My wife and I are going to Europe again. Last time coach was so louzy that I vowed that I wouldn't go again. Now I've come up with an idea, I'll buy three seats for the two of us, thereby giving us more room and avoid having to deal with that"3rd" person. Anyone tried this? Do the airlines balk? Any solid guidance out there? Thyanks mates.

Just tell them that you and your wife each weigh 300 pounds, and they'll MAKE you buy the extra seat!

Hey,<BR>Good idea, however, I don't think it will work. As far as I think, when the person does not show up for whom the ticket was issued, the airline can give the vacant seat to any passenger on the waiting list.<BR>And if the flight is not full, then a nice smile to the check-in people is sometimes more helpful, than what you are trying.<BR>So, I would not count on it.<BR>You could as well fly on airlines that have a 2-5-2 (Boeing 777) or 2-4-2 (Airbus A330 or 340 I believe) seat setup in coach.<BR>United, e.g. even has Economy Plus, so if are a Star Alliance Silver Member you can sit there no matter, how cheap you flight was. This gives you more legroom. I liked it and I am about 1.92 m.<BR><BR>Hope this helped.

Gerald, I don't think that Zman is proposing to buy a ticket for an imaginary person -- he wants to buy two seats in his own name. Which is exactly what some airlines have started requiring oversized passengers to do.

I know a couple of people who sometimes buy 3 for 2 for the same reason. MUCH cheaper than business class tix. But the main problem to me is the pitch (the distance from the back of one seat to the back of the seat in front) not the width. Buying 3 seats wouldn't solve that problem. AA coach seats have 3 to 4 inches more pitch than most other lines and it makes a HUGE difference.<BR><BR>Economy Plus on UA is also good - but it is a lot more expensive than regular coach, whereass AA give the extra room to everyone.<BR><BR>But, if you want to buy 3 for 2 - go ahead. The airline will have no problem with it.