Sitting in an emergency exit seat on flights
After a recent trip I feel it now necessary to write this article. The emergency exit sitting areas on a plane are for people who may need to assist in an emergency situation not people who want extra leg room. Most airlines require that the people who sit in these type seats be phyiscally able to assist with opening the emergency windows.
Recently returning from a conference I witnessed this first hand. Walking onto a flight and finding an elderly couple sitting in an emergency exit seats with all their gear spread out in these sitting areas caused major heartburn. The closet person to the window exit was no way able to assist or an open the window exit if necessary. The person sitting aisle seat next to this person was also not able to assist if necessary. When the steward came around and stopped in that area of the emergency exit area for a briefing he seemed like he could care less. He did the usual speech about sitting in an emergency exit and asked if everyone sitting in these area were ok with this. All he needed was a verbal yes from everyone and off he want. When we left the runway I was thinking to myself I hope we have any emergency issues in flight. However it was a short flight home and we landed safely home.
The reason for this article is this people the emergency sitting areas are for people who can assist other people if something goes wrong. It’s not for people who want to sit in seats that have more room and space. Sitting in these seats can mean the difference between life and death if an emergency happens while people are on board a flight.
Please people use common sense when sitting in these areas.
3 comments
I was under the impression that all seating on a plane was assigned by the airline. I have never flown aboard a plane that simply let someone pick their seat because it had extra leg room. In fact, the only question I was ever asked was if I preferred a window or aisle seat… never if I wanted to sit by an emergency exit. (I have been assigned a seat there before.) I believe most airlines have manifests which show exactly where each passenger is assigned and use that to track who is aboard the aircraft. I doubt they would simply let someone switch seats, though I suppose if you asked them to place someone other than a child or elderly person in those seats, they may consider it. I have never asked.
to anoymous the airline in question is Southwest airlines. No assigned seats. The number printed on the boarding pass is how you board the plane and take any seat you like.
I think the airlines are getting too lazy regarding the exit rows. On a recent Delta/NWA flight, I was seated in an emergency row, and while I feel more than capable of assisting in an emergency; however the window was actually BLOCKED by the seat in front of me–even when it was in an upright position. We were happy to land safely because in the event we would have needed that window exit, we would have been out of luck!
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