The Elliott Podcast

The Elliott Podcast

You paid for that seat. So why can the airline just take it?

A growing problem is leaving passengers stranded in middle seats and without recourse. Here’s how to protect yourself.

Christopher Elliott's avatar
Christopher Elliott
Oct 05, 2025
∙ Paid

Do you have any rights when an airline changes your seat assignment? That’s what Jay Libove wanted to know after he lost his assigned seat on a recent flight from Philadelphia to Barcelona.

His airline changed his plane — and his seat assignment — twice without telling him.

“The last one was the worst,” says Libove, an IT consultant who lives in Barcelona…

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