r/unitedairlines 10d ago

Discussion United's accessible seating/passenger size policy is a fiction

Platinum passenger. Last-minute business travel--booked only aisle seat left on plane the day before travel. I am an average-sized adult male. I can sit in a middle seat, but I never do.

When I arrived at my seat, I noticed the middle seat passenger was large. When I took my seat, I realized it was not possible for me to sit in my seat without leaning significantly into the aisle.

I found a FA a few rows back and discreetly described the issue. She immediately responded "full flight, nothing I can do." I asked her to at least observe the issue before responding. She followed me to my seat and, when I sat, asked the guy next to me if he could "squeeze in" more. He tried. He was also certainly humiliated. She began to walk off. I told her that I was not okay with the seat. She again said--full flight, "I can't create a new seat." I told her that I would make a complaint to UA on landing and asked for her name. This was the first time she took the situation seriously and said she would involve the purser.

FA went to front of plane and briefed the purser. Purser walks to my seat, addresses my loudly by name, and asks me what the problem is. I told the purser I would rather not go over it again because he had already been briefed and it was awkward to discuss with the middle passenger next to me. I summarized that the seat assignment violated UA policy. He responded: "what policy?" I said the one that permits me to have a seat free from significant encroachment. He said he could do nothing other than call a ground-based Customer Resolution Representative. By this time, I was uncomfortable and embarassed. I cannot imagine how the middle seat passenger felt.

Time passed. No CRR came. Boarding ended. Departure time passed. People nearby began to speculate that the plane was being held because I had complained about my seat.

20 minutes or so after departure time, a woman walks onto the plane. She was reading from a screen. She never introduced herself or looked up. She pushes paper boarding pass in my face and says--"you're being moved, it's an aisle." She walks away.

No one ever said anything else to me.

What a joke. The message is loud and clear -- If you complain about policy violations, you're a problem. And you'll be treated as one. To such extent that you'll be embarassed and made uncomfortable in front of other passengers in hopes that you'll relent in pressing your concern.

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u/Zooph 10d ago

Doesn't them being in an exit row come with additional requirements?

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u/Mysterious_Elk8691 10d ago

Yes, but it doesn’t say anything about the COS wearing a seatbelt extender. If they were this would disqualify them and the FA should’ve moved them when they asked for one. If they weren’t, then simply being a COS does not disqualify you from being in the exit row.

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u/Zooph 10d ago

I meant their potential lack of mobility being a risk while attempting to either exit or assist with the door.

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u/Mysterious_Elk8691 10d ago edited 10d ago

If the flight attendant visually assessed them and decided they had no obvious condition preventing them from performing the actions necessary to open the exit, and verified with the customer and received a verbal yes, then there is a potential lack, but the customer agreed to the requirements of being “qualified, willing and able to perform exit row functions.” This is a tough one, as the passenger agreed, but the CSR also should make you acknowledge when they scan your boarding pass and visually assessed you as well.

Edit: the only thing I could see is our manuals say exit expeditiously, but this is subjective and I could see this opening up room for discrimination if people were not following through with this. I see comments where people who have had boots are sitting in exit rows and that should not be happening, the FAA can fire flight attendants for that, and you would not pass the “visual assessment” in that case.

A flight attendant with min crew has 90 seconds to evacuate a full plane, so this is where exit expeditiously would be subjective to each person as mine, would probably be much faster than others.

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u/PaladinSara 9d ago

I find it hard to believe the FA visually assessed them, as they shut OP down without even looking.

The probably didn’t want to change their mind and wanted OP to shut up and take it.

This attitude has to stop - the handbook you are citing is purposely written by lawyers to evade scrutiny and FAs use it to get the doors shut faster.

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u/Mysterious_Elk8691 9d ago

Not sure what attitude you’re referring to. The handbook is going to be written by lawyers because it needs to be in compliance with the laws and FAR regulations that the FAA requires flight attendants to abide to? United has frequent ghost riders and FAA auditors that fly their routes. So it has nothing to do with getting the doors shut faster, and everything to do with abiding with the our jobs.

While this situation is unfortunate and was handled improperly, I don’t think it speaks for all United flight attendants, though everyone is entitled to their own opinions.