Can the airline give someone your extra seat?
 

My wife and I flew from Houston to Anchorage June 2009. That was a 7 hr no room flight I never want to do again, but if I was to purchase all 3 seats in my row, 1 for my wife, 1 for me, and 1 extra with no one in it, can the airline take that seat away and give it to someone else, such as a stand by?:confused:

no

but if they have an oversell, they might buy it at a good price, but only if you approve

why pay for an extra seat and give away money to the airlines?

OP.....you are buying 3 seats, not necessarily together. You may get 3 scattered seats. This would defeat the purpose completely and give the airline a chance to sell the open seat again.

Don't do it. If you're spend the extra money, purchase 2 first class seats.

I agree with the Judge, if you're going to spend the extra money, just buy FC seats. They're more comfortable, and the free drinks, entertainment options, and meals (on a 7 hr flight you'd get one) definitely make it worth the money. But, if you INSIST on sitting in coach and want to make sure you get 3 seats blocked together, I would suggest calling reservations and telling a little white lie to accomplish this. What you would need to do is tell them that you and your wife are overweight and will need the extra seat for space as you both won't quite fit in a single seat. That way, you can buy 3 seats, and since you will "need" all 3 seats together, they can block 3 together for you.

while I certainly agree that first class is the preferred way to go, there is an issue of price.

Using the dates of out on 7/17 and back on 7/24, I found 1 stop coach seats @ $648 and first seats @1580. If my rusty math is correct, this means they could have 3 coach seats for $1944 or a pair in 1st for $3160.

Depending on their needs and desires, they could go either way on this decision.

One has to weigh the pros and cons. If they want to sit together more comfortably than economy, then there is the option to purchase first class seats. If they'd rather buy 3 seats in the back, that is certainly their right too. I just wanted to offer an option.