You have bad knees, so you cannot sit for long without stretching. Dreading a 14-hour flight to Hong Kong in economy class, you specifically requested a seat in the emergency exit row so you would have extra space to flex your knees. The airline confirmed the seat, but put no seat number on your boarding pass. You reconfirmed that seat twice on the telephone; then when you got your seat assignment at the airport, you asked again, “Oh, yes,” said the check-in agent. When you boarded, however, the seat in question turned out to be two rows behind the emergency exit. You explained your seat request to the flight attendant, who told the supervisor, who stood around for 10 minutes while all the other passengers boarded and claimed their seats. At that point he said, “There is nothing I can do.” You nearly threw a fit, but when he snarled, “Either sit or get off,” you sat. You had a miserable, painful flight. What should you have done differently?
Sometimes, even if you do everything right – and you did – things go wrong. However, citing your bad knees as the reason you needed a seat in the exit row may not have been a good idea. Theoretically, a passenger, who sits there should be strong enough to open the emergency exit and help other passengers. (Some airlines will not assign exit row seats until passengers have arrived at the airport and been sized up by the ticket agent. Though someone with a serious disability should always tell the airline (and should not sit in the exit row), perhaps you should not mention your knees next time you request that seat. Another option: You should request an aisle seat, which has no physical fitness requirement but still gives you more room to stretch. |
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