Lifestyle

Flight attendant reveals her tactic to get passengers to swap seats so families can sit together

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Social Links for Nicholas McEntyre
Published April 14, 2024, 1:45 a.m. ET

A devious flight attendant revealed the unique way she gets passengers to swap seats if a family with young children requested to sit together.

Mitra Amirzadeh, a Florida-based flight attendant, claims she gets seat change requests on 8 of the 10 flights she works each month.

She claims she is good at “reading the room” when she searches for volunteers to make the move, but has a trick of her sleeve if they initially refuse.

Seat change requests often come from couples who booked their seats away from each other in hopes of finding someone willing to swap before take-off.
Seat change requests often come from couples who booked their seats away from each other in hopes of finding someone willing to swap before take-off. Travel Wild

“I have said before, ‘OK, so you’re going to watch the toddler?'” she told the Wall Street Journal.. “You’ll want their snacks and their coloring books then, because they’re going to need that.”

Seat change requests often come from couples who booked their seats away from each other in hopes of finding someone willing to swap before take-off.

Amirzadeh, a union representative for a major airline, only intervenes in the onboard request when a child is involved.

The flight attendant hardly engages with the changes because she believes the person who purchased the desired seat has the right to sit in for the flight.

“The next time you feel yourself getting angry or getting frustrated that you’re not getting the seat you want, you need to remind yourself that you didn’t pay to pick your seat. Otherwise, you’d be in it,” she told the outlet.

The flight attendant claims she is good at “reading the room” when she searches for volunteers to make the move, but has a trick of her sleeve if they initially refuse.
The flight attendant claims she is good at “reading the room” when she searches for volunteers to make the move, but has a trick of her sleeve if they initially refuse. M Stock

A former flight attendant turned TikTok star revealed the success rates for passengers looking to switch seats to be closer to their significant other.

Influencer Jeenie Weenie says if a same seat-to-seat swap is requested with a solo traveler sitting in the same area of the plane, the likelihood of getting the change is 99.9%.

“I’ve never had anyone say no,” Jeeenie said in a video viewed over 2.4 million times.

But if you’re looking to upgrade yourself from the back to the front of the plane, the success rate falls to 80%.

Add in that your original seat is next to a baby or bathroom, and you only have a 40% chance of changing seats.

The flight attendant hardly engages with the changes because she believes the person who purchased the desired seat has the right to sit in for the flight.
The flight attendant hardly engages with the changes because she believes the person who purchased the desired seat has the right to sit in for the flight. BraunS

Requesting someone in a window or aisle seat to change with your middle seat won’t get you, far as there is about a 10 to 15% chance of the swap.

“But if you give up your window or aisle seat, your rate goes back up to 99%.”

“And for those who try to chance seats with different classes, please don’t even try to ask,” the influencer, who boasts an impressive 10.4 million followers said.

“Passengers pay a lot of money to upgrade, so unless you plan on paying them back, your success rate will be negative 682%.”