Buying window and aisle seats on a 3 seat setup

Good strategy because if the middle seat does fill up then you ask that person if they want the aisle or window and you sit next to your partner. Don't really see a downside to this unless you're paying $$ for these seats

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I can't remember the last time I was on a flight that wasn't completely sold out. Seems like a gamble.

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I mean, what's the gamble? If it gets booked that person is obviously going to be fine switching and taking either the window or aisle.

And yes we do it every time, no real downside at least that I've ever ran in to. Once or twice due to a full plane the seat in the middle of us was booked and they were more than happy to switch and take the aisle.

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My only worry is we get some total weirdo that refuses to play along and says they have to stay in that seat.

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If there's seats in the next class up with the 2 seat configuration, I'd ask to be moved up to that area in exchange for switching seats.

Air New Zealand has a thing they call Sky Couch that looks really cool. You can pay for an entire row for slightly more than the cost of 2 coach seats. The row folds out into a couch configuration. I'm giving this a try in a few weeks, LAX to Auckland. It's about 1/3 - 1/2 the cost of Business and is slightly larger overall than a Business lay flat seat. You don't get the same meals and service but I just want to lay out and sleep and be comfortable for the 14 hours I'm on the plane. Maybe other airlines will start doing this too.

On our way back from Paris this past November the flight was undersold and my family of 5 had all three and a+c and the family of 4 in front of us had a+c in two rows. I was listening to them and the wife seemed super high maintenance she was working on her sleeping arrangement.

5 mins before closing the gates the pilot gets on and says they are waiting on a large group to make its way. A group of elderly large black ladies that had been in africa for 3 weeks finally gets boarded about 10 mins after scheduled take off time and sure enough they take up all of the empty seats. We did as said above and let her have the aisle and I sat next to my young daughter in the middle.

It was fine for us, but certainly not as good as an extra seat. Lady in front was pissed….

I think I’d choose a full aisle and then the aisle across if I was a family of 4. Maybe you get one extra. Sure you could game the system but the loss is just as big as the reward. Also depends on the day of your flight. Fri, Sat, Sun I wouldn’t do it for sure. T-Th you probably have better luck?

Someone asked what the gamble is? The gamble is that a 300 lb. plus person is going to show up in that middle seat

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Air New Zealand has a thing they call Sky Couch that looks really cool. You can pay for an entire row for slightly more than the cost of 2 coach seats.

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I've taken two flights to NZ/AUS on New Years Eve and both of them were more than half empty so I made a bed on an empty middle row and got 8 hours sleep.

Pro-tip: if you are flying across the Pacific and are dreading that 13-15 hour flight then try to travel on NYE as most people prefer to celebrate New Years rather than hop on a plane at 11 pm. As an added benefit you will get to celebrate the New Year a dozen times as you cross back over time zones.

No..never. I’ll do two isles; one in front of another OR across the isle from each other before I do that.

Many don't book for a particular seat as they let the airline choose their seat. They go and pay for their ticket and then they get placed in the middle when this happens. This happens for more budget conscious people that I'd prefer not to sit by.

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I can't remember the last time I was on a flight that wasn't completely sold out. Seems like a gamble.

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Right??


Have ya'll not flown since 2006?