This is of absolutely no consequence, but I’m curious if anyone has any insights or theories.
In this post:
Passenger moves from window seat to middle seat
This morning I flew from Miami (MIA) to Tampa (TPA). While I didn’t get an upgrade (I was number seven out of 14 on the upgrade list as an Executive Platinum), I was delighted that the flight operated on schedule, given all the irregular operations that we’ve seen in recent days.
Even though the flight was quite full, I lucked out. Not only did I have an exit row aisle seat (seat 17C), but I also had an empty seat next to me, with someone else in the window seat (seat 17A). Hey, that’s basically like first class!
Of course during boarding you always wonder if someone is going to try to take a seat in an exit row, so I was happy when I heard the announcement about boarding being complete, and about the door being closed.
Well, to my surprise, the second the door closed, the woman in seat 17A moved to seat 17B. Yes, the person in the exit row window two seats over from me moved to the exit row middle seat immediately next to me. She stayed there the entire flight, and the window seat stayed open.
Please help me make sense of this!
I bought one seat, so I’m by no means entitled to an empty seat next to me. However, curiosity is getting the best of me, and I’m trying to come up with any possible theory for why someone would do this.
I was tempted to outright ask the woman why she moved. But I’m not a very social person, and I also couldn’t come up with a decent way to phrase it. I mean, what could one really say?
“Hey, so it’s totally fine you moved to the middle seat, but I’m just curios, why? Usually people prefer window and aisle seats, so…”
We do frequently see pairs traveling together try the strategy where they select a window and aisle seat in hopes of getting an empty middle seat. Then if the middle seat is occupied, they can offer either the aisle or window seat to that person, to be able to sit together. But this is an odd twist on that, where a solo traveler seated in the window seat decided they wanted a middle seat instead. Make it make sense, please!
The only half-decent theory I can come up with here is that the passenger was scared of sitting right at the exit row, given the Alaska Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug incident earlier this year. However, this was a Boeing 737-800, so it wasn’t a MAX, and also doesn’t have the same door plug as the 737 MAX 9 and 737-900ER. Then again, plenty of people may not realize that, and just think “Boeing” and “exit row,” and become scared.
Bottom line
It’s not uncommon to see people swap seats on planes, though I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone voluntarily move from a window seat with an empty middle seat to that same middle seat with someone next to them. So if anyone has any theories, I’d love to hear them…
Anyone have any theories as to this strange seat swap?
Well, I got an upgrade from Business to First on a HK-Amsterdam flight once, because the seat in First was a window seat and the person there was frightened of being sucked out the window. The purser asked me to swap and I didn't have any trouble agreeing.
Being sucked out the window is actually a possibility, if somewhat remote ... I remember the person on the SW flight who was killed because of an engine mishap smashing her window.
You wrote "but I’m just curios"
Should say "curious"
How do you know she wasn’t just looking out the window and her assigned seat was the middle one?
In almost all the planes i have flown on, a large youngish man is placed or moved into the Exit seat, with instructions how to deal with an emergency opening.
Maybe you swap quickly to the window seat, and she will quite inmediately swap to the aisle seat
Maybe she was disappointed to find out that the windows don't open? Many years ago I was single and traveled quite a bit. I'd be first to board, then watch as attractive young women would board, excited about the prospect of one sitting down next to me. Never happened. One day I mentioned that to the agent as I was checking in, the response: "You're 100k, so as a courtesy we try to keep the seat next to you empty." Some favor!
The pitfalls of loyalty.... ^^
I would have moved as well, being tall. An aisle allows you to stretch your legs just a but more, especially when window seat is open too.
Possibly something wrong with her seat bottom cushion.
Being tall, I can see out the window better from one seat away, esp. on the ground. I ight have moved to 17B until the seatbelt sign went off, then go back to 17A.
Maybe that WAS her assigned seat.
social skills?
She sat closer so her NFC and Bluetooth could steal your info more easily.
The first thing that came to mind was that she didn’t want to share the open seat. Terrible reflection on how cynical I am about the world today
If she were a man and Ben were a woman, the assumption would be this was really creepy behavior wouldn't it?
Here's my theory. If the middle seat is empty, she doesn't get exclusive use of it, she kind of has to share it with the aisle seat. If she moves to the middle seat, she gets a personal free seat next to her where she can put her stuff or try to stretch out....
If she were a man and Ben were a woman, the assumption would be this was really creepy behavior wouldn't it?
Here's my theory. If the middle seat is empty, she doesn't get exclusive use of it, she kind of has to share it with the aisle seat. If she moves to the middle seat, she gets a personal free seat next to her where she can put her stuff or try to stretch out.
I was on a long haul flight once, sitting in an aisle seat of a four seat row in middle of plane. Seat next to me was empty! Hurrah! A couple was seated in the other two seats. Plane takes off, they whisper among each other, then the woman slides over next to me so they can claim three seats to themselves and try to twist/contort/semi-recline during the flight.
She had a fancy for you ! Seriously though I would have asked her right away .
Maybe she thought your blog was called One Mile High at a Time.
Seriously, that would have annoyed me greatly. I don’t agree that it’s totally fine she swapped. She should have gone back to her own seat
Some aircraft have stubby or no arm rests on the exit window.
Wonder if it was a subtle play at the aisle seat? Maybe she moved hoping you’d inquire, she’d explain whatever bs reason she didn’t want the window, you offer to switch and voila, she gets the aisle seat.
Or maybe she was just crushing on you
Probably just a matter of preference.
Not every "minds" having someone next to them, especially if there's still some space around (e.g. the window seat next to her, the aisle next to you) to space out that little bit.
As to why someone wouldn't like window seats, I guess recent Boeing events would point out how dangerous exit seats could be... and of course, that draught isn't everyone's cup of tea.
Maybe she liked you?
I would have asked her at the end of the flight (in case she got angry or something) or when the plane a landed and said politely: “ Just out of curiosity why did you move from the Window to Middle seat, as I always prefer the window over the middle seat?”
Next time you have to ask Ben after all it is your job (writing about weird travel quirks)!
Amongst other failures the 737 curves more acutely by the window than other short haul aircraft. I personally find it unpleasant to sit by the window vs on an A320 for example.
“Hey, so it’s totally fine you moved to the middle seat, but I’m just curios, why?…”
Curios are (typically) wood & glass cabinets used to display knickknacks and whatnots (curiosities).
The word you want is ‘curious’; please change it to that.
This happened to me last year on a flight from SJC to Seattle, except I had the window seat and the woman who had the aisle seat moved to the middle, leaving the aisle open. She was older and I don’t think English was her first language. She may have been a nervous flier. Still, very odd!
Perhaps she suffers fear of heights or fear of flying and she suddenly had a need to be far from the window. She may have thought she’d be ok and chose a window seat to test her courage, and then the courage suddenly failed.
Just ask next time. And your don't even have to be elaborate about it... I'm curious why you switched seats. Don't make it harder than you need to
She prolly was like, "that's ben from one mile at a time. What a snack. Lemme scooch over"
The curb of the plane can often not give you as much leg room and the exit door can often restrict the window seat in an exit row as well. Middle seat and aisle are clear.
Some people are afraid of flying and feel more comfortable sitting next to a person. Or maybe the window seat was defective in some way and caused discomfort.
She found you attractive!
Happens to me all the time :)
Exit row window seats get cold -- and few people understand the difference between 737 types so it could have been fear.... Next time ask the person if they want your aisle seat as you noticed they did not like being near a window....
Had a similar thing happen to me on a JetBlue flight, but I actually asked - her entertainment screen was "slow" or something like that. She actually moved to a middle seat between two people from an aisle in another row! It was a transcon LAX-BOS and I chose that seat specifically because no one was in the middle, so I was more than a little bummed when someone moved there. But it's true, I...
Had a similar thing happen to me on a JetBlue flight, but I actually asked - her entertainment screen was "slow" or something like that. She actually moved to a middle seat between two people from an aisle in another row! It was a transcon LAX-BOS and I chose that seat specifically because no one was in the middle, so I was more than a little bummed when someone moved there. But it's true, I didn't shell out for Mint, and I didn't book two seats, so all you can do is be bummed :)
Simple conversation starter: "Don't you like window seats?"
She clearly wanted to be close to you and hoping you would ask her out for drinks after you landed. Maybe come to your hotel for some cards or cocktails. It was tees up for you perfectly !
Maybe she was looking to join the mile high club…
As a retired flight attendant of 35 years, any exit can be drafty enough to be cold at the seat. That includes crew jumpseats.
To be closer to the lavatory.
Maybe she was putting the moves on you but let it be when you didn't reciprocate. I'd have offered to switch the aisle for the window if that made her happier.
People act in strange ways (with strangers) in an airplane.
She was a pickpocket.
It can be quite cold sat in emergency exit seats is the only idea I have to offer.
Unless it was your sparkling personality that was the draw?
Come on, Ben! You gotta channel your inner Larry David in these situations and ask the person what’s going on!
As someone else mentioned, she was likely cold. Those window seats can be frigid.
The emergency exit window seats are sometimes quite drafty.
I know sometimes it gets cold sitting beside an exit where the door seals are. Maybe she has bad circulation?!
Same thing happened to me on a redeye from LAX to ORD on a United 757 about a year ago. I was in the window seat, and there was a lady in the aisle. She moved to the middle seat after the door closed, and stayed there the entire flight. She was on the bigger side, so it was quite brutal for me because I was a 6' 3" male cramped in a window seat...
Same thing happened to me on a redeye from LAX to ORD on a United 757 about a year ago. I was in the window seat, and there was a lady in the aisle. She moved to the middle seat after the door closed, and stayed there the entire flight. She was on the bigger side, so it was quite brutal for me because I was a 6' 3" male cramped in a window seat in a regular Economy seat on the 757 with 30" of pitch. I thankfully have status with AA, and I hadn't flown UA in a decade, so I was used to being in extra legroom seats. And this was a redeye, so I really wanted to have some personal space and sleep. But I couldn't even spread my legs out because of that lady.
The answer is clear, she thought you were hot.
Watch out Ford, your hubby's got game.
That’s the first thing that came to my mind!
Afterthought to my earlier ‘tongue-in-cheek’ comment.
The lady may have only realised that her seat was adjacent to an emergency exit once she arrived there.
Was the aircraft a Boeing 737 Max, alternatively, did the lady have the 737 nervous breakdown?
Lolll that's so awkward!! What the heck!?
I have no idea, Lucky, but that's hilarious!
I would simply ask her is she would prefer the aisle seat.
My guess is pretty simple. Often the window seat in the exit row has a tiny armest, no armrest at all, or an armrest that is misaligned. That could be why she'd prefer the middle seat with two normal armrests and an empty seat to her left.
Good lord. MIA to TPA is blocked at 57 minutes gate to gate with 38 minutes of actual flight time. Upgrade junkies truly do have an addiction. Pay for FC if 57 minutes in a bigger seat is so important to you. And I GUARANTEE there will be someone next to you in FC.
Surely the answer is quite simple really ….
Being female there is absolutely no way of knowing how her mind works.
If she had any experience with exit row seats (as many of the commenters here have), then why did she accept that seat assignment. The fact she moved immediately suggests she was familiar with the issue. Alternatively she could responded No to the FA questions and gotten reseated. Strange???
On some planes the exit seat next to the window is designed to be harder with less cushioning on the bottom and often the lack of or strangely placed arm rest can also make it uncomfortable. But I also like your theory of the door plug fear.
I’m going to lay out a very plausible theory that I myself adhere to not sit in exit row window seats in most cases, though I would never switch to the middle seat of it were empty…. Don’t know if it applies on this plane and row, but on many exit row window seats, the window armrest is short nub and not full length like the other seats on the plane. The way I lay my elbow would miss this nub of an armrest, so it makes for an uncomfortable seating position for me…..
I might have tried to confirm if she had an issue with the the window seat so I could offer her the aisle, take the window, thus preserve the space between.
She wanted to store something underneath the seat in front of her? Idk why else.
She sits in the window she shares the empty middle with you. She sits in the middle the empty window is hers and hers alone
She and Ford like the same guy?
Maybe she wanted to cuddle up to you lucky
Probably the Alaska incident - most people aren’t going to know the difference between aircraft types. Probably didn’t even know she had booked a exit row door seat til she was on the plane.
She did not want to sit next to the exit door which, in her mind, could blow out.
I live in a city where SWA is the dominant carrier. I pay extra for A1 to A15 boarding to sit in the exit row. I have observed more people passing by the exit row if there are other options than before the Alaska Air incident. Anecdotal only. Just my thought.
Just “plane” weird.
In my own experience on some planes at exit row window it is a bit colder especially around the exot door frame and my feet get cold and so I no longer select exit row window seats.
Window seats can sometimes be colder.
Why she was assigned a seat generally considered particularly desirable, but did not want it?
Had status?
Other half/executive assistant arranged it?
Perhaps she's afraid of heights and really did not want a window seat. I've heard of flight attendants afraid of heights and will not look out windows.
There are 2 reasons I don’t sit in the emergency exit window. First, the seat cushion is far less comfortable than the other seats as it is made with less padding(yes, even less) making it easier to remove and throw out the window if needed. Secondly, there is no armrest for that seat on the fuselage side. Some airlines will mount a small padded block to the door as a replacement for the armrest but it’s really a joke and quite uncomfortable.
I wouldn’t ask why but I would say, “the plane door has closed, I don’t think anyone else will come to this row, you can probably remain there if you want,” and let her come up with a reason if she wishes.
Maybe you could have offered your aisle seat and see what she said.
She obviously felt comfortable sitting next to you otherwise she wouldn't have.
I bet it was the arm rest. I don't do window seat exit row as there is usually not an arm rest so its very uncomfortable.
My wife always says the window seat cold.......
She was hitting on you?
Was the passenger behind her a child or someone who she thought might disturb her during the flight? I would have just asked her, I think your potential opening line would have been quite ok.
Damn Ben, you are anti-social. Why not just ask? If that was indeed her concern maybe you two could have swapped and you would still have the additional space.
Agreed.
I suggest the line to most likely achieve that would have been "Would you prefer to sit in this aisle seat?"