Seating Snafu

[vapilot2004]

Hello,

Recently myself and a companion were aboard a flight out of ATL. The gate agent took both of our boarding passes and told us we were in row 29. We boarded, stowed our carry-ons and got comfortable in our seats. About 5 minutes later an older couple was standing in the aisle a few rows up in confusion. The FA asked my companion for his boarding pass and stated something was seriously wrong and appeared to be in a panic.

The FA then asked me for mine - neither of us had the passes - they were taken at the gate - we were then ordered to immediately vacate our seats, step to the rear of the A/C with the FA and show ID. I offered our itinerary, which put us in row 27, but the gate agent said 29. Silly mistake.

We graciously offered the couple our original seats - they were better than the row 29 seats we were in - just forward of the engine on the 717 - they accepted and the flight went on as usual.

My query is, why would the FA be so rude with us and in a panic ? A few of our fellow PAX said we appeared to be criminals in the FA's view. I thought maybe it was stress ? How would any of you handle this ?

We were about 7 minutes from push. It was an 8am departure and the A/C was about 95 pct full.

thanks and kind regards

[I Just Want To Fly]

You're on an a/c without a boarding pass.!!!

You are required to keep your boarding pass with you until you reach you final destination. In this day and age, I would not be surprised that a F/A would act this way, infact I would expect it.

If you thought you were being treated like criminals, try taking an El Al flight to Tel Aviv. They hand cuff you to the seat if you even look at them funny... Hi to Andrea if you see this!

I was on an flight and prior to take off, I went to the bathroom because I wasn't feeling well. The crew were frantic about my small bag that I had left under my seat, and were about to remove it from the aircraft.

Just be thankfull that the crew on your flight were being security concious!!!

[MagnusP]

You are required to keep your boarding pass with you until you reach you final destination. In this day and age, I would not be surprised that a F/A would act this way, infact I would expect it.
Sorry for chipping in as SLF, but my boarding pass stub is often retained by crew who hang my jacket in the locker at the front of the business cabin; the stub is put on the coathanger. :confused:

[SkySista]

IJWTF, i believe the point the poster was making was that the gate agent took their boarding cards. This is why they had no cards.

Perhaps the F/A was new, could have been her first time doing flight on her 'own' and she's thinking 'oh god i stuffed up and now Osama's mates are on the plane' :} (well we all know what it's like to be new don't we?:p)

Or perhaps she's a Pruner and has been reading that thread about not checking boarding cards... :E

[the_hawk]

Why were the boarding passes (incl stub) taken at the gate?
The FA "...stated something was seriously wrong and appeared to be in a panic" before he learned you got no passes or after?
717?

[Trislander]

It is not a requirement to keep your boarding passes until the end of the flight, in fact most people throw them away during the flight. They should hold on to it tho if their baggage receipt is attached in case they end up with no baggage at their final destination, however even this is not completely necessary.

The hostie should have had a pax list and along with your ID/passport be able to confirm who you are and where you should be sat. This is nothing to panic about, maybe she was new or the captain was putting her under stress to depart quickly and this was a hinderance.

If you had no ID, there were more people on the a/c than there should be or your name was not on the pax list, that is when one would get concerned, even then it's probably a check-in/boarding error (quite common) and not really worth fretting about. As long as it's sorted prior to departure who cares?

Could just be a typical f/a over-reaction, a common trait within the profession. (Yes I am one so I am qualified to say that before you start moaning he he!!) ;)

ATB, T:ok:

[vapilot2004]

Thanks to all for your interesting replies.

Yes, I thought it was odd that our passes were taken by the gate agent in ATL.

Our brave FA did seem rather seasoned otherwise and was apparantly frazzled only by this event. For the remainder of the flight it was all smiles and professionalism.


thinking 'oh god i stuffed up and now Osama's mates are on the plane'

Skysista, one of us was . . . ... ..... ethnic in appearance. :ouch:


captain was putting her under stress to depart quickly and this was a hinderance.

Trislander, I think you may well have it here - the mid and forward sections of the cabin ( I think) were all behaved and seated - our area had the couple who bettered their seats and 2 more trapped behind them = 4 befuddled PAX in the aisle and no one sitting anytime soon. I apologize for not adding that we were 7 min from scheduled push - actual time was 15min after S.D. - maybe we lost our slot and Cap was indeed calling for brevity.

I think I'll keep a firm grip on my boarding pass next time !

cheers,
K

;)

[Cart_tart]

29 rows on a 717??
I'm not too sure about that.
Ours only have 24 - all economy.

[vapilot2004]

29 rows on a 717??

This one had 31 rows total - 3 for business 2x2 and the rest tourist 2x3.

oh and Cart_tart, you made me look :uhoh:
:p