Flight Attendant Current
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Other / Unknown; Situational Awareness; Physiological - Other
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Environment - Non Weather Related
On our flight from ZZZ to ZZZ1 this morning .... seats X3 and Y4 were open; yet the Gate Agent booked a passenger in X6 right next to me. A large man. It was my understanding that X6 was a LAST resort!  With COVID cases escalated; as well as full flights...exactly how is this protecting our health?  This is not right. The passenger was in X3 and at the last minute got changed to X6! He was last passenger on the plane.Stop seating X6!
Everything was good to go on my flight out to ZZZ this am. Until the last passenger boarded and demanded I move to clear the way to his seat in X6. As I was the A (FA); I knew that he was blocked in at X3 and showed him his seat. He told me that he didn't want that seat; he wanted what was changed for him at the gate. The Gate Agent was at the boarding door within moments and I asked her why he was moved into a social distance block seat. She told me that he wanted the seat. That isn't enough of an argument for me. The X FA; upset and arguably so came up and asked why this passenger wasn't in his previously assigned seat and the agent got very cold and told us he is technically allowed and wanted this seat; so rather than argue she gave it to him. (He's a premium passenger; go figure.) We pushed back as crew and told her that that isn't protecting the crew and that we still have over 10 minutes to have his seat changed; but I was met with a cold agent who refused to back down and shrugged off our frustrations and concerns with a nonchalant; 'It was a problem yesterday too but it's a short flight.' I was asked if we could close and that was that.About half way through the flight; I was cornered in my galley by the passenger in X6 and asked why the X FA was so unfriendly. In an attempt to cover for the Company I engaged in damage control apologizing for any discomfort and explained that the reason he was originally in X3 was due to a social distance block on his seat due to the health and safety of our flight attendants. I explained that if any crew member made him feel anything less than welcome; we did not intend to and that it was operational confusion between the agents and the crew. He told me then again that that was the seat he wanted and attempted to tell me that he understood where we were coming from but he just preferred that seat which is why he didn't want to move to any of the open seats on the flight that weren't right next to the flight attendant's jumpseats. He told me he knows a lot of people that fly for our Company and that he was thrown off that the X FA wouldn't engage in conversation during taxi and takeoff. I told him at this point that we are here for safety first and comfort second and that as flight attendants; we are observe a sterile galley allowing minimal distractions as we silently review safety procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency. He seemed pacified enough and moved to a point I could get around him and recirculate myself back to the isle. I am appalled by this incident on so many levels:1. Blatant disregard for FA health and safety from an agent that didn't follow protocol around the social distance block.2. FA should not be expected to sit next to a passenger who may or may not follow mandated COVID protocols. 3. The market we were flying into requires an online form filled out acknowledging the high COVID rates and need to quarantine due to ICU capacities and here you have the FAs sitting among the noise?! Nah. 4. It put both the X FA and the A FA in a compromising spot with the passenger and their perception of our service and this made us both highly uncomfortable when it wasn't at all called for or necessary to do so.5. Having passengers trying to talk our ears off and be chatty is not only UNSAFE because it is encouraging the virus to spread; 6. It's also unsafe because it is causing distractions during the times we as FAs need to be focused the most.7. For the Gate Agent to tell me that this was a problem yesterday too; it means that they have no clear understanding of the social distance block and no regard for their team mates who have to endure the flight with a sniffling; sneezing passenger for 2+ hours.8. A passenger preference for a window is not reason enough to forgo social distance block procedure.   This put me in a compromising situation with a dissatisfied passenger. I was cornered in my galley without warning and it startled me. Also; to have toback pedal over a topic that I felt the X FA was in the right and had every reason to be upset about was unnecessary and upsettingBETTER CRM.More education around social distance block for agents who don't know what it's like to be on the front lines and trapped with a plane full of passengers and no place to go without being bombarded with passenger questions as we fight for space over an arm rest.
Flight Attendants reported a passenger was moved to a seat; against company policy; near their jump seat by the Gate Agent.