Emergency Rows on Commercial Aircraft

I questioned United about the lack of passengers assigned to emergency wing exit rows on a recent flight. The response was that there is no policy/regulation mandating occupancy of those seats adjoining an exit. Can this be true? In an emergency it seems that those exits will not be opened due to lack of personnel to open them, causing a severe loss of exit capability.

Your thoughts are appreciated. :question: :exclamation:

No, there is no requirement that they be occupied. In a normal emergency, they can be operated by the first person to reach the exit. If needed, a flight attendant may also operate them.

NO REGULATION MEANS THAT THE AIRLINES THURST FOR $'s WOULD RESULT IN THESE OVERWING EXIT SEATS NOT BEING BEING OCCUPIED. AND A FLT.
ATTENDANT COULD NOT REACH THEM, NOR A PAX NOT BRIEFED/AGREED (YES).

THE QUESTION “DURING CERTIFICATION” DID THE FAA DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE 90sec EVACUATION RULE WITH BOTH THE OVERWING AND ANOTHER EXIT BLOCKED???

I believe some airlines do not assign the emergency exit seats until the day of the flight. The reasoning is that they want to make sure whoever is sitting there is qualified and willing to do the actions.

No need to shout. Shouting won’t make your incomprehensible posting any more clear.

How is this story for an Emergency Exit row.
I was on a B777. I was in the second row of exit seats. There is also a row in front of me. Two very old and frail elderly people walk in and sit in the Emg Exit row. I definitely notice this on loading. After a bit the Flt Att comes by to give the speach…
When ask if she is willing and able to assist. The older lady looks at her right in the eye an says "Honey, if this plane has an emergency I am going down with the plane. A slight pause from the Flt att and then she tells the lady she needs a different answer. Upon which the older lady smiles and with a wink she says, sure I will help. The Flt att walks away and they sit down.

Now, there was no emergency on the flight, but WTF!? The people that sit in those seats should be physically and mentally able to deal with any problems. This couple was so old and frail there is no way they could deal with anything, let alone want to help anyone.
I thought that was just crazy! What would you all have done in this situation?

If the flight attendant told them they couldn’t sit there because they were not capable of doing what would be required of them they could sue for defamation of character. Thank you, amulance chasing lawyers.

Untrue, and silly of you to formalize in print.

Not untrue and not silly of me to formalize in print.
Just because a person looks frail does not mean that person is frail. And with people being offended at the least little thing, I can see a lawsuit for kicking a person out of an emergency seat, regardless of the law.

pprune.org/passengers-slf-se … -exit.html
dailymail.co.uk/news/article … -room.html

[quote=“rw812”]

The articles you’ve linked to don’t support your contention that someone who was frail and asked to move from the exit row for fear of not being able to perform the actions necessary in an emergency would have some basis to sue the airline. They wouldn’t have a legal basis for the suit as the airline would have been following federal law.

Look at the picture in the article. At least one, if not both, of them I would consider frail. However, looks are often deceiving. The point I’m getting is that anyone can sue for anything. It really doesn’t matter if they are right or wrong. Take a look at the McDonald’s hot coffee suit a few years ago. The woman actually one even though it was ENTIRELY her fault that the coffee spilled on her.

Then there’s numerous suits by burglars who, in the act of committing a crime, sued the home owners. Whether they one isn’t relevant. What is relevant is that they were able to sue and the cases actually appeared on court calendars.

The so-called justice system in America is has broken as a glass pane dropped from 30 feet.