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Once boarding is complete and the door is shut, as long as people remain in their class of service, I have NEVER seen a FA have a problem with someone switching to an extra fee seat--most even encourage it.
If United has some empty seats in economy plus after the plane has boarded and the door is shut, they will tell people that if they want to move to one of them, it will cost them extra.
Unless a flight attendant offers to move someone as a free upgrade, then passengers just can't take it upon themselves to upgrade themselves.
Plus, with exit row seats, flight attendants want to be sure that anyone sitting there is physically able to open the door if there is an emergency.
Maybe the FA wanted to give the seat to a very tall passenger, or a frequent flyer.
The FF would have already been able to grab that seat during the check in process. If the FA wanted to move someone there, they should have just said it was reserved for another passenger.
If United has some empty seats in economy plus after the plane has boarded and the door is shut, they will tell people that if they want to move to one of them, it will cost them extra.
Unless a flight attendant offers to move someone as a free upgrade, then passengers just can't take it upon themselves to upgrade themselves.
Plus, with exit row seats, flight attendants want to be sure that anyone sitting there is physically able to open the door if there is an emergency.
I don't fly United often, but I have flown them a few times this year, and I've seen people move to exit rows after the cabin doors were shut. Nothing was ever said to them. The FA could have asked them the usual exit row spiel in oh, about five seconds.
For airlines that permit advance seat selection, securing a seat in the emergency exit row may be restricted. Many airlines do not permit booking exit row seats in advance for a number of reasons including:
making sure that the passenger is appropriate for the seating,
because errors have occurred and passengers have had to be re-seated at the airport, causing possible inconveniences for the affected passengers (especially if they are not traveling alone)
Although not all airlines restrict the booking of exit row seating be forewarned - if you or someone you are traveling with falls under the restrictions placed on the emergency exit rows, you/they will be reseated. The inflight crew will not ignore safety procedures, which certainly does include whether a passenger should or shouldn't be seated in the exit row
They OBVIOUSLY felt the woman was not physically capable of the exit row duties which, as ludicrous as people may think they are, for NOW are a "thing. The 50 LB door, for example.
If she could NOT do so, she'd be in the WAY of others who could.
Were talking about 40 to 50 pounds, and that's not just weight as in a suitcase you can lift carefully by a handle from the floor, but dead weight you'd have to lift intact from the interior of the window frame, hold at chest level, and either thread back through the window to throw it clear, or place it on a (now hopefully empty) seat.
Resisting arrest, being "dragged down the isle" telling COPS "do what you have to do" then suing for FIVE MILLION?
TYPICAL. I hope the judge or jury actually ADDS a fine when they rule against her.
Something is just really wrong here. It sounds like the FA's COMPLETELY overreacted. People change seats every day. If it was going to cause a weight/balance issue (HIGHLY doubtful on a large jet) the FA could have just said so. I'm guessing that the FA was looking to pick a fight and the woman wasn't having it. Both were wrong, but I'm not reading anything that warranted her being hauled off to jail.
I've changed seats many, many times on airplanes, and have never been told I couldn't as long I remained in the same class of service.
Well exactly..
Unless there was more to this than the one sided story that was reported. Another words, prior to the police giving her a direct order to leave the plane, both sides could have diffused this situation. However if she started mouthing off and arguing to the point of causing a disturbance, then I can see the captain saying get her off my plane. Heck I'd politely demand to speak to the captain while waiting, as it is his decision who stays or goes. Chances are he could have help calm everyone down.
Regardless, if she had just left the plane as directed by the LEO's, she would have been escorted off, not arrested.
So if part of her huge lawsuit is related to her arrest and time in jail, that is all her own fault.
How about the fact that an exit row seat requires you to be able to help people out in an emergency.. Maybe because fo her age she wouldn't be able to do this....
What was up the FA's ...saddle...that would cause her to say," Oh, No you don't..."
As if the passenger was sneaking or something...she didn't know it
was going to cost her.
I only knew bec I caught the news one day that they charge for comfort now.
The lady made a mistake, so what?
It was her attitude that then was so so stupid...as if she would get
away with attitude on a plane!!
Then, acting like a college protester being dragged off the plane...ridiculous for
a nurse to act like that!
Both parties were outta line...both.
None of the comments about the emergency row seating procedure and pricing structure are relevant, because she went back to her original seat.
". . . At that point, I decided no, I'm not paying $109 and went back to my seat," Mamakos tells CBS New York. But once there, she says, "I heard the captain say there is a lady who wants to get off the plane . . . ."
Regardless, we are not getting the whole story. This I know.
How about the fact that an exit row seat requires you to be able to help people out in an emergency.. Maybe because fo her age she wouldn't be able to do this....
She was on her way to go skiing in Alaska with her ski club. I'm betting she's in better shape than most 35 year olds.
She wasn't sitting in the exit row seating when she was kicked off.
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