Can You Change Your Seat Mid-flight? Flight Attendants Weigh In

When being seated on an airplane, you’re typically in charge of a few things before boarding — window or aisle, back or front of plane, emergency exit row or not. But one thing you’re not in charge of? Fellow passengers. And while you can be as polite as can be when it comes to your row mates’ habits (Oh, you want to eat tuna? Sure…), sometimes there is no getting around it: You want to move.

So is that possible?

According to a Southwest flight attendant on Reddit, who responded to a curious traveler’s question regarding mid-flight seat changes, the answer is yes. And there’s a way to it subtly.

“Pretend to go to the bathroom, ask one of us if there’s any other open seats and then just sit there,” the flight attendant shared. “I’ve helped someone move because the person next to them had bad BO [body odor].”

Flight attendant Jasmine Khadija also confirmed to Travel + Leisure that asking for a seat change is OK but it takes some transparency on the passenger’s part as well as some coordinating on the flight attendants’ end.

“Be honest with the flight crew,” she said. “Tell them exactly what you’d like. This gives us the opportunity to consider all angles of the situation.” 

Khadija, who has been a mainline flight attendant for two years, suggests walking straight back to the galley (where the flight attendants are) to ask, and maybe even taking some of your items with you for a quick maneuver.

“Allow the flight crew to reseat you accordingly and strategically,” she said. “Last thing we want is to offend the passenger who was disrupting you.”

The crew will assess the situation and help you make the move, if possible.

In the end, there may be nothing the flight crew can do (especially if it’s a completely full flight), but it may be worth your while to ask — especially if your seat mate’s behavior is making you feel ill or uncomfortable. This reseating tactic should only be used in emergency cases, when it’s seemingly possible to do, and do so without disruption of other passengers.

“A safe, comfortable, and relaxing flight is all we [flight attendants] want to ensure,” Khadija said.