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Comment by clarkm | Hacker News Reader

Likewise, whenever I book a last-minute flight with only middle seats available, I make sure to ask the agent to place me between two passengers with the same last name.

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Of course, the last time I did that I ended up between two people who did not want to move, yet still wanted to talk to each other the entire flight with me in the middle.

You did this, and the agent agreed? What airline?

Why do airlines expose the last names?

Well they're not going to ask "Is the seat between Mr and Mrs Jones all right?", there's no need to expose the name to you when you ask to be placed between people with the same last name.

That's still data I'd rather they don't share -- no need for anyone to know that I'm married to the person in the aisle seat. Minimize exposure.

Exposure to what?

Before the middle seat person gets on the plane, they only know that there are two people there who are married, not that you specifically are one of them. The existence of married people is not a secret.

After you're on the plane, it would probably become apparent that you and your spouse are married, or at least related in some way to each other. If you have some game with your spouse where you pretend to not know each other in public or something, I guess maybe it could ruin that, but otherwise I'm not sure what the harm is.

That's when you join in on the conversation.

Which sounds like a fun way to punish them, or coerce them into switching with you, but as an introvert, I think I'd rather just put on my headphones.

What agent are you talking to that has access to the names of all passengers and is willing to abuse it for you?

Every agent who has access to the flight booking system has access to the names of the passengers on the flight.

I'm surprised people are surprised by this... They even yell out names to people that need to check in...

Generally, agents in legacy airline lounges (e.g. a United Club, Admirals Clubs, etc.) are willing to do things like this.

Anecdotally, I've noticed that they tend to be more senior (so know what's possible / what they can get away with), less busy (so they're less frustrated and frazzled), and tend to deal with much more experienced travelers than a normal gate agent (so, again, they're less frustrated).

Yep, a United Club agent is where I got the idea originally.

> legacy airline

Thanks to mergers and lack of DOJ anti-trust enforcement there are now only legacy airlines.

See also: the phone reps for high-tier members, for the same reason. (Not that I'd ask for this particular accommodation, but having access to the premium member line is one of the most useful perks of concentrating your travel.)

Why would two people in the same family book seats not next to each other?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14638000 :)

see tip of the parent comment

Like Ron and Reggie Kray?

But your plan will fail and seat you between me and my wife, since we don't have the same last name.

His objective isn't to determine whether you and your wife are married, but to identify one married couple who have an empty middle seat between them.

Unless you and your wife are the only married couple on the plane fitting that criteria, it's irrelevant.

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