Originally Posted by
virginblue
I am wondering how many commentators in this thread have actually read the linked articles.
As I understand it, the parents were put in jump seats and the 10 year child in the only remaining regular seat, i.e. next to complete strangers. In flight, the parents blocked the galley and therefore moved (or were moved) to empty floorspace in the back of the cabin. They were joined there by their 10 year old who apparently got bored / frightened / whatever sitting alone in her seat. I don't see how anyone can reasonably put any blame on the passengers.
Now, what I find really interesting is that in these days or sardine-style air travel with seats crammed into every corner of an airplane with as little seat pitch as possible, why would an aircraft have sufficient floorspace that a family of three can have a relaxed sit-in as per the pictures? It has been suggested that a row of three seats was taken out. Is it a common occurence that seats taken out are not replaced at the same time? Why wouldn't you simply leave the seats where they are and make them inop until they can be replaced in one go?
There are plenty of reasons why you might get a situation like this. First off, the seats that had been in that position may have had to be removed to be refurbed. Not all parts on some seats are Line Replaceable. There may not have been a spare, certified triple available to be put in its place, hence the gap. Running them through the workshop can take as little as 24 hrs and that is a much better tactical decision than leaving a row of seats inop until the aircraft is next in the hangar. Ops should be well aware of the restriction though and if that wasn't updated, then a mistake has been made.
Next, with older aircraft and modern seats that are much thinner and allow more space per passenger, then the configuration can sometimes be a little odd. When you change seats out, you will rarely move the monuments in the cabin such as crew seats, galleys, toilets etc because of the cost, so you have to try and fit a new kit of parts into a space designed for something else. Usually modern, thinner seats make that job a bit easier, but sometimes, you can find yourself hitting the max passenger numbers with a bit of space to spare in certain areas. Not all usually unless you are in something like a 73 or A320 with single cabins, but in aircraft with proper overwing exits like the A321 and upwards, then you can hit issues and end up with odd looking configurations.