Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
I actually have my own post-9/11 seat moving story, which I've told before on radio.
I paid extra money for Economy Plus (extra legroom) in 2012, but didn't know about those sites where you could look up seats on airplanes for faults.
So the seats I chose couldn't recline, and I didn't know this until I boarded. The airlines should really warn you about this before you pay EXTRA for such seats, but they don't.
Anyway, I was very unhappy with the situation. I knew there was nothing I could do about it, so I didn't complain at first. However, after they closed the airplane doors, I noticed 3 other empty Economy Plus seats nearby, and those COULD recline!
I went to the stewardess and asked if I could move, and explained why. She got really bitchy with me right off the bat, lecturing me, "Those are your seats, and you can't move." I tried to keep as calm as possible, because I didn't want to get kicked from the plane for being a disruption. I tried to softly reason with her, explaining that I paid extra for these seats and had no idea they couldn't recline, and how I would be happy to move after takeoff when it was 100% clear no one was sitting there. She coldly responded, "You paid for legroom, not for recline. You need to return to your seat."
I was pissed and wanted to continue arguing, but knowing I was on an airplane in a post-9//11 world, I turned around and quietly sat down, accepting the crappy decision.
10 minutes after takeoff, she approached me again.
"Those seats over there... you can move now if you want."
I didn't understand why she changed her mind. Perhaps she cooled down in those 10 minutes and re-thought the situation.
WOW, the level of entitlement in this post is staggering. So lets get this straight, you fucked up and did not check the fine print on the seats before you purchased, and your course of action is to approach a flight attendant right before takeoff, arguably the most sensitive time for safety of the entire plane, passengers + crew.
It really amazes me as a semi-frequent flyer the entitlement certain passengers now expect when boarding an aircraft. In this case, Dan Druff expects something for nothing, do you realize how many people pull shit like this all the time? At least Druff asked, most simply just move on their own accord and have to get beat down by the flight attendants to get back in their seat.
Being a flight attendant has to be the worst job on the planet. You have to deal with passengers trying to scam the system and get something for free on the plane all the time. I was on a Southwest flight the other day and a passenger had an expired drink coupon and tried to scam a free drink with it. The Flight Attendant dug in and said NO, so douche bag began to argue that he just found the ticket in his wallet. I was next to him and said "put the drink on my bill" and made him look like a piece of shit, and he quickly pulled out his credit card when everyone began to stare in the opposite row. And guess what, I was politely thanked by the attendant when I left, it was actually gratifying stepping in and making a douche bag look like a clown in front of everyone.
You do realize Druff your Flight Attendant had 0.0 obligation to hear anything you were saying. YOU bought the ticket with no recliner, and she obviously did not want to make a scene pre-flight allowing you to get a seat you did not pay for. BECAUSE GUESS WHAT???? The guy next to you is going to ask for the same fucking thing, and then you have a stampede effect with requests and they are trying to take off on schedule. Now the FA has to deal with 10 Dan Druffs trying to get to first class.
Fuck, you should have just sat there and read the back of the puke bag and just dealt with it for a couple hours. I am quite honestly shocked she cut you a break. To your point she probably had a miserable day and this was her last leg until being off for a few days. I guarantee you this, if it had been her first leg of a trip she would have kept you there in that seat and let you stew until you got to the terminal and wrote the Delta CEO a letter. Ironically, and sadly, you would have thought in your heart you were getting screwed by not getting something for free.
I see it all the fucking time on flights where there is some asshole talking on his phone after being warned to shut it off for the third time. They hold up the flight because their phone call is more important that everyone else's time. You are just astonished that a flight attendant did not give you something for free, and so obtuse on why she said no in the first place.