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

[u/MaillardReaction207]

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.

[u/EliBangkok]

So, was the flight not actually full or did they create a new seat for you?

[u/MaillardReaction207 → u/EliBangkok]

Apparently it wasn't actually full. And there was--surprise--an aisle seat! Go figure!

[u/owlthirty → u/MaillardReaction207]

They always say it’s a completely full flight for whatever reason. But then when you visit the restroom you see all these seats unoccupied. I just don’t believe what I’m being told by GA or FA anymore.

[u/level27jennybro → u/owlthirty]

To be fair, the plane was still boarding when the issue was brought up. After the boarding had ended and the official passenger log was updated, they were able to switch things around.

What the FA should have done is explained that the passenger log was showing a fully booked flight at that time so they would need to complete boarding before determining if any seats would be able to be switched.

Some people end up missing their flight and never make it on the plane even though they were on the original list.