A different kind of flight issue to DAP...

[Derby4me]

I am so mad I actually had to have a good cry!!

OK, so I booked my flight for DAP through Delta but it is operated by Northwest. Got my e-mail this morning from Delta that it is time to check-in. It shows that I am scheduled to sit with my 10-month old daughter and my husband is scheduled to sit alone. Not ideal, but ok....took me several phonecalls 2 months ago just to get this.

I click on the link and it redirects me to Northwest airlines. After reviewing my flight info I see that it shows that NONE of us are sitting together...as in my baby is sitting by two strangers. Hmmmmm.... So I call Northwest and after ONE HOUR (most of which I am on hold) I am told that nothing can be done at this time. Are you serious?!?! Infact, the Supervisor said that there was no point in continuing the conversation because "I didn't get it". YOUR RIGHT!! I DON'T, AND NEWSFLASH, I am NOT the unreasonable one in this situation!!!

NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Thanks!

 

[robinb]

The supervisor is right. Nothing can be done at this time. HOWEVER, Delta will not allow your baby to travel alone and something will be arranged at the gate so you and your baby can sit together. Your DH is probably still on his own. This kind of thing is not limited to Delta or Northwest but can happen with any carrier which assigns seats.

One question, was your baby's age listed on her reservation? Does she have an infant fare? I *am* surprised that the automated system that reassigned seats (probably due to an equipment change) moved a baby into a seat away from a parent if her age was listed.

Don't worry! Your baby won't sit between strangers! If all else fails the FA will make someone move. They may even make two people move if your DD is not in a window seat for her car seat.

 

[natale1980]

WHAT!!??!!
I hope everything got worked out for you... just take a deep breath and remember that you'll be in Disney World really soon!

Have fun at DAP!!!
-nat

 

[MisplacedTexan]

Don't worry too much about it. As the PP said, they will accomodate. My kids 10 and 8,are usually in the same row as I am, and most times the other passengers have been kind enough to switch with us to keep us all together. They will make the change.

 

[safetymom]

At the 24 hour mark the seats go under airport control. They hold back seats so they have some flexibility to move people around.

The best thing to do once you book flights is to keep checking them at least once a week for any changes. The sooner you notice a change the sooner you can have it fixed.

I am sure they will be able to help you.

 

[Derby4me]

One question, was your baby's age listed on her reservation? Does she have an infant fare? I *am* surprised that the automated system that reassigned seats (probably due to an equipment change) moved a baby into a seat away from a parent if her age was listed.

Yes, the babies age was listed the flight and no, I received no discount. Her seat cost just as much as mine.


[/QUOTE]At the 24 hour mark the seats go under airport control. They hold back seats so they have some flexibility to move people around.

The best thing to do once you book flights is to keep checking them at least once a week for any changes. The sooner you notice a change the sooner you can have it fixed..[/QUOTE]

Another part of my beef is that this morning I received confirmation that we were sitting together. It's just when I clicked on the link to check-in that our seats were appart. What happened in the 4 hours between receiving the e-mail and checking in?!

Thanks for all of the support. It's hard enough traveling with a baby! I know it will work out but doesn't make it any less frustrating! Sounds like there needs to be a better system in place.

I am sure they will be able to help you.

 

[jcb]

The same thing happened to me with my then 8 year-old DD on a cross country flight. "Equipment change" was the given reason then - only the equipment hadn't changed (I'm an aircraft nerd). They gave me the same explanation Kathy said - the flight is under airport control.

Only the gate agent said his hands were tied and didn't seem to care about the problem in any event. I came close to having a stroke at gate A16 in Atlanta.

I worked it out with other passengers. No problem.

 

[safetymom]

We will never know if the seat information was wrong before they sent the notice to check in.

 

[stampinshauna]

Delta is notorious for screwing up seating assignments. We fly on Delta all the time and the past couple of years they have gotten worse. They are constantly changing the schedule, only by a few minutes, but it resets our seats. We have learned to check our itinerary often and then reselect our seats. On our last trip to WDW (last month) they changed our seating assignments a few days prior to departure and we didn't notice until I was checking in for our flight and they had DH and DD2 10 rows ahead of me on both flight segments. The worst part was the flight was practically full and the only open seats were middle seats and I was afraid that the person they gave the window to wouldn't want to trade for the middle seat. I also needed to have the window for DD because she sits in her carseat and that has to go by the window. I was frustrated but was told the same thing, they can't fix it on the phone, you just have to hope the gate agent will work it out.

Luckily it all worked out for us, but it was just one more stress right before boarding the plane. They couldn't do anything until shortly before boarding when some seats opened up, but it did all work out. Hope yours works out fine too.

 

[robinb]

Children in car seats are required to sit by the window so there is no question that a child would be placed in a middle seat.

 

[jpeka65844]

Don't go to the Transportation board about this....there have been some NASTY threads about these kinds of issues on other planes.....

What I don't understand (and these people do exist on other boards) are the selfish jack*%&es who refuse to move to allow a kid to sit with at least one parent. No parent should have to put their 4 y.o. next to a complete stranger but there are people out there that feel like they don't need to show common courtesy to make this right.

My kids are still young and we only fly SW when we can so we are able to do family pre-boarding and I'm not worried about getting separated. But by goodness, if I need to switch a seat so that little Johnny can sit by Mommy, I'll do it. It's just the right thing to do.

Hope it all works out for you!!! Last minute stress is NOT GOOD! Pixie dust!!

 

[AlexDurrani]

At the 24 hour mark the seats go under airport control. They hold back seats so they have some flexibility to move people around.

The best thing to do once you book flights is to keep checking them at least once a week for any changes. The sooner you notice a change the sooner you can have it fixed.

I am sure they will be able to help you.

I agree with Kathy on this one. I do disagree regarding this being a Delta issue. It is actually Northwest that is making the decisions. Unfortunately changing seat assignments at the 24 hour mark with full flights are like getting teeth pulled. At least they let you change the seats when you get to the airports. BA has a policy that says that once a boarding pass is generated either electronically or at the airport they will not work with you. It happened to me on a trip a couple of years ago. Just be patient and calm when you get to the airport today and you will have a realistically calm interaction with the staff behind the desk. People on the other end of the phone usually are working 10 hour days and they really do not care one way or the other about the situation you are in. You are basically a number to them.

 

[AlexDurrani]

Sounds like this is a typical happening with Delta and AA now days. I am glad I can use Continental and Southwest. Unfortunately if I didn't buy two seats in economy or first class when available I would be the good samaritan as long as it was a window seat. I am claustrophobic and have to be able to look out a window or I will go stir crazy. Been there done that on a transatlantic flight. I was walking up and down the aisles most of the flight. Well I better sign off or I will miss my ADR for breakfast. See yall in the afternoon.