<p>@ insomniatic Really? I see nothing wrong with what cq did. She got moved to a different flight, the passengers were given an opportunity to help, and no one did. She just helped get it done. </p>
<p>Kudos, cq.</p>
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<p>She helped getting it done by being rude and inconveniencing other people.</p>
<p>CQ CHOSE to travel with her two young children. If she knew there were only 4 available seats, she should have went on the next flight. Or better yet, she could have got to her destination by car.</p>
<p>Yes, in that situation, sounds like she did the best she did. With no advance planning, sometimes you have to make do. There have been times, I must admit, that I’ve said with a loud voice, “Honey, if you feel like you need to throw up, the bag is right in front of you.” As the child coughs loudly. Makes it real easy to get someone to move, and the reality is, it ain’t no big deal just to move one row back to the same aisle seat. Rude to offer a worse seat, though. I’ve actually had someone ask me to give up my first class seat and move to coach so their wife could come up. Really? Now that request just made me chuckle. I’m happy to move wherever, as long as it isn’t a middle seat between the large guy and the smelly guy, but if I’m moving to coach, it’d better be my idea.</p>
<p>That would be ridiculous to think you have to drive because the airline cancelled your flight and couldn’t get you seats together. What the flight attendants should have done is confronted people directly, nearby, asking them to swap their seats. It’s really quite simple, and honestly, unless you are in an exit row (and you wouldn’t be, with kids), it’s not like there’s any particularly great seats in coach.</p>
<p>“My son ran and got us both water. I was better. She not so much.
Those kids (in their late 20s) just sat there. They knew, they saw. They didn’t care.”</p>
<p>I had just the opposite experience recently while attending the Dartmouth Wheelock Conference at Tuck Business School. Attendees consisted mostly of students, alums & administration, ages ranging from late teens to 70’s. Due to it’s popularity, the panel discussion classroom seating was difficult to gauge and therefore overflowed. Over & over again, young guys, obviously students, hopped up and offered their seats to others who were probably their parents’ age/older and sometimes to girls their own age. In every case (that I saw) the offer was accepted and seemingly appreciated. Granted, it was not a graduation but lots of folks had traveled great distances to attend and perhaps that factored into the student’s awareness & consideraton. However, it appeared to be automatic and therefore business as usual. Certainly was impressive.</p>
<p>I believe that whether or not it is appropriate or expected for someone to give up their seat depends on the situation. It really doesn’t make sense to have the 2 boys in the concert in the first place if they are going to be doing nothing more than texting. But, been in the position where the only place for your kids to be, i can understand bringing them.</p>
<p>I would imagine that the Mom of the 2 texters might want to keep them close by so there would be no worries. If Mom allowed them to or encouraged them to move and go stand, she would not have them right next to her. She would possibly worry over them causing trouble or wandering off by themselves.</p>
<p>When people show up early to an event, they are not likely going to feel very sympathetic to people that showed up just in time. If you are walking in just in time it could be disruptive as well for 4 people to have to do a move and readjust.</p>
<p>Quite a few years ago, we took our children to an afternoon performance of Riverdance at Wolf Trap, the national park for the performing arts. The venue has semi-indoor theater seats and lawn “seats”. We arrived a couple hours early in the heat to settle in at the front edge of the lawn seats, just behind the theater seats above one path of pavement, not marked for handicapped seating. We sweltered and waited for the show to begin. Eventually it did, and we were all excited until a nursing home wheeled in seniors who could not keep their heads up and had king size pillows holding their heads,and blocking the view. I called over an usher and asked for assistance. The show had begun and about 20 of us had our views totally blocked. The ushers were willing to snatch cameras, but senior citizens (with escorts) were not to be addressed for arriving after the show began and blocking the views. Given the heat and their poor state of health I could barely understand how it could’ve enjoyable for them. Our pleasant family outing (and not a cheap one) was not so fun. The show was sold out and we had no place to move to.</p>
<p>I would have understood if they had arrived before the performance began, but our arriving early was for naught and we had no place to move.</p>
<p>Somewhere there’s a line between courtesy in public places and etiquette breaches that impact others’ enjoyment.</p>