mask, but I still ended up with a horrible two week cough throughout Germany, Portugal, and Poland.

But I have also made my share of mistakes, not often but quite painful. I upgraded my seat to Economy Plus (more legroom), but it was a middle seat. In the chaos of boarding, I sat in the original seat, one row back at a window. When the passenger arrived to claim her seat, she rather casually (and cleverly, I might add) said she would take the dreaded "middle seat" to spare me having to move. I soon realized I had been duped, and suffered a long and terrible flight in a cramped window seat in regular coach!

On European trains, even the coach seats have compartments with six seats, three on each side, facing each other. The secret to creating a luxurious trip? Slide the seats into a three-bed configuration and pretend to be sound asleep when additional passengers board. It works most of the time, especially at night when they can't see you faces or sex. Most likely, a woman would not want to get sandwiched between two strange men?

On the Trans-Siberian Railway, I was able to swap my bunk from one cabin to another. Mine was filled with three off duty railway employees who smoked! I moved over to a cabin with three PhD students from Omsk, two young women, and a young man. Great trade!!! They wanted to speak English and learn more about the US.

Once in a while, it works out great! Middle seats are hard to swap, no matter coach or Business.

So, I repeat, never ask me to switch unless you want to send up to First Class!

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