When did he book the flight?”
The terrorist could have asked for that particular seat at the point of departure in Lagos, Nigeria, assuming he obtained a ticket at the counter, which I believe he did as a report was generated that the terrorist used cash. If he used a credit card or debit card, he could have ordered the ticket on-line, any number of days prior to departure, in an effort to better ensure that he got the seat of his choice. Or, he could have asked for the seat of choice, once he landed in Amsterdam. The aisle seats, bulkhead seats and seats near restrooms or the galleys tend to go first, due to the proximity to basic human needs, or for factors of comfort. A last minute cancellation may have provided a window of opportunity (no pun intended) for the seat that he eventually occupied. There is also the possibility that once the doors were closed, passengers were permitted to move to seats that appealed more to the individuals, often due to reasons of comfort or due to the desire to sit next to someone of interest, such as a family member or coworker.
Sometimes passengers reach a mutual decision to relocate their seats by switching with one another, once the seat belt sign is turned off, for various beneficial reasons, known only to the passengers, and often sanctioned by the flight attendants.
It would be interesting to know, as you posited in your post, when the seat was first obtained.
Oddly enough, the US DEA made a bust the 16th in Ghana of 3 al Qaeda terrorists who were running drugs between Columbia's FARC and Africa. As per the usual Obama Admin policies, instead of sticking these terrorists in Gitmo they brought them right to NEW YORK to partake of our gloriously flawed and inadequate justice system along with all the free lawyering they can handle:
DECEMBER 16, 2009 WED : (GHANA : US DEA DRUG STING NABS AL QAEDA OPERATIVES OUMAR ISSA, HAROUNA TOURE' AND IDRISS ABELRAHMAN; THEY ARE SHIPPED TO NY-----THE DRUG SMUGGLING WAS INTENDED TO SUPPORT AL QAEDA, AL QAEDA IN THE MAGHREB & FARC ) Osama Bin Laden's terrorist organization has become increasingly reliant on organized crime, including cocaine smuggling, human trafficking and kidnapping, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday in Manhattan's federal court. The charges filed against three alleged al-Qaeda associates by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan is the latest chilling evidence of a convergence between terrorism and organized crime. Oumar Issa, Harouna Touré and Idriss Abelrahman were snatched in Ghana on Wednesday by a Drug Enforcement Administration sting and shipped to New York, where they arrived on Friday to face charges of conspiracy to commit acts of narco-terrorism and providing material support to al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization. The arrests mark the first time that al-Qaeda associates have been charged with narco-terrorism offenses. * * * "It's pretty compelling evidence, but not the only evidence that has been growing that al-Qaeda and its affiliates are becoming more and more involved in the global drug trade to help fund their operations," says Michael Braun, former chief of operations at the DEA and a founder of Spectre Group International. "They have to pay for their operations somehow." (Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...-------Al-Qaeda's New Business Model: Cocaine And Human Trafficking Forbes Magazine ^ | 12/18/09 | Nathan Vardi Posted on Saturday, December 19, 2009 9:56:37 AM by AtlasStalled
DEA.gov - US DOJ.gov - Justice.gov - Press Release: “THREE AL QAEDA ASSOCIATES ARRESTED ON DRUG AND TERRORISM CHARGES” (SNIPPET: “...Oumar Issa, Harouna Toure, and Irdiss Abelrahman...” SNIPPET: “...charges of conspiracy to commit acts of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The charges stem from the defendants’ alleged agreement to transport cocaine through West and North Africa with the intent to support three terrorist organizations — Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (”AQIM”), and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or “FARC”). All three organizations have been designated by the United States Department of State as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”) (December 18, 2009)————————http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr121809.html [hat tip-Cindy]