So, there I was on a flight 5mins to push back and with good fortune was alone with 2 rows of empty seats in front and behind. Just then 8 people turned up with allocated seats at the back of the plane, but on hearing the hostie at the door announce 'boarding completed' they (the passengers) said 'you can sit anywhere you want' to each other and all of a sudden I was not alone....Cue some mumbled curses under my breath, but such is life
My question is this, I was under the impression that you cannot change assigned seating unless the cabin crew is asked/informed due to safety/security issues etc. The crew seemed uninterested/unaware, so I'm assuming that my impression is false. I do remember speaking to an accident investigator some years back talking through some of the techniques used to identify victims in the unfortunate event of a crash and he mentioned this (seat allocation manifest) being the first call in the identification process.