I'm still pretty nervous about flying internationally. The trip we're planning doesn't have good flight options on planes with only 2 seats on the side, and I don't relish sitting next to a stranger for 8 hours. Can we buy the third seat and keep it empty? It's actually less expensive than upgrading to a higher class (when there IS one).

Thanks,
Alice

Yes, you can do this.

FYI, I called United and the woman I spoke with said people are definitely doing this for social distancing. You just have to inform the flight attendants when you get on the plane, so no one tries to use your extra seat.

Alice

BUT . . . you do need to be aware the equipment change happens all the time. Depending on the route and airport, the model airplane can change a week out or the same day. If there is an airplane swap seat assignments can/will change. You'll most likely be fine but just be aware that the seat map may or may not be what you end up on.

Equipment changes happen but for an 8-hr international flight there aren't a lot of 777s or 787s laying around. A swap might be to the same type, but most widebodies would have 3 seats on the window sides.

Okay, first I was worried but now I'm LESS worried. I still think it's our best move. The airlines are apparently getting more of these extra seat purchases since they opened up middle seats, so they must know how to deal with it.

Alice

Tell the FAs, yes. Before that, check in and get boarding passes for all three. i would talk to the gate agent about intentions and then get all three bps scanned at the door to the jetway.

Am guessing that you would buy the three tickets in one reservation and use the same passenger name on two tickets?

No reason to worry, Alice, this is not something new just since COVID. Most often the topic of buying an extra seat comes up in discussions about passengers whose size requires extra space, but it is not unheard of for a coach passenger to purchase an extra seat to get extra space at less cost than business or first class airfare. Note that you will need to do this over the phone, not online. You will receive two boarding passes, one wit you name and one with passenger name /"extra seat" Be sure you have that in hand in the unlikely case there is some sort of onboard confusion. Though I am a fan of electronic boarding passes, in this instance I'd suggest getting hard copy of all your boarding passes.

mrwunrfl and Seamus - yes, definitely I should get 3 boarding passes, and I assume it is as Seamus says, one says passenger name/extra seat. And yes, hard copy this time and book on the phone. I did notice most of the information on the airlines' websites refers to large passengers, so they have been doing this since pre-COVID.

Thanks for your help!
Alice

Of course they’ve been selling the possibility of selling extra seats since before COVID. It’s nothing new. Many reasons why people need to purchase additional seating, for musical instruments for instance.

Indeed, nothing new. A friend we traveled with bought a seat for every flight for his double bass, in the '60s & '70s.

I'll be interested to know how it works out under these circumstance.

Well, we DID it today. Now we can fly non-stop roundtrip. We have two tickets for me, but they use a variation of my name for the second ticket, and they only used my frequent flyer number on the first ticket.
I thought fares were pretty good, Google Flights said they were lower than normal, and I think economy will be okay with an empty middle seat, I might be better able to sleep on the overnight flight.

Thanks for all your help! Now to itinerary.

Alice

Alice, you should get frequent flyer miles on BOTH seats, so be sure on the day of travel to have your account number added into the record.

yeah, I would agree in theory, but this sounds a like strange in that they are altering her name. I imagine they just have a rule that the same person can only earn miles once per flight.

United does have a rule, after all, that if you buy a ticket for someone else, that other person gets the miles, not you who paid for it. So this falls under that rule.

Enter in the FF# online. Select seats online. Occasionally, check on those seat assignments and check on schedule or equipment changes. Check in online and print boarding passes. Check in again, check bags, with a human at the airport. Check with the gate agent, scan all the bps, comment to an FA. I would do all that.

I actually could occupy part of a second seat with a shoulder and arm.

Do we know which airline the OP is using or the origin or destination? If it is United, then

• If you buy a second seat on United or United Express®, you’re eligible to earn award miles equal to the number of base miles for the flight. Members aren’t entitled to Premier® qualifying earnings and associated Premier benefits on the extra ticket purchased. The miles earned for the extra ticket should appear in the Airline Activity section of your MileagePlus account with the description “Extra Seat Credit.” If you don’t automatically receive your mileage credit, you can request the missing miles by providing the ticket number for the extra seat using the MileagePlus contact form.
  

Checked bag allowances are determined by the number of seats purchased. When two seats are purchased for one customer, the checked bag allowance is doubled. The number of carry-on items permitted is determined by the individual passenger allowances set by the TSA, rather than our policy. Consequently, the carry-on allowance isn’t doubled.

Customers Requiring Extra Seating (united.com)

I need to modify that given the thought I had in my most recent post.

An equipment change can happen after booking but well in advance of a flight, even more than the week that janisj mentioned. Still, the seating would probably be 3 by X by 3 or 3 by 3.

We booked on United. Only one of the seats used my FF number. But each seat can check a bag! (Not that I want to take more bags...). But I will definitely check my MilesagePlus account about that Extra Seat Credit, thanks mrwunrfl. I'm so glad you mentioned this, I figured those miles were a loss.

Alice

Hello Alice9, I am also interested in buying an extra economy seat b/c I am old and
need extra space. I understand you had to call the airline to book both seats. Did
it give you the same inexpensive online price for both seats? Or should I book
both seats online first, then call the airline?
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Charlie

Whether or not I would call would depend on what the service charge for calling is, if any. For example, service charges for ticketing with a United representative in the 50 United States and Canada are $25 by phone,

But first I would do a search for one pax and find an acceptable ticket price. Then do a search for two. It is unlikely, but possible, that the second ticket would be a higher price (this could happen because the first ticket was the last one available in the lower fare bucket, or something, but both tix could be priced at the same, higher, price, So, always search for 1 pax no matter how many seats or pax you want to book, just to get that baseline). If the price for two was more than double the price for one then I would maybe call to see what the agent can come up with.

I would probablty just book first and then call - in the USA, at least, you can cancel a ticket within 24 hours for a full refund (assuming you book far enough in advance).

I have not done this and am assuming that when you book two seats that you would enter in the same passenger info for both. Maybe the website will ask if the two seats are for one or two pax.

Anyway, I would call the airline at least twice about this. First time immediately after booking and the second time a week before departure - both to confirm that the agent can see that the booking is for one passsenger with two seats. And then check online again, closer in to departure, to make sure the seat assignments are good.

Sorry for the delayed response - yes, I got the same inexpensive online price for both seats. I did NOT manage to get miles for both, I guess since I'm one person. But it was a great experience for us, for one, it was easier to fly overnight with the extra room, and for two, I wasn't crammed next to someone who might have COVID. We will look into doing this again when appropriate, it worked very well for us.

Alice