Changing assigned seat on plane???

[D L and K's Mom]

I am so disappionted. We booked the airline portion of the trip through AAA months ago and I specifically told the agent that we really needed to have the front row of the plane (We booked months in advance for this reason) My DS is a special needs child, Autistic and he rocks and kicks. On all our previous flights we have always had the front row and when it was ok to unfasten our belts we let DS sit in the "Space" on front of us. This was also great becasue there was no seat in front of us for DS to kick (don't get me wrong we try to keep DS's legs from kicking but it is not easy he loves to kick and rock). Well when the arrangements were made we were told we were all set........picked up the tickets today and guess what.....ROW 15!!!!! I call AAA and asked what had happened and was told that it was to early to get assigned seats when the tickets were originally purchased . I guess it comes down to someone told us wrong info. Anyone have any bright ideas as to how to get the seats switched. If I call the airlines direct will they help?? I am sure the seats are now assigned to another person. If we go to the airport real early on the day of the flight do you think we will have any better luck talking to the person doing the boarding?? HELP any ideas would be greatly appreciated...I am so disappointed. Oh ,we are in row 17 for the flight back I thinkt he flights are going to be the worst part of the trip and i am so worried for the poor person in front of us.....maybe they will change with one of us so it is DH who gets the occasional "kick")

 

[SueM in MN]

Call the airline (or find their website) and ask if they have a "Special Needs" department that you can contact. We have been told that some airlines do not assign the bulkhead seats (the ones you want) until the day of the flight because they are easier to get into for someone with a disability. You have a good reason for needing those seats and should be able to do something about it.
If that doesn't work, you can always ask when you check in or even ask the frlight attendants to see if whoever has those seats will trade with you once boarding begins.
On one of our recent flight, we were preassigned something like row 28. That would not work at all since we either have to carry DD on or hold her up as she (slowly) walks thru the aisle (she won't use an aisle chair). We were able to switch to seats 3 rows behind the bulkhead.

 

[DebbieB]

I would call the airline direct and ask for a special needs department. We were assigned seats right behind the first class divider for our flight home last month. When I got to the airport I found our 2 seats were "reassigned" and noticed a family of 3 in our seats (parents & toddler). My guess is that they had to sit together, so they bumped us out to adjoining aisle seats a few rows back. The gate agent got us exit row seats instead (I prefer a window seat).

One thing I just thought of - is that "front row" an exit row? They will not allow children in the exit row (not sure of the age limit, 16 maybe) and also may not allow disabled. It can vary by type of plane, I know on a 757 the first row of coach is an exit row.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Thanks for the great ideas!!! I did call the airline and was told, "Sorry there is nothing we can do." but I am going to call the airline again and see if they do have a special needs agent. I never would have thought of that!!! Thanks for all the great ideas

 

[FergieTCat]

I once needed a bulkhead seat for a medical reason -- I had torn my achilles tendon and needed to stretch out my leg in front of me (this might sound like an odd reason, but my doctor was adamant about it). Either Delta or TWA (I don't remember) gave me a hard time about it, but I got a note from my doctor and faxed it to the airlines. They did give me the seat.

If alll else fails, try faxing a note from your peditrician. And fax a cover letter from yourself explaining the situation.

Donna

 

[sgtdisney]

If I were you I would stress about the special needs of your son to anyone you talk to at the airline. Hint to them that if you are not seated in a bulkhead seat they (the airline) is running the risk of having the passengers in front of you complain and have a less than relaxing flight. You can only do so much. If they refuse to help you, explain your situation again at the gate when you check in. Ask again for a bulkhead. A lot of airlines save the bulkhead seats for Frequent Flier members. Maybe they can help you. Tell them your son will disrupt others in front of him and it is beyond your and his control. If they still won't help you then when you get on the plane just apologize in advance to the people in front of you and tell them about the airline's complete lack of compassion for your son's needs. Perhaps at that point an intelligent FA will try to get you seated in a better place. The sqeeky wheel gets the grease.

 

[thewiz49]

As others have said the bulkhead (front row) seats are usually held for people with special needs. But these are generally not the only seats that provide extra room. I have seen extra spaced seats elsewhere on planes just for disabled (wheel chair) persons. Extra room to get in and out of. Perhaps these may be available. Be firm but polite I'm sure they will find something. Heck maybe even 1st class if available. A little customer service helps the beleaguered airlines.

 

[faeflora]

Just another suggestion, you can have the reservation agent at the airline send a message to the ticket counter that you are in need of special seating. When I worked for American Airlines years ago we would send an OSI message for wheelchair requests etc. Then when you arrive at the airport go to the ticket counter first for your baggage check and at that time request the bulkhead seats due to medical necessity. Often times they can do it there or send another message to the gate that is picked up on the flight information sheets for the departing aircraft. This is at least worth a try. Hope it works out for you.

 

[tammyh-oregon]

You haven't said which airline. We had to deal with American Airlines over a wheelchair issue. It took a while to get through to the right people. We keep getting put through to the wrong people but eventually we got to right people. Just be firm and request to speak to the special needs people or the ones that works with disabled issues. The regular airline personnel will not change your seats until you arrive at the gate if then. We had this happen to us when American rebooked the entire plane. They separated everybody, parents and kids etc. They would do nothing before our flight to change our seats but bumped us to first class because we complained at the gate and mentioned the need for the two of us to seat together. Just keep trying and be patient you should eventually reach the right person. Good Luck and don't forget to let us know how things work out.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

yes I would like to know what carrier too. and it was laziness on the part of the AAA agent to not make sure they got you the right seat assignment. its not hard to do. if its usair give me a pm or email and I will do what I can to get you the bulkhead. airlines do not have special needs departments. (there is a special services dept at the airport that helps some what) those are just handled as stated above in an osi message and those messages are in your PNR and then on the passenger manifest that the gate gets got the flight. those messages go to the gate not the tkt cntr. the only way the tkt cntr sees it is if they pull up your pnr and read to see if it says anything.

 

[tammyh-oregon]

American Airlines has two people in their customer service office that specifically handle special needs customers that's why I was wondering about which airline. If it is I can give you their number, just e-mail me. And without knowing the whole story we can't really blame all of this on the agent either. As I said, we had seat assignments and then American changed the plane and redid everybody's seating without thinking about splitting up families or special needs. The people you get when you call the airlines are usually just ticket people. You need customer service usually at their main office. Each airline will handle this differently but the average person you reach on the phone will have no clue about what to do for you and the standard line is wait until you get to the airline which does the passenger no good because then they just worry and stew about what is going to happen. Good luck.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I have to say when I posted my message I never , ever expected all this wonderful attention!!! Thanks you all so much. We are flying U.S. Airways. I do not blame the airline in any way I do however, blame the TA. I think maybe it had to do with us just booking the air portion of our trip and booking the "land and sea" portion elsewhere for cheaper...she was not to happy with that. I put a call into U.S.air and the agent (Who was a sweetie by the way) said that yes, according to the info she was getting on her computer said that all the front seats had been booked already. She did say to try to get to the airport early and talk to the ticketing people.I even tried to get the seat directly in front of DS's (so DS can kick and bother DH) but the agent said that the seats she had available were pretty much all booked up and that the best thing to do was go to the ticketing agent and explain the circumstances. My DS will be in a wheelchair for boarding but he can walk onto the plane so we don't have to worry about the chair.....a question though, is there a way to use his wheelchair on the plane???? What do they do with people who can't get out of hte wheelchairs?? This is probably a very naive question but I have never noticed a wheelchair on the plane. Do you have to transfer over to a seat or can they secure the wheechair?????Again I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to help us out with this.

 

[tammyh-oregon]

While I use mine to the gate and then walk on to the plane, the airlines have these skinny little chairs that fit down the aisles. Some seats have moveable armrests on the end and the person would transfer to the seat. On long flights they are suppose to have one of these chairs on the airplane but on shorter flights you would just be stuck unless someone is with you to help you use the restroom. I would venture that if you ask the person in front of your son to switch when you explain why they probably won't have a problem. Hopefully the airline will be able to work something out for you. And don't forget to ask to have his wheelchair stowed in the closet if it available. They take the flight much smoother that way. Good luck and have a fun trip.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sun Country and Northwest have special needs departments (or at least someone that you are routed too when asking).
The aisles are too narrow for a regular wheelchair to fit thru. The skinny little chair that tammy mentioned is called an aisle chair and it is made just for use on the plane. My DD refuses to even try one, so we've never used it (we've gotten as far as looking at it). We can usually push her own wheelchair into the front of the plane and get her out there. She can't walk alone, but if someone holds her up, she can take steps and get on the plane that way.
Whether they can get a wheelchair in the closet depends on the wheelchair and the closet. The last time we tried, the closet wasn't deep enough for the wheelchair to fit, even when we popped off the wheels. We've also been on flights where the closet started about a foot off the floor and it was very awkward to try to get the wheelchair in it. Too mcuh tilting and turning. If you can bring his chair on, you won't be able to use it during the flight, at any rate.

 

[bexareaglecheryl]

Seat assignments aboard airplanes remind me of Room Requests at WDW resorts. They seems to be just suggestions, not hard and fast rules.

We have never sat in our assigned sets on any flight or connecting flight to or from MCO. As soon as we get up to the gate they say that we have different seats even if we have printed tickets saying which specific seats we are to be in. We always get changed around. DH and I have never sat along the same row together on any flight (him with son and me with daughter or vice versa). The only good change that every came was that we were given the bulkhead seating from Houston to MCO in December so DD and I got that extra leg room.

Keep at it. I am sure you will eventually get the seats you need.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

ok my email is messing up for some reason so I don't know if you got it or not! I was able to get both you and David into 4DF on the roc flight and then from mco to phl I got you 4DF and then from phl to roc I got you 4AB. now the ones that are d&f there is someone in the middle that will switch with one of you for the aisle or window. thats not a problem. but your DD and DH will have to stay put for now until they airport can switch them around. we didn't touch them just you and David! is that OK? let me know!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Beverly, Thank you so much!!! I did send you out an email, but since your email is having problems I will post it again here!! I can't believe that you were able to do that for us!! I also can't believe that you would go to so much trouble for strangers. I am now looking forward to the trip . For some time there I was just dreading going, now ...........YEAH!!!. You stated in your email you needed ages. David is 11 and Lauren is 10. In case you need a "diagnosis" for the airline. David suffered a severe stroke that has left him with numerous physical problems (wheelchair etc) David is also now severly developmentally delayed (at a 6-12 month level) David is non-verbal and has lots of autistic tendencies (hence the rocking and the kicking that we have discussed) David also has the biggest brown eyes and infectious smile you have ever seen and his giggles and laughs can melt your heart (Sorry just had to get some positive things in there) Again , we all thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the work you have done for us. Thank you.

 

[bexareaglecheryl]

Way to go Beverly!!!

You are an asset to the DIS board.

Remember that trouble you had several months ago, aren't you glad you stayed?

 

[Beverly Lynn]

I have to say thank you to D&L's MOM! you are a doll!

and cheryl it was due to a cold day in h*ll that I did come back(my DH actually did something nice for me so that was the cold day....LOL) and I got bombarded with emails and pm's so I had to! thanks again!