Sir, You Didn’t Select A No-Hijacking Seat On Your Flight

By Fatima Saidi, EgyptAir Customer Service Representative

Good morning, sir. How can I be of service today?

Yes, I understand. Have you reviewed our refund policy? Good, good. Then let me file your request for a-  oh, wait. This might not be a valid request. Sir, you didn’t select a no-hijacking seat on your flight. That means you consented to being taken to Cyprus instead of your destination, and are not eligible for a refund.

Yes, I see that. I heard – that could not have been pleasant. But when you booked your flight, did you specifically request not to be in a section of the cabin that gets hijacked by a disgruntled or resentful man? According to our system’s records, you didn’t. So I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline this request for a refund.

Sir, sir, there wouldn’t be a point to submitting it; the people who review these applications at headquarters would simply reject it out of hand once they saw that the ‘no hijacking’ option had not been selected when the customer or agent made the reservation. Did you use a travel agent, or did you make the reservation independently, online? Ah. Well, if you’d gone through an agent you could file a grievance against them, perhaps for negligence, but the online ticket sellers all have a series of check boxes where you’re supposed to note any special requests, such as a vegetarian in-flight meal, a specific need for a bulkhead seat, that sort of thing. But you didn’t do that.

Sir, please don’t yell at me. I didn’t make the policy, and I don’t make the decisions. I work this desk and follow the procedures I’ve been trained to follow. I acknowledge the mental and emotional anguish that being on a hijacked flight must have caused you. I do. I wish you a full and speedy recovery from the trauma. But as far as processing your request for a refund for that flight goes, I’m afraid I have to refuse it. We delivered exactly what you ordered, which was a seat on a flight to your destination that may or may not be subject to hijacking.

It’s like the smoking section airplanes once had. If you choose a seat in the smoking section it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be surrounded by tobacco smoke the whole time, but it’s a near certainty. Only if you choose a non-smoking-section seat do you guarantee at least some distance between yourself and the fumes. Same thing here. You didn’t choose a non-hijacking seat – so can anyone really be surprised that it did happen?

OK, I will forward this request if you insist, but I make no guarantees. It’s virtually certain to be returned in the negative. Have a pleasant day, sir.