Delta changed our flight - again!!

[daisy2000]

I know they are changing flights all over the place since the bankrupctcy announcement. They changed our February flight 3 times already. Now, good news we are on a non-stop, but bad news - our seats are all over the plane, all 6 of them, nowhere near eachother.

Of the course the flight is booked solid. I don't mind much where I sit, but my friend's son (age 10) & nephew have never flown before and will want to sit with my friend.

Did this ever happen to you and what did you do? Do you think some kind passengers will switch seats so my friend's son can sit with his mom?

 

[fran99999]

I never said this but I was flying from MCO to Bos and my DS and I were seperated. He was 6 so just over the age limit. No one would switch seats with either of us, I pulled a dirty trick. I went over to my DS and handed him a plastic bag and told the people (who were flying solo on each side of him) He sometimes gets sick so could U hold this incase. I had an aisle seat right behind him. I never saw 2 more willing people to move. they put me in the middle seat and my DS in the window seat and both moved to other parts of the plane. ok WRONG but it worked.

 

[bsbkmacgowan]

ok WRONG but it worked.

No, that's not wrong... separating children from parents on a plane in this day and age... that's wrong! I'm disgusted that the two solo fliers wouldn't exchange seats with you in the first place. They deserved to have a little "ew" factor thrown into their lives! Good for you!

Actually, I have half-a-dozen in-laws who would no doubt refuse to give up their seats for a parent/child situation... 3 sets of d.i.n.k.s and not a clue in their heads about real-life with kids. (I know, not every couple who doesn't have kids is clueless... but these 6 take the cake and then some!)


Good quick-thinking on your part!

Sandy (and Brian, Bonnie & Kellie, too!

 

[goofy4tink]

When I flew SW last summer, a woman boarded very late with her son, about 4-5. Obviously there were no seats together, so the attendant told everyone that that plane was going nowhere until those people were seated together. Someone finally moved. Yes, the woman was wrong for showing up late but there were a ton of 'singles' on that plane...what is the big deal to change your seat for a mom and her ds??!!
You just don't know who is going to be seated next to your child on an airplane!! I think most people will work with you....I'm sure that at the gate they might even be able to switch people around. Good luck. I really hope Delta gets it all worked out soon.

 

[maine_jennifer]

Sorry, I don't have any advice but when my whole family finally decide to go on vacation together, I would LOVE to have us all seperated!! Or at least me seperate from them!

I have flights booked with Delta for this weekend and for June. They haven't been changed yet and I hope they stay that way! Good Luck!

Cheers!

 

[Tinkim]

daisy ~ You had me getting over to Delta quick when I saw your post to see if they changed our flights again too. They have changed at least 6 or 7 times. I can't even remember anymore. I am hoping they stay the same between now and February but I'm not holding my breath. Hopefully yours will stay the same too! About people giving up their seats . . . I don't know. We had a party of 11 going to WDW a couple of years ago and there was a father and son traveling who did not have seats together. I made my family split up so they could sit together. We had several adults and not such young kids so I felt it was only right. However, on the way home from that same trip we had the same 11 people and we were scattered all over the plane which wasn't too bad for me but my friend had two younger DD's (not young enough to preboard though) and no one moved to let them sit together. In fact most of them pretended to be very engrossed in something so they didn't even look up. My boys sat in the back of the plane alone but with a very nice young man. They thought he was cool because he had designed some roller coasters at Six Flags although they talked his ear off! My mom sat alone, my DH sat alone, me and DD sat together, and my friend and her three DDs had to split up. We were all over that plane. We didn't arrive late either . . . just got stuck with a C boarding pass with all of the preboarders.

Personally, I like the plastic bag idea! Good luck. I hope your friend and the kids get seats together and there are no more itinerary changes.

 

[daisy2000]

I never said this but I was flying from MCO to Bos and my DS and I were seperated. He was 6 so just over the age limit. No one would switch seats with either of us, I pulled a dirty trick. I went over to my DS and handed him a plastic bag and told the people (who were flying solo on each side of him) He sometimes gets sick so could U hold this incase. I had an aisle seat right behind him. I never saw 2 more willing people to move. they put me in the middle seat and my DS in the window seat and both moved to other parts of the plane. ok WRONG but it worked.

Fran99999,
You were absolutely right to do this! Good for you!!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I'm sure it will work out somehow.

 

[Beca]

When I flew SW last summer, a woman boarded very late with her son, about 4-5. Obviously there were no seats together, so the attendant told everyone that that plane was going nowhere until those people were seated together. Someone finally moved. Yes, the woman was wrong for showing up late but there were a ton of 'singles' on that plane...what is the big deal to change your seat for a mom and her ds??!!
You just don't know who is going to be seated next to your child on an airplane!! I think most people will work with you....I'm sure that at the gate they might even be able to switch people around. Good luck. I really hope Delta gets it all worked out soon.

I used to be a flight attendant for SWA. My favorite "trick" to pull on unwilling passengers, was to ask for someone to switch, and then act like the mom (who was standing in the jetway) was saying something to me, then laugh and say, "Oh, never mind. The mom says she's really tired of these kids, and wanted to let whoever sits by her kids and is volunteering to "babysit" for the entire flight that she'd be more than willing to buy that person a drink for the cheap babysitting!! She says her kids have been really bad today, and that you'll probably need several drinks...but, she's only paying for the first one." Then, I'd warn all people with seats next to them that they were the "lucky" passengers being considered for babysitting services, and if they wanted to backout, please ring their call button, and we can find them a seat with no empties next to them. It was amazing how fast people would "volunteer" to change seats at this point.

I don't fly for them anymore, but I still travel almost exclusively on them, and cancelling/changing flights is one of the reasons. SWA does not cancel/adjust times of flights. I have left with only 1 person on board. SWA sometimes makes enough $$$ in freight shipping alone to make flying an empty plane profitable...they NEVER cancel or adjust times. It really is a great airline.



Beca

 

[eeyoreiscool]

I don't fly for them anymore, but I still travel almost exclusively on them, and cancelling/changing flights is one of the reasons. SWA does not cancel/adjust times of flights. I have left with only 1 person on board. SWA sometimes makes enough $$$ in freight shipping alone to make flying an empty plane profitable...they NEVER cancel or adjust times. It really is a great airline.



Beca

Actually they do cancel and adjust times, but it isn't normal practice. We had our Christmas non-stop flight back cancelled and were switched to another flight which had a change of planes. After calling them, we were able to get back to another non-stop flight but it took a few calls to get everything worked out. We were surprised by this but everything seemed to work our.

 

[rtphokie]

I used to be a flight attendant for SWA.

Waitstaff and flight attendants have the most thankless jobs. I dont know how you did it. It does look like more fun at SWA than most though.

I used to fly fairly regularly and frequently changed seats to get a parent next to their child. It's not something anyone should think twice about doing. Frequent business travelers may seem grumpy and set in the ways but being able to do something nice for someone sure breaks up the monotony of travel.

The perks can be nice too. It doesn't always happen but if a flight attendent notices a passenger volunteering their seat in a situation like this without her/him even having to get involved, you'll at least get an extra pack of peanuts. AA attendents have given me free booze, a UA attendent gave me a couple of upgrade coupons, but the best was when some grumpy guy wouldn't give up his seat so that a mother could be next to her 5 year old, this went on for several minutes, nobody in the area would budge. I was in my coveted bulkhead row but I and the guy sitting next to me gladly moved to the back to solve the problem. I ended up sitting to next to the grumpy guy from San Jose, CA to Boston. The flight attendent served me a first class meal with all the wine I wanted. Grumpy guy just got grumpier.

 

[definately dory]

We are flying with Delta in February as well. They have changed our times three times already. The latest, we were supposed tp fly home on the 18th, they cancelled our flight so now are flying home on the 19th! My kids are excited we get to stay an extra day!!!

 

[we3disneygo]

ok, we were stuck in the plane on the runway for 2 hours (after being in the airport for about 6 -7 hours waiting for a plane with a full crew.) it was hot and they were serving drinks to the people up front but not everyone else, they wouldn't let us off the plane to use the restroom or get a drink/food. so I pulled the same thing dd is going to get sick if she doesn't get a drink soon......we all got drinks!! we were going to book our next trip on Delta, but now I'm rethinking that after reading the posts.??

 

[fmed845]

We normally fly SW but this time were flying Delta and they have made 6 changes to our flight in early Feb. After this back to SW.

 

[Beca]

Actually they do cancel and adjust times, but it isn't normal practice. We had our Christmas non-stop flight back cancelled and were switched to another flight which had a change of planes. After calling them, we were able to get back to another non-stop flight but it took a few calls to get everything worked out. We were surprised by this but everything seemed to work our.

The only reason SWA would do this would be because of a mechanical failure, or a weather delay. This is not the same thing as what Delta, AA and other airlines do. You will NEVER purchase a ticket on SWA only to find out two weeks before you leave that your flight time 1) has been cancelled, or 2) has been time adjusted. With the new notification policies of airlines, you might receive early notification of trouble from SWA, but it is not the same adjustments that other airlines make. It really is comparing apples to oranges.



Beca

 

[eeyoreiscool]

The only reason SWA would do this would be because of a mechanical failure, or a weather delay. This is not the same thing as what Delta, AA and other airlines do. You will NEVER purchase a ticket on SWA only to find out two weeks before you leave that your flight time 1) has been cancelled, or 2) has been time adjusted. With the new notification policies of airlines, you might receive early notification of trouble from SWA, but it is not the same adjustments that other airlines make. It really is comparing apples to oranges.



Beca

We purchased tickets in late August/early September for our trip at Christmas on Southwest. At the end of October, I saw that the flight we originally booked on was not listed anymore. I checked our reservations and saw that they had switched us to a different flight. A couple of weeks later (first half of November), they called us to tell us the flights had in fact changed and we had been rebooked on a different flight. They said they needed to shift some of the schedules around and our original flight was being eliminated. After I called back, I was able to get us on the new non-stop flight that had been added/changed but there were still some problems with that. It took a couple of more days before everything was finally straightened out.

Granted this is the only time it has happened to us in all our trips with Southwest but it showed us that there is still the possibility of having our flights changed.

 

[Lewisc]

It's reasonable to expect people to move so at least one parent can sit with a 4-5 year old child.

It really isn't reasonable to expect couples to split or people to move to a middle seat just so you can sit next to your teenager, or even 10 year old. There may be some excpetional circumstances. If so get to the gate early so the GA can work with seats that haven't been assigned.

 

[Beca]

We purchased tickets in late August/early September for our trip at Christmas on Southwest. At the end of October, I saw that the flight we originally booked on was not listed anymore. I checked our reservations and saw that they had switched us to a different flight. A couple of weeks later (first half of November), they called us to tell us the flights had in fact changed and we had been rebooked on a different flight. They said they needed to shift some of the schedules around and our original flight was being eliminated. After I called back, I was able to get us on the new non-stop flight that had been added/changed but there were still some problems with that. It took a couple of more days before everything was finally straightened out.

Granted this is the only time it has happened to us in all our trips with Southwest but it showed us that there is still the possibility of having our flights changed.

Wow!! Well, I totally stand corrected. In all my years with SWA, I have never heard of that happening. I know the schedules are published every fall/spring to coincide with the time changes, and schedules are "anticipated" based on a lot of factors. It makes me think that promised aircraft from Boeing was not received, or some other issue. It also sounds like the adjustments were made to a holiday (i.e. not standard) schedule. I would LOVE to know the reason for this because this is not SWA procedure at all.

As a flight attendant, I would get my flying schedule a month out. I was never notified ahead of time that my schedule had changed due to a change in flight times, and neither was any other f/a I know...it is just not their policy. The only time my schedule ever changed was the day of my trip, and that was due to mechanical or weather delay, and I had to be at the airport just as if everything were normal, so that if problems were fixed, we could go immediately. What happened to you is definitely not the norm.

I am disappointed to hear that you found out your flight had been cancelled a couple of weeks before they called you....it sounds like someone really dropped the ball there. You should've been called immediately.

I'm glad it all worked out, though!



Beca

 

[Beca]

It's reasonable to expect people to move so at least one parent can sit with a 4-5 year old child.

It really isn't reasonable to expect couples to split or people to move to a middle seat just so you can sit next to your teenager, or even 10 year old. There may be some excpetional circumstances. If so get to the gate early so the GA can work with seats that haven't been assigned.

As a f/a, we were only allowed to request seat changes for children too young to be unaccompanied minors (i.e. younger than 5). But, to be honest there is little difference between some 5 and 6 year olds, that I would often make a "judgement call" and ask even if the children were much older.

I also think (as a parent) the job of parents is to plan ahead when you have little ones. I have always felt that my child should not be a burden to anyone else. But, sometimes things happen.

And, seriously....people who move have it a LOT easier than people who end up sitting next to a child who is unsupervised. I think passengers sometimes needed to be reminded of this.

Personally, I think SWA is a lawsuit waiting to happen over this issue. When the family of a small child claims molestation on a flight where late-boarding made it necessary for the family to be split-up...I think the policy may change. If you have ever watched Airline...well, you know there are ALL types flying. That show is NOT an exaggeration....it is very much like every day when I flew....and, that is not just on SWA. I flew frequently on other carriers...people are the same everywhere. I hate the fact that the policy of SWA might allow even one child to be "fondled" because his/her parents arrived late. As a f/a, I paid VERY close attention to who chose to sit next to unaccompanied minors (they are pre-boarded before other passengers arrive), and often made up stories if someone I considered suspect sat next to a small child to ask them to move. But, I am the exception. Many f/a's do not feel they have the time/energy to do more than is required. Maybe I was paranoid....but seriously, there are some strange people out there, and you'd be surprised how many people seem to "seek out" unaccompanied minors to sit next to...maybe people are harmless...but it creeped me out sometimes. I always thought the same about small children who board late and cannot sit with their families....it worries me a lot!!



Beca

 

[reesa roo]

This same thing happenen to us on USAir. We had a party of 7 and bought our tickets and chose our seats 1 year in advance. Over the course of that year, USAir changed flight schedules several times and split up seating for our party of 7 which included a 5 yr old, a 6 year old and a 10 year old. To top it off, they never contacted us to say they were changing the flight times/numbers. I found out because I checked the internet often. When I called to get the seats changed I was told that the flight was sold out and we could not switch. This didn't seem fair since we had bought our tickets a whole year in advance!!! I called back and found out that all airlines "save" seats to be assigned during check-in and those seats were in fact available but the reservationist on the phone refused to give them to me. I asked for a supervisor and she was able to give us those "saved" seats together. I would try calling the reservations # and asking for a supervisor and seeing if she/he can help you out. Good Luck!

 

[CarolA]

Personally, I think SWA is a lawsuit waiting to happen over this issue. When the family of a small child claims molestation on a flight where late-boarding made it necessary for the family to be split-up...I think the policy may change. If you have ever watched Airline...well, you know there are ALL types flying. That show is NOT an exaggeration....it is very much like every day when I flew....and, that is not just on SWA. I flew frequently on other carriers...people are the same everywhere. I hate the fact that the policy of SWA might allow even one child to be "fondled" because his/her parents arrived late. As a f/a, I paid VERY close attention to who chose to sit next to unaccompanied minors (they are pre-boarded before other passengers arrive), and often made up stories if someone I considered suspect sat next to a small child to ask them to move. But, I am the exception. Many f/a's do not feel they have the time/energy to do more than is required. Maybe I was paranoid....but seriously, there are some strange people out there, and you'd be surprised how many people seem to "seek out" unaccompanied minors to sit next to...maybe people are harmless...but it creeped me out sometimes. I always thought the same about small children who board late and cannot sit with their families....it worries me a lot!!



Beca

And why would SW be alone here... ALL airlines allow children to fly as unaccompained minors..... Also aon ALL airlines, a seat request is just that, a request. You can and will be moved.....