Airtran through Disney- no seats together

[amym2]

I booked our flights through Disney (via a TA) months ago and was never asked if we wanted to choose seats. We leave Sat. and it just hit me earlier today that I had never asked about that. My TA told me to go online and select seats for our flight this Sat. I went online and there are only 5 seats in the whole plane and they are spread out all over the place. Ack! My 7 and 9 year olds are not going to be happy about sitting with strangers.

When you book flights directly through Disney, are you given the option to choose seats? When does that typically happen? Did going through a TA have us skip that step?

I am kicking myself for not asking my TA about it sooner, but I guess I assumed everything was taken care of.

 

[wed100105]

I don't know the answer to your question. I just wanted to send you some and hope that everything gets resolved as well as possible. I would definitely be on the phone with my TA and I would want to get the return flights settled as soon as possible.

 

[MikeP22]

For what it's worth, if that was happening to me and my child(ren) was/were forced to sit with strangers, I would consider booking a different flight.

Depending on what they charge for a schedule change ($50 pp for fares under $100 with JetBlue) I'd either do that or book another flight on a different carrier. I'd take it on the chin and mark it off as a learning experience.

Good luck!

 

[crashbb]

Second time posting this today!

I've written this before for someone else, but it works well here as well. My "steps to take if you cannot book seats together".

1) Try calling the airline again. Airlines hold back some seats and may be able to open up enough so that your younger children are beside you.

2) Keep checking - people cancel flights/change seats. Take a pair if you can get it (or a triple). For people in the "single seats", choose ones that other people may want so that you have good seats to trade (i.e. aisle seats near the front of the plane).

3) Do online check in at the 24 hour mark. The seats that are held back are now opened up plus some people may have been upgraded. You have a good chance of moving to seats that are together.

4) Get to the airport early and ask the check-in agent if there are together seats that you can move to (again, people may have moved/upgraded/canceled).

5) When you get to the gate, talk to the gate agent. Changes are still happening and they may be able to help you.

6) If all else fails and you get on the plane and you have all single seats, nicely ask people if they would mind trading (but know that they have every right to reject the request). You have much better odds if you are offering your "better" seat. For example, if one seat is in row 5 and the other seat is in row 32, you'll do much better asking the person beside you in row 32 to move up to row 5 (and you and your child sit in row 32) than the opposite.

7) If you are still separated, you can choose to deplane and take a later flight. Before considering this, make sure you know if there are still together seats available on a subsequent flight (and that there IS a subsequent flight). Also, this will likely be at a cost to you.

I have NEVER seen anyone get to step 7 (not saying it doesn't happen, I've just never seen it) and rarely step 6 (generally only on holiday flights with lots of families none of whom want to sit split up or even go one adult/one child one place and another adult/child somewhere else).

 

[Jestocost]

I booked our flights through Disney (via a TA) months ago and was never asked if we wanted to choose seats. We leave Sat. and it just hit me earlier today that I had never asked about that. My TA told me to go online and select seats for our flight this Sat. I went online and there are only 5 seats in the whole plane and they are spread out all over the place. Ack! My 7 and 9 year olds are not going to be happy about sitting with strangers.

When you book flights directly through Disney, are you given the option to choose seats? When does that typically happen? Did going through a TA have us skip that step?

I am kicking myself for not asking my TA about it sooner, but I guess I assumed everything was taken care of.

AirTran charges for the privilege of getting an assigned seat in advance. Whoever you dealt with directly to purchase your tickets--in this case the TA--should have told you that and given you the option to select your seats at booking. Unfortunately, many TAs are only marginally competent (and some less so) and looks like you've hit one of those. Depending on how far in advance you booked, however, the TA might not even have known who you were booked with until later because that's how it can work with air through Disney. Even in that latter scenario, a good TA would have kept track and should have alerted you about the seating situation as soon as they saw that the flights were on AirTran.

Keep checking the site and it's not uncommon for more seats to show up, so you may get your problem resolved. Even if nothing opens up, check with the gate agent, calmly explain the situation and see if there's anything they can do.

I believe AirTran charges $75 pp change fee and then you also pay the difference if the ticket prices have gone up, so it likely would be pricey (and no guarantees that the flight you change to will have seats). Canceling will get you credits for what you paid less $75 per ticket (not a refund) that can be used to book another AirTran flight (no telling what happens to those when the Southwest merger is completed later this year) and then you will have to pay full price on whatever airline you book for new tickets. As a result, unless money isn't an issue this is not likely a viable option.

 

[vljohnson1126]

I'm usually just a follower, but after seeing this post I had to reply.

DH and I flew Air Tran our last visit to WDW (beginning of Sept)...I booked our flights through Air Tran because the deals were great. Since I had never flown with them, I didn't realize that our seats weren't included..And about 3 weeks before our travel date it hit me that I hadn't selected our seats. Since I booked through Expedia, I just assumed I needed to log in and select them.. So after going to Air Trans website I found out that seats are not included in the ticket price unless you wait until you get to the airport that day and take what is left. Since DH and I prefer to sit together, I had to pay $6 per person each way plus tax. Once you add in the seat purchases, it puts Air Tran with the other airlines price wise. I will only fly Air Tran again if there is a huge difference in price. Our flights from our home airport don't leave until late at night, getting us to WDW late. Good luck! Surely there are still some nice people out there in the world that would trade seats with you in order for your family to be together. All in all, you will be in WDW.

 

[Ferrante8]

I booked our flights through Disney (via a TA) months ago and was never asked if we wanted to choose seats. We leave Sat. and it just hit me earlier today that I had never asked about that. My TA told me to go online and select seats for our flight this Sat. I went online and there are only 5 seats in the whole plane and they are spread out all over the place. Ack! My 7 and 9 year olds are not going to be happy about sitting with strangers.

When you book flights directly through Disney, are you given the option to choose seats? When does that typically happen? Did going through a TA have us skip that step?

I am kicking myself for not asking my TA about it sooner, but I guess I assumed everything was taken care of.

Hi there.. We always fly airtran and last August I did not choose my seats ahead of time, I have 6 children. 3 of our seats were together and and the other 5 were scattered. The flight attendent saw that I was keeping my 3 and 5 yr olds with me and heard saw me showing the older kids ( 8, 9, 13, 17) where I was seated. She then moved some people around to keep the kids with me. She also told me to let the next flight know that we were not seated together. She said that it's not good for the kids seperated nor is it good to expect others to deal with kids ( upset, scared, loud, ext.) so at check in mention it and also when boarding !!! Have a wonderful trip !!!

 

[Hannathy]

For what it's worth, if that was happening to me and my child(ren) was/were forced to sit with strangers, I would consider booking a different flight.

Depending on what they charge for a schedule change ($50 pp for fares under $100 with JetBlue) I'd either do that or book another flight on a different carrier. I'd take it on the chin and mark it off as a learning experience.

Good luck!

Her children aren't babies or even toddlers. I'm sure they have been on a bus or in a theater and had to sit next to someone else. They will all be on the same plane. Why would you over react like this for such a non issue. Children 5 and up can fly as unaccompanied minors let alone with their families on the same plane. Everyone gets there at the same time no matter where you sit.

Keep watching the site-they often open seats, if nothing shows up get to the airport and ask, and if still nothing make sure each child has their own backpack of stuff and they know where your seat is and then get on and realize the flight is only the getting there not the vacation and go and enjoy.

 

[amym2]

Thanks for the advice everyone! My TA is very competent, and she said she will call the airlines for me tomorrow and see what they recommend. Hopefully as some of you mentioned, they hold some seats back and might be able to give us those if we pay for them. As it is now, all four of us would be separated, with multiple rows between each seat, so it would be impossible to even see our children. I'm guessing that wouldn't be good for anyone!

 

[DisFam11]

Don't stress. This happened to us with airtran last december. When we checked in the lady told us that our seats were not together and that if we wanted to guarentee that one of us would be able to sit with our 8 year old son that we needed to pay $100 per ticket and upgrade to first class. I told her that I didn't want to do that unless I had to. I asked her if I could wait and see she told me to ask at the gate and see what they could do. She was less than helpful. However, I explained the situation at the gate to the man working and told him that the lady at the ticket counter said I needed to upgrade. He said that they are required to put kids with their parents or the adult that they are traveling with. It turns out the lady was just trying to get some extra cash out of me and what happened was that 2 elderly woman flying were upgraded for free to first class and we got their seats together and everyone was happy. But the lady at the ticket counter

 

[crashbb]

Thanks for the advice everyone! My TA is very competent, and she said she will call the airlines for me tomorrow and see what they recommend. Hopefully as some of you mentioned, they hold some seats back and might be able to give us those if we pay for them. As it is now, all four of us would be separated, with multiple rows between each seat, so it would be impossible to even see our children. I'm guessing that wouldn't be good for anyone!

At 7 and 9, your children should be fine (if it came to worst and those were your seats). As Hannathy said, make sure that they can access their bags (and have what they need in them) and that they know (before getting on the plane) that they'll be sitting alone.

 

[crashbb]

Don't stress. This happened to us with airtran last december. When we checked in the lady told us that our seats were not together and that if we wanted to guarentee that one of us would be able to sit with our 8 year old son that we needed to pay $100 per ticket and upgrade to first class. I told her that I didn't want to do that unless I had to. I asked her if I could wait and see she told me to ask at the gate and see what they could do. She was less than helpful. However, I explained the situation at the gate to the man working and told him that the lady at the ticket counter said I needed to upgrade. He said that they are required to put kids with their parents or the adult that they are traveling with. It turns out the lady was just trying to get some extra cash out of me and what happened was that 2 elderly woman flying were upgraded for free to first class and we got their seats together and everyone was happy. But the lady at the ticket counter

While the gate agent was very nice, he was also wrong. Airtran has no such rule.

Many stories on here of children not sitting with a parent.

 

[ckrum]

We had this same problem when we booked AirTran through our travel agent. We flew out of Indy and there was no problem getting us all together (me, DH and DD who was 6). But, the flight from Orlando was a very different story. Everyone is flying w/kids and wants to be together. When we checked in, the attendant said there were no seats together. He assured me that they would fix it at the gate. The gate attendant was absolutely no help and said we would have to wait and board the plane last to see what they could do. Then, they gave us 2 seats together so DD could sit w/one of us. We boarded and realized they put DH & I together in an exit row and the other seat was literally at the opposite end of the plane. There was no way we were letting our daughter fly completely out of our sight for 3 hours. Who knows what the person next to her could be like. Not to mention that DD gets airsick almost every flight. Thankfully, a couple of nice people switched so that DH and DD could sit together. Sure enough, DD threw up on that flight. Thank God she wasn't all by herself in the front of the plane w/strangers.

I would never let my child go to a strangers house, or ride in a car w/a stranger let alone sit next to one (out of my view) for hours. So, we now pay the extra fee for assigned seats. It is worth our piece of mind.

 

[SarahInMN]

While I agree it is best to have kids seated with the rest of the family and while I don't know the specifics of a lot of these "seat swapping" stories, I would like to point out that people who have assigned seats - either because they pay for the privilege (i.e. on airtran or early bird on southwest) or because they have airline status - often choose seats for a reason. It isn't fair to expect other people to switch. If people ask me nicely I may swap but I have not always been asked nicely. Bottom line, if you ask people to swap with you, do so nicely and humbly. And be prepared to hear "no." As another poster suggested, offer your more "desired" seat (i.e. offer to swap your forward aisle in exchange for someone else's back middle) and you are more likely to get a positive response.

 

[n2mm]

While the gate agent was very nice, he was also wrong. Airtran has no such rule.

Many stories on here of children not sitting with a parent.

Yes there are many stores. My DD's friend flew a few years ago and didn't know the policy for AT. She and her DH were separated from their children. One child was 4 and the other was 7 who both sat with strangers in separate rows. It was their first flight.

 

[amym2]

If we run into the situation that there's nothing they can do, we'll certainly ask nicely if anyone is willing to switch. I have a feeling the plane will be all families headed to WDW, so hopefully there will be some understanding people. And I WOULD be willing to pay for the seats, if there were any together, so I am certainly not asking for special treatment. But since that's not an option at this point, I'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers, either to move when politely asked or at least be understanding when my 7yo is bawling that she doesn't want to sit by herself. If we do end up with 4 separate seats, I guess we'll put DD7 into whichever seat is next to a kid. At least our kids are expert flyers, can't imagine what it would be like if they weren't.

 

[Inkmahm]

Don't stress. This happened to us with airtran last december. When we checked in the lady told us that our seats were not together and that if we wanted to guarentee that one of us would be able to sit with our 8 year old son that we needed to pay $100 per ticket and upgrade to first class. I told her that I didn't want to do that unless I had to. I asked her if I could wait and see she told me to ask at the gate and see what they could do. She was less than helpful. However, I explained the situation at the gate to the man working and told him that the lady at the ticket counter said I needed to upgrade. He said that they are required to put kids with their parents or the adult that they are traveling with. It turns out the lady was just trying to get some extra cash out of me and what happened was that 2 elderly woman flying were upgraded for free to first class and we got their seats together and everyone was happy. But the lady at the ticket counter

I guarantee there is no such thing as Airtran being "required to put kids with their parents or the adult they are traveling with." I have personally witnessed a family with young children being sat all over the plane, not together. There are many such stories here on the DIS.

Do NOT rely on Airtran getting seats for your near your children if you didn't purchase seats together in advance. There is NO guarantee that you will be sitting together.

 

[kaytieeldr]

There was no way we were letting our daughter fly completely out of our sight for 3 hours. Who knows what the person next to her could be like.

While I understand your concern for your child, this is an extremely offensive statement. Most likely, the person next to your daughter's seat is someone just like you, or someone you would trust and respect. I detest the paranoia displayed by airline passengers toward other passengers.

 

[aubriee]

While the gate agent was very nice, he was also wrong. Airtran has no such rule.

Many stories on here of children not sitting with a parent.

True! I fly Air Tran from DFW to Orlando several times a year and have seen it almost every trip. In fact, this past Sunday (Sept 18th) I saw families seperated.

Off Topic: but Air Tran is also bad about overbooking. Almost every trip they make the announcement that they are overbooked and need someone to flyout on a later flight. This past Sunday I had the last flight out of MCO and they were begging for four people to give up their seats. There was not a single empty seat on that plane. They were offering two round trip fares to anywhere Air Tran flies, a night in a hotel, meal vouchers, and a guarantee to fly out on Monday morning. Two ladies finally accepted, but they continued to make the announcement that they needed two more seats. One guy finally yelled out that any of us would be crazy to accept their offer, since Air Tran would no longer be flying out of DFW after Nov 22nd, so we wouldn't be able to use those air fare vouchers they were offering anyway. The two ladies that had accepted the deal, immediately came back up to the desk, said they didn't realize Air Tran was going to stop flying out of Dallas that soon, and they wanted their seats back. They were not allowed to get them back. Both they and another couple who were bumped were very unhappy when we left. The man was saying that they had paid for their tickets and expected a seat on that plane and just because they hadn't paid for their seats was no reason to bump them and Air Tran had no business overbookkng their flights. The agent explained to them that all airlines overbooked their flights, expecting cancellations and no shows and that there simply were not any seats for those four people.

 

[crashbb]

Off Topic: but Air Tran is also bad about overbooking. Almost every trip they make the announcement that they are overbooked and need someone to flyout on a later flight. This past Sunday I had the last flight out of MCO and they were begging for four people to give up their seats. There was not a single empty seat on that plane. They were offering two round trip fares to anywhere Air Tran flies, a night in a hotel, meal vouchers, and a guarantee to fly out on Monday morning. Two ladies finally accepted, but they continued to make the announcement that they needed two more seats. One guy finally yelled out that any of us would be crazy to accept their offer, since Air Tran would no longer be flying out of DFW after Nov 22nd, so we wouldn't be able to use those air fare vouchers they were offering anyway. The two ladies that had accepted the deal, immediately came back up to the desk, said they didn't realize Air Tran was going to stop flying out of Dallas that soon, and they wanted their seats back. They were not allowed to get them back. Both they and another couple who were bumped were very unhappy when we left. The man was saying that they had paid for their tickets and expected a seat on that plane and just because they hadn't paid for their seats was no reason to bump them and Air Tran had no business overbookkng their flights. The agent explained to them that all airlines overbooked their flights, expecting cancellations and no shows and that there simply were not any seats for those four people.

Funny, I was going to add to my post (when I wrote it last night) that I suspected overbooking in the PPs post.

That would explain (in part) why the agent was trying so hard to get them to upgrade, as it would open up seats in seats. Also, why the gate agent upgrade other people to first class, rather than getting anyone to move within coach.