Crossing the boundries - seating in a lower cabin than booked

[matt_will_fix_it]

Hi - I have recently made some redemptions and on one leg of my journey I had to book a different class of service for myself & my fiancee.

The main thing we are hoping for is we get to sit next to each other (and don't mind sitting together in the lower class of service cabin - as I think hell will freeze over before we could both sit in the premium cabin).

My question is... has anyone done this before (subject to availability of empty seats of course)... also if one were to sit in a lower class cabin, could they still take advantage of the food & drink from the higher class cabin?

Cheers!

[StarG]

I think you should very much expect to get food & drink from the lower class cabin.

Having said that, my brother in law has done this before. There was only one J seat left so he booked my sis in J and himself in F.
Then onboard, he informed the IFS that he would like to be seated in J with my sis - a lucky chap sitting next to my sis then got moved to F.
The IFS was nice enough to offer PJs and amenity kits for both my sis and my brother in law.
IIRC he also offered some champagne and items from the F menu, but my brother in law declined.

[Kyo]

Yes, you can try to do an 'voluntary downgrade' (try, subject to someone in J willing to move up to F, most likely to happen only in a full J cabin).. don't expect anything other than what you'd get in J, though.

[flo]

tried it the other way round last weekend on swiss. i was in business, a friend of mine in economy. the seat next to me was empty (i.e. the row was empty except for me) and the seats were just the same as the economy seats. i asked the fa if my friend could come because it's the same seats anyway and she wouldn't need a meal etc ... and she said that's not possible lol. downgrading voluntarily would have worked though. unfortunately, the seat next to hers was already taken :/

[stargold]

Personally, I would just book the higher class even if you wanted to sit together. At least you could make someone's day by offering to swap with the person next to your fiancee (no-one travelling alone would refuse a free upgrade!), whereas if both of you are booked in the lower class then no-one benefits except for SQ.

[kt74]

My question is... has anyone done this before (subject to availability of empty seats of course)... also if one were to sit in a lower class cabin, could they still take advantage of the food & drink from the higher class cabin?

To be honest, I think that would cause huge issues - e.g. for consistency of service for other pax in the cabin... No sooner do you receive your dinner than the person across the aisle asks why your BTC lobster thermidor is 5 times bigger than his. A PJ or amenity kit or glass of Krug maybe, but the whole works, probably not

Not on SQ, granted, but I've definitely seen travelling companions upgraded to adjacent empty seats on long haul flights (on BA and LH), but only after meal service, and on the proviso that they return to their ticketed cabin before the next meal

[Kiwi]

tried it the other way round last weekend on swiss. i was in business, a friend of mine in economy. the seat next to me was empty (i.e. the row was empty except for me) and the seats were just the same as the economy seats. i asked the fa if my friend could come because it's the same seats anyway and she wouldn't need a meal etc ... and she said that's not possible lol. downgrading voluntarily would have worked though. unfortunately, the seat next to hers was already taken :/

Of course that won't work (mostly, there have been a few exceptions ). If you wanted to sit next to her badly enough you could offer your seat to the passenger beside your friend.