Delta changed my seats!

[grafxgirl]

same thing happened to me and my family twice with Delta; as a result we fly on Southwest now and refuse to give Delta our business. We have 4 small kids and both times we booked our flights way out, like 9 or 10 months; selected our seats near the front of the plane and then later on Delta canceled our flights and put us on a later flight with seats split up in the very back of the plane.

Splitting up the family and moving us to the back of the plane stinks but at least we knew we we're heading to Disney so we could live with that but the worst thing was that we basically lost our first day of vacation since our late morning flight was now a late afternoon flight.

I too pleaded with Delta over the phone and in person at the airport and at the gate check in - neither time did they change my seats - bothtimes the flights were full as a result of Delta canceling the earlier flight and squeezing everyone on to the later flight.

I think Delta could easily have changed the seats and have my family sit together if they wanted to.

I try to avoid anything in the back of the plane past the wings because my husband, myself and my son all get motion sickness. At least my husband and I can take something for it, but my 4 year old son is not allowed. Apparently, the medical profession advises against it until they are at least 8 years old.

 

[goofy4tink]

Knock it off...the whole dang bunch of ya. If you don't like what someone posts, please feel free to report it to me. I will take care of it. There is no need for name calling and all out rudeness here. It will NOT be tolerated. I gave no points or warnings...decided to do it right here. If I have to delete another post in this thread, there will be consequences.
Now, back to your programing.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Glad it worked out. That's what can happen when one family demands that others be moved to accomodate them, it can displace someone else. Once on the plane, people are usually pretty accomodating when small children are involved. No one would want to sit by a 1 year old by themselves or even a 5 year old.

Can you just imagine the look on someone's face when I strapped the car seat in, put the 1 year old in it and then handed them the diaper bag.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Okay i dont understand everyone always complains about Delta changing seats i've never had it happen? I fly Delta alot so its weird reading about this topic all the time, does this occur frequently ive never heard anyone complain at the counters or on actual flights

I've flown Delta twice this year (once to Orlando and once to Ft. Myers) and didn't have any problems. Ft. Myers was on school vacation week and Orlando was in the summer so both trips had planes packed with kids/ families. I will say that on 3 of the 4 flights (both leaving Boston and the one leaving Ft. Myers) they were overbooked and were offering compensation to people to give up their seats. I was sorry I couldn't take advantage.

 

[maxiesmom]

Can you just imagine the look on someone's face when I strapped the car seat in, put the 1 year old in it and then handed them the diaper bag.

While I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and believe you mean this as a joke, there are many people who would actually try and do that. Think you should either watch their child, or else. Most posters here respond with a version of "I can put my headphones on and ignore your child if you think that trying to be cute, instead of asking me to switch seats, is the way to go".

If the airline messes up your seat assignments, do you really think making an enemy of the only people who could help you is the way to go? People are usually pretty accomodating if you ask for their help. Handing them your diaper bag and expecting them to watch you child is not what I recommend anyone do.

 

[SmallWorld71]

While I will give you the benefit of the doubt, and believe you mean this as a joke, there are many people who would actually try and do that. Think you should either watch their child, or else. Most posters here respond with a version of "I can put my headphones on and ignore your child if you think that trying to be cute, instead of asking me to switch seats, is the way to go".

If the airline messes up your seat assignments, do you really think making an enemy of the only people who could help you is the way to go? People are usually pretty accomodating if you ask for their help. Handing them your diaper bag and expecting them to watch you child is not what I recommend anyone do.

Don't worry, I was joking! Just trying to show the absurdity of the process where the airline moved a one year old into a seat by herself so that a family could be together. There has to be a better system. It's not a problem for me anymore because my "baby" is 7 1/2, but I see people encounter this problem all the time. Maybe we Disers could come up with a new system and make lots of $ to fund our Disney trips.

 

[Hibernians]

If Delta changes your flight time, they will let you switch to a different flight at no cost. All you have to do is call them, and tell them the new time doesn't work for you. I have done that on more than one occasion, and the people at Delta coudn't have been any nicer!

You last statement is a bit questionable though. You were not happy that your seats were switched, so you wanted them to do it to others for your benefit?Booking way in advance it is very likely your seat assignments will not remain the same, as airlines condense flights down. Remember that when you fly again in the future, you need to keep an eye on your flights. Changes can happen. Babysit your flights.

Switching flights was not an option as the direct flights available that day were booked. Despite this fact, the people at Delta couldn't have been any nicer - what a relief there.

As far as my last statement is concerned - Yes, I do want Delta to make an attempt to seat my family together and who's to say if others will be unhappy if they are moved over a row or two ? Some people if given the option will switch their seats with you on a plane - why ? A. because they don't care where they sit. B. because they understand that little children like to sit next to their parents. C. they are not concerned about some other person "benefiting". Is there something wrong with "benefiting" from moving seats if no one else really cares ?

As far as flying in the future, we made the change and now fly Southwest. When flying Delta we did in fact "babysit" our flights and we were aware that "changes can happen" so we were not surprised when our flights were canceled; we were just disappointed that our seats were no longer together and we had no other direct flights to select from on our departure day, but at least the people at Delta couldn't have been any nicer.


+

 

[goofy4tink]

All of the airlines do their very best to get families seated together. The past few flights I have taken have all had this issue come up. When I flew down to Ft Lauderdale last spring, there was a family that boarded and had seats spread out all over the plane. They had had no idea what the heck they were doing when they booked. It was on AirTran by the way. I got lucky and had a row to myself...so I let the FA know that if she needed, she could take that row and I could sit elsewhere. She thanked me profusely and said she would take me up on my offer if the plan they were working on didn't pan out. They were finally able to get the entire family seated in 3 rows together at the very rear of the cabin.

I have had SW FAs say that they needed some people to give up their seats in order to allow a mother and her child (about 5ish) to be seated together. When no one obliged, the FA informed us all that the plane was not moving from the gate until that mother and child were seated together. A nice older couple split up and gave their seats to the mom and her son.

So...airlines do try to do their best. And we, as consumers, need to do our best to stay informed about what is going on with our booked flights. I am always checking on my flights before I fly. This is the best way to see what is going on with it. Airlines say they will let you know but they don't always do that.
My dh got to Logan with our dd about 2.5 hrs before their flight to MCO to meet up with me at WDW. Can you imagine my dh's distress when he got to the counter and found that their flight had just been cancelled??? He checked on it before they left home..it was fine then, only about 45 mins prior. Jetblue told him that they had put him on the 7:00 flight to NY...well, that was going to be an issue...they had had a connecting flight in NY at about 6:15!!! They got them on the 3:10 flight that was already boarding...ran them through security and onto the plane. They actually found two seats together.
Try to stay informed. Work with the airlines. Sure, sometimes there are going to be times that nothing can be done. But, usually, they will try to work with you.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Can you just imagine the look on someone's face when I strapped the car seat in, put the 1 year old in it and then handed them the diaper bag.

Not even the slightest bit funny. Can you imagine your face when the person hands you back the diaper bag and remains seated?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Switching flights was not an option as the direct flights available that day were booked. Despite this fact, the people at Delta couldn't have been any nicer - what a relief there.

It's great that everything worked out, but switching flights could still easily have been an option even if all the nonstop and direct flights that day were booked. It's very likely they had a number of connecting flights available. I actually had the opposite problem with JetBlue a few years ago. I had a connecting flight booked to Las Vegas, changing planes in Washington DC. It was cheaper and arrived earlier - under ideal conditions - than my normal nonstop.

Well, bad weather the day before had flights out of JFK/EWR/PHL (my plane's origination) delayed up to four hours. When I got to the airport, my plane wasn't expected to depart PHL by the time it should be landing in Boston... so I, and two other parties connecting to other destinations, including one to Orlando, weren't going to make our connections. First the Gate Agent asked me if I wanted to change flights, then a half hour later insisted I had to... and put me on the nonstop leaving five and a half hours later. At 3 PM, I was at the counter while the GA called down to baggage to have our luggage removed from the cart for the original flight and put on our new flights. At least in my case, JetBlue got it half right

 

[SmallWorld71]

Not even the slightest bit funny. Can you imagine your face when the person hands you back the diaper bag and remains seated?

I think you missed my first post where I told the story of how I had booked seats together months in advance. But, the airline thought it was OK to change seats and sit my 1 year old alone and was angry with me for being upset. They wanted me to sit her by herself with a stranger! Of course it wouldn't be funny. It was the airline employee who thought it was a good idea. What she was thinking, I'll never know!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I didn't miss any post in this thread but joking or not, I'm confused at even the suggestion of intimidating someone with ZERO responsibility for a seat change fiasco - a fellow passenger.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I just checked my Delta itinerary and I see that our seat assignment on the way from Mnpls to MCO has changed. I booked back in May for our Dec. flights and I had it figured so that all 5 of us would be together. Now they have my DH and I in row 25 and the 3 kids in row 35!!! I called and he said it was because of a schedule change and the system automatically changed us. How can you put 3 little kids by themselves???

Delta does this ALL the time. I had a flight booked in Feb. for a December trip Boston to Brazil..2 adults, 3 kids.

Original flight..
BOS to JFK
JFK to Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo to Belo Horizonte

In Nov, my 11 year old son got a call from Delta saying the Bos to NY part of his trip changed and they needed to reroute him (Message on answering machine) I called Delta to find out what that was all about and they told me they needed to reroute him via Altanta! I told them they were crazy that he was 11. I asked to check the rest of us, considering we all had the same Bos to JFK flight. ONLY after I asked, I was told..

DD4 and I were on a flight Bos to Miami, DH was on a flight Bos to Dallas Ft Worth, then direct to Belo Horizonte! DS11 via Altanta and DS14 was still on the original Bos to JFK, but the problem there was that the flight into JFK landed 5 minutes AFTER the flight to Sao Paulo took off!!!

So, our trip was planned 12/19 - 12/28. They told us the earliest they could get all 5 of us together on a flight was 12/23. No way was I going all the way to Brazil for only 5 days. I cancelled and got all of our money back, but because I booked so far in advance, I only paid $800 per ticket. In Nov, looking at other airlines, everyone wanted over $1500 per ticket to fly in December...so I had to completely cancel our trip.

Good news is, with all the extra vacation funds..we went to Disney!!!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Happened to me twice with Delta so we no longer fly them. It was a hassle to keep checking the ressie weekly to catch when something changed (and it always changed). Much happier with SW or JB!

 

[SmallWorld71]

I didn't miss any post in this thread but joking or not, I'm confused at even the suggestion of intimidating someone with ZERO responsibility for a seat change fiasco - a fellow passenger.

Huh? For the FINAL time, the AIRLINE wanted another passenger to take care of my child. Why are you being so nasty and rude?

OP- I was just trying to show you that your situation has happened lot of times before. For some reason, your post has brought out the trolls on this board. It's the same people all the time so don't take it personally. Have a great trip!

 

[snels]

Mom of 3G's I understand your frustration. We also are stuck with Delta out of a small airport and pay more money for our tickets.

Good Luck. I hope everything works out and you have a great trip!

 

[duffy]

Can you just imagine the look on someone's face when I strapped the car seat in, put the 1 year old in it and then handed them the diaper bag.

Someone tries that with me, and I'd hand it right back to them, and ask how much are they going to pay me to babysit. Passive-aggressiveness is not cool.

Huh? For the FINAL time, the AIRLINE wanted another passenger to take care of my child. Why are you being so nasty and rude?

OP- I was just trying to show you that your situation has happened lot of times before. For some reason, your post has brought out the trolls on this board. It's the same people all the time so don't take it personally. Have a great trip!

The airline doesn't care who takes care of your child, you or another passenger. That's not their responsibility.

You wanted a seat for your child and paid for it, and you got it. Where that seat is, is not something they are concerned about, as long as it's not one of those seats that need to be used by a responsible adult in case of an emergency.

Perhaps you should prepare for such an event happening again, by offering $20-along with the diaper bag-to whoever is sitting next to your child to take care of him. And if it's me, I just might take you up on it.

 

[DebbieB]

The airline doesn't care who takes care of your child, you or another passenger. That's not their responsibility.

You wanted a seat for your child and paid for it, and you got it. Where that seat is, is not something they are concerned about, as long as it's not one of those seats that need to be used by a responsible adult in case of an emergency.

Perhaps you should prepare for such an event happening again, by offering $20-along with the diaper bag-to whoever is sitting next to your child to take care of him. And if it's me, I just might take you up on it.

There's no way they would leave a 1 year old in a car seat seated away from an adult responsible for him. If there's an emergency, someone would be responsible for getting him out of there and they can't expect a stranger to do that. Not going to happen.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Huh? For the FINAL time, the AIRLINE wanted another passenger to take care of my child. Why are you being so nasty and rude?

I can't help or understand why you continue to interpret my genuine confusion as 'rude and nasty'. I still don't understand, and still don't see any explanation why a passenger would transfer the AIRLINE'S apparent lack of caring over a seat assignment issue to another PASSENGER:

Can you just imagine the look on someone's face when I strapped the car seat in, put the 1 year old in it and then handed them the diaper bag.

But, the airline thought it was OK to change seats and sit my 1 year old alone and was angry with me for being upset. They wanted me to sit her by herself with a stranger! Of course it wouldn't be funny. It was the airline employee who thought it was a good idea.

So I'm still confused and still trying to understand why any passenger would intimidate a fellow passenger as suggested in the first quote - again, joking or not - when that passenger isn't in ANY way responsible, at fault, or in control of the airline's seat assignments - and especially when one is angry with the airline????

I'm not being nasty or rude, I'm ASKING. Again.

 

[goofy4tink]

ENOUGH with the whole 'let someone else deal with my infant' type arguments. IF they don't stop the thread gets closed.