Usually I fly as early in the day as possible. It generally maximizes the chance of the flight leaving on time and making connections, and also leaves the most time to make same-day corrections if something goes wrong.
A useful side benefit, is there are fewer families flying with 6am departure times.
Re Jenni, yeah she doesn't own the seat as such, but she did reserve a seat with particular features, e.g. a window. I want those not for the view as much as it's easier to sleep and less chance of being disturbed by other passengers' bladder calls - so I wouldn't be particularly eager to give it up for no good reason. (Of which satisfying a screaming ill-mannered toddler is not among them.)
(Edited for fumble-fingering and smell-check errors...)
I hate to fly. As The Stupid Administrations (TSA) got more stupid, I no longer was able to tolerate the whole experience. I now drive; everyone is much happier.
FYI nothing makes a transcontinental flight better like a kid screaming constantly with a full diaper.
You rent the seat, with caveats. 450# passenger needs 2 seats (pays for one)? Yeah, you're bumped, right off the flight if it's full.
I didn't care for flying even back in the late 70s when you got meals not peanuts, when you could transfer tickets across airlines, and if you missed your flight and it wasn't the last one of the day there was one or two more ways of getting to your destination that same day. Oh, and business attire got you well treated vs. casual clothes (you didn't see sweatpants back then). Now we're fortunate we can say we don't fly and if we can't get there driving we aren't going.
I've seen people try to make it go the other way with the 450# passengers, too. As in, the "large" person understands they are large and voluntarily buys two tickets so they can have two seats, and someone tries to shame them into giving one up and letting someone else sit in their "second seat". For free, without compensating them for the double-fare they bought with actual money.
No, they paid for two, they get two. Even if they're normal-sized and only need one, if they bought a second ticket just to have an empty seat as a buffer space (still cheaper than First Class, which I will never understand), that's their prerogative.
Some professional musicians will do this, too; their instruments are sometimes worth millions of dollars and are literally irreplaceable (ever try to source a replacement for a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin on short notice?), and they don't want to let it out of their sight, let alone subject it to "checked baggage". So they purchase two tickets: one for themselves, one for their instrument. Same principle applies, they paid for two, they get two.
It's a VERY small step to go from "You bought two but we think you only need one, so we're taking the second one you paid for," to "You bought one but we think this other person needs it more than you, so we're taking the one you paid for."
I have to fly often for work.
Usually I fly as early in the day as possible. It generally maximizes the chance of the flight leaving on time and making connections, and also leaves the most time to make same-day corrections if something goes wrong.
A useful side benefit, is there are fewer families flying with 6am departure times.
Re Jenni, yeah she doesn't own the seat as such, but she did reserve a seat with particular features, e.g. a window. I want those not for the view as much as it's easier to sleep and less chance of being disturbed by other passengers' bladder calls - so I wouldn't be particularly eager to give it up for no good reason. (Of which satisfying a screaming ill-mannered toddler is not among them.)
(Edited for fumble-fingering and smell-check errors...)
I hate to fly. As The Stupid Administrations (TSA) got more stupid, I no longer was able to tolerate the whole experience. I now drive; everyone is much happier.
FYI nothing makes a transcontinental flight better like a kid screaming constantly with a full diaper.
You rent the seat, with caveats. 450# passenger needs 2 seats (pays for one)? Yeah, you're bumped, right off the flight if it's full.
I didn't care for flying even back in the late 70s when you got meals not peanuts, when you could transfer tickets across airlines, and if you missed your flight and it wasn't the last one of the day there was one or two more ways of getting to your destination that same day. Oh, and business attire got you well treated vs. casual clothes (you didn't see sweatpants back then). Now we're fortunate we can say we don't fly and if we can't get there driving we aren't going.
I've seen people try to make it go the other way with the 450# passengers, too. As in, the "large" person understands they are large and voluntarily buys two tickets so they can have two seats, and someone tries to shame them into giving one up and letting someone else sit in their "second seat". For free, without compensating them for the double-fare they bought with actual money.
No, they paid for two, they get two. Even if they're normal-sized and only need one, if they bought a second ticket just to have an empty seat as a buffer space (still cheaper than First Class, which I will never understand), that's their prerogative.
Some professional musicians will do this, too; their instruments are sometimes worth millions of dollars and are literally irreplaceable (ever try to source a replacement for a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin on short notice?), and they don't want to let it out of their sight, let alone subject it to "checked baggage". So they purchase two tickets: one for themselves, one for their instrument. Same principle applies, they paid for two, they get two.
It's a VERY small step to go from "You bought two but we think you only need one, so we're taking the second one you paid for," to "You bought one but we think this other person needs it more than you, so we're taking the one you paid for."