I admit it, I love wide-body planes. Even on domestic flights they just feel more less cramped and comfortable. Plus there’s less likelihood of being stuck in a seat while flight attendants are in the aisle.
United Airlines has a lot of the planes, originally with 2-5-2 seating in coach, and 2-3-2 seating in business class that are currently in the process of being reconfigured. That’s where unlucky and unaware travelers can find their best laid plans for seat reservations going for naught.
The good thing about the new planes — they have flat bed seats in business class. The bad news, for travelers who want to upgrade — they have nine fewer seats in business (40 from 49).
This post isn’t aimed at those travelers (who depending on your point of view are either much-abused regular road warriors, or overly-entitled travel wimps.) To be fair, however, the plane changes are a problem for those who carefully book and pay for a “flat-bed” seat and for those who book flights with the largest number of available business class seats in hopes of an upgrade.
For coach travelers, however, the changes are from 2-5-2 to 3-3-3. This can mean something that almost everyone considers worth complaining about — great seat assignments carefully booked months early becoming considerably less great. Book seats AB or HJ – window aisle combinations on an older plane, and you end up with a window middle or aisle middle combination on the new plane. Solo travelers booking an aisle B or a window J seat can end up in the middle.
On the other hand, book CD or GH seats for aisles across on a newly configured aircraft, and you end up with aisle and middle seats if United switches back to the older plane. Not the end of the world, but I have many couples, not to mention business travel companions, who love across aisle seating for the ability to communicate and still have the aisle legroom.
In addition, the new configuration doesn’t have row 17 and 18 in coach (the front two rows on the older planes) so travelers in those seats can simply have their seat assignments disappear, or end up in the back, not even in economy plus. (Yes, I’ve had it happen.)
On top of it all, the aircraft substitutions are often made at the last minute, so even aware/paranoid travelers can keep a close eye on their seats and discover a change at the airport.
I understand you are simply buying a seat somewhere on the plane and that some readers will dismiss this sort of problem as more whining. But these 777s are usually used for long haul international flights. We aren’t talking two hours in an imperfect seat, more like six, seven or eight.
When passengers have gone to some effort to book early enough to get the seat(s) they want, well, it’s beyond frustrating to be switched, especially when this means being separated from your traveling companion or stuck way in back.
What’s a traveler to do beyond avoiding 777s? First, it does help to double check your reservation, on United.com, or with your travel agent, before departure. Many of the changes, even if unannounced, are made in advance. So, by checking early, if there’s a problem, at least there’s a chance to fix it.
Beyond that, check at the airport, even if that means finding a human to ask. The computer doesn’t always fully acknowledge changes. (I know this for a fact because two clients sent me copies of PRINTED boarding passes saying 24H aisle and 24J window, when the plane had been switched, and 24J was a middle seat. In their case it was particularly frustrating because they will usually book an aisle and window seat, even if the middle seat fills, so she can sleep and he can work.)
If your seats are messed up, ask that human for help changing them, if possible. No gate agent can change the plane, but they might have access to a better alternative, especially when seats are given away for late-checkins. (But be nice, the gate agents hate equipment changes almost as much as passengers do, and it’s not their fault.)
And if things end up really badly, there’s always writing customer relations. United Airlines, reasonably enough, isn’t going to give out any free tickets for seat problems. But they might send out a small discount on future travel or some bonus miles. (If you actually paid for Economy Plus, however, and didn’t get it, you will be entitled to a refund.)
The good news, United hopes to have all their planes reconfigured by some point next year. So, while not everyone may be a fan of the new seating, especially in coach, at least it will be consistent. In the meantime, forewarned just might mean avoiding that dreaded middle seat.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
