More than three years ago, I had written an article about the seating problem on board Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) where people avoid taking their designated seats indicated by their boarding pass on one pretext or another. Their refusal makes the cabin crew do an endless round of permutations and combinations to arrive at a preferred solution for all, which invariably in the end delays the departure of the airplane. I had described my experience on a Saudia flight from Jeddah to Madinah and how some female passengers had refused to sit in their assigned places creating a major headache for the Saudia staff and delaying the flight. Ironically, the problem instead of being resolved by now has become more acute with more and more people acting on their own with regard to seating in flights. In almost all the flights, when I travel on Saudia, I have seen this problem repeated. In my previous article I had described how a man was repeatedly relocated from one place to another to find seats for female passengers, who refused to sit in their places claiming they cannot be seated next to men. They kept moving him from one place to another until he came up with the sarcastic suggestion of finding him a seat in the bathroom if the seat is free over there. There are some things that I know about airlines and flying, and the one thing I know for sure is that the airline reputation is linked to the services provided and punctuality in taking off and arriving at the destination on the scheduled time. This can be achieved only when there is no disruption to the streamlined system of check-in, boarding and take off. But with passengers playing "find an appropriate seat" in the airplane till well past the scheduled takeoff time, the main characteristic that attracts a passenger to an airline — punctuality — is shot to pieces. According to a report on airline punctuality, improved on-time performance can help achieve significant cost savings: Airlines report delay costs from 0.6 percent to up to as much as 2.9 percent of their operating revenues. With the time lost relocating passengers who want to sit in different places, I wonder how much Saudia is losing. This is apart from the frustration other passengers feel when they see the unnecessary delay over this silly issue. On a flight from Jeddah to Dubai, I witnessed a female passenger in her 50s sitting on the front row of the economy section claiming that she had a knee problem and needs the front seats to extend her legs. Her assigned seat was somewhere in the back. Whether what she claimed was true or not, I couldn't help wondering what the passenger, who had taken time to reserve his seat online and that to way before check-in time, feel when he finds his seat taken. I saw the incredulous face of the helpless passenger going to the back of the airplane, only to be replaced slowly with a smile on his face. I also remember him commenting that Saudia passengers will never change. Why I am revisiting the subject one would ask? I had hoped that passengers by now had come to their senses that traveling involved a bit of mixing. But my hopes were dashed, as I once again was a witness to the seat drama in yet another Saudia flight. Recently, on my way back from Cairo to Jeddah, I saw how three women of a family stood for more than ten minutes refusing to sit in their seats claiming that there was a man sitting next to them. Another two women, who were sitting far away from each other, were also insisting to be seated next to each other. The staff was left with no choice but to convince others to change their seats for them, since they were insisting and stubbornly standing their ground. We, the other passengers, were frustrated over this situation and some were constantly looking at their watches to see how many minutes was wasted, while others were muttering under their breath to offload the troublemakers. I travel frequently on foreign and regional airlines and do not see this problem in those flights. Passengers are on their seats in quick time and flight attendants provide help to families with kids or the elderly and direct those who cannot read their seat number to the right place. I never saw the problem of a passenger who wants to sit in any place he/she wants. If somebody does that then immediately they are asked to move to their right seats by the attendants with a smile on their face but in a firm voice. If the flight is not full then passengers are allowed to change seats only after the flight has taken off, or if there is a mutual understanding between passengers to exchange seats, the move is allowed. Honestly even passengers who create the seating problem abroad Saudia do not have the guts to do the same on board a foreign carrier. Why then they behave unreasonably on board their national carrier? I would accept the exception being made to elderly passengers who need to be taken care of by a relative, and then seats might be relocated. I believe that this problem exists in our airline because passengers do not respect our national carrier, the same way drivers do not respect the rules of the road and workers the time of work. Once strict and firm rules are created and implemented and violators fined, then this inordinate whimsical change of seats will not exist. When such problems are going to delay the departure, then Saudia should show the other face and strictly implement rules. Other passengers have rights. Passengers should respect something called 'rules'. Anyone who is violating the seating arrangement is more than welcome to get off the airplane, fix the seat he/she wants at the airport and board the next flight. Time flies, and I never thought that over the three years the same problem would still exist. I hope that the airline starts immediately to implement the rules on flight seating, making the ‘insisters' realize that there is one rule for all. I also hope that I will not be writing about this problem three years from now. The writer can be reached at [email protected] Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng
