3. How do I play the open seating game?
a. (Tino) I am always the last "A" to board. If you're not going to get an exit row seat, why waste 30-45 minutes of your life in line to get the same aisle seat five rows ahead of me?
b. (Mr. July) Ask the gate agent how many through passengers are on the flight. Mentally add this number, plus the number of pre-boards, to the length of the A line. If this total exceeds about 70, your aisle seat is in jeopardy even with an "A". (nsx) Another way to get an idea of the total passenger load is to ask the flight attendant as you board how many people will be on board.
c. (kerflumexed) My trick when in C line on a full flight: As you walk down the aisle look for what appears to be a couple in the aisle and window seats. When you ask for the middle, most of the time you will end up with the aisle. Will not work 100% of the time, but is a good tactic to avoid a middle seat in the back. As you scope it out you can usually figure out the couples that are travelling together and trying to protect the middle. Another poster called this the "unite the couple" game.
d. (nsx) If you see a really attractive person of the correct sex, you can stop right there and grab your seat. Uh... let me rephrase that: You can sit down next to him or her. You never know what may happen: I met my charming and beautiful wife on a city bus carrying mostly tourists in Rome. Similar meetings have happened on Southwest, as Colleen Barrett wrote in the February 2004 Spirit Magazine:
"We are truly blessed to have Customers who are much more than passengers; they are supporters, friends, and fans. Those Customers consider Southwest as an extension of their personal and/or corporate family. Our low fares and frequent flights allow them to attend college in another city; to commute daily between home and an office in another city; or to provide clients with a personal visit in lieu of a phone call or e-mail. We also hear from Customers telling us that Southwest played Cupid by bringing them together with their future spouses, whom they met during one of our flights (thanks to our "open seating" policy), and our Employees have even been known to be "conspirators" in helping with surprise onboard wedding proposals."
e. (stormer) More LUV stories at
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5444145
f. (nsx) If you need space for your carry-on bag, you will need to board in the "A" or "B" or very early in the "C" group. This is one case in which lining up early (if you have a "C") makes sense. Only flights full of leisure travelers will have enough overhead space for everyone.
g. (nsx) Open seating is great if you have kids on a long flight. During boarding, the kids can find other kids their age to sit next to, leaving both sets of parents in peace.
h. (gregorygrady) At the gate, I know people are just itching to line up, so I get up and rush over to the front of the "A" line quickly and lo and behold, all these lemmings and monkeys rush after me and jump in line. And then I get back out of line and take my pick of the newly opened seats in the waiting area.
If you are traveling with a companion and can't find 2 seats together in the waiting area and the cattle call line hasn't yet started, then this strategy works particularly well to get the masses out of the waiting area and free up 2 seats together. Try it some time.