Helpppppp not sitting together? Sort of budget related

[MomToOne]

why? The parent choose a ticket that does not include seat selection. The website is upfront that it does not include seat selection. People choose and pay for seating for a variety of reasons. We do so so that we sit with our children. We also check the seating on a regular basis to make sure plane changes etc do not displace us. Its personal responsibility. Will Delta try to help, probably. But the OP put herself in this situation.

Sorry, but I disagree. You have to enter birth dates when you make airline reservations these days - airlines either shouldn't sell a booking if it involves the possibility of a 3 year old sitting alone, or if they sell it, they should have to deal with the outcome and make sure a 3 year old isn't sitting by themselves.

Corporations have responsibilities too.

As a side note - airlines will often show no seat assignments available when you look at seat maps online, even when there are plenty of seats still unassigned, to try and scare you into paying for an upgrade. See this article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-airline-fee-to-sit-with-your-family-1464198317 In their example flight, 30% of the seats were unassigned, but the airline was showing nothing other than seats you had to pay extra for.

 

[SirDuff]

Sorry, but I disagree. You have to enter birth dates when you make airline reservations these days - airlines either shouldn't sell a booking if it involves the possibility of a 3 year old sitting alone, or if they sell it, they should have to deal with the outcome and make sure a 3 year old isn't sitting by themselves.

Corporations have responsibilities too.

Equally - parents shouldn't take a booking if it involves the likelihood of their 3-year-old sitting alone*, or, if they but it, they should have to deal with the outcome.

Parents have responsibilities too.

*this is different than situations where a parent choose seats/paid for seats and something happened such that the airline changed it.

 

[AmyAnne]

Just one sort-of related comment. Please do not assume that everyone who will not switch to a middle seat to accommodate a family is being a jerk. DH has back and knee issues and needs to be able to move around as much as possible on the flight, or he will be in pain during and after. We always do whatever is necessary to reserve an aisle seat for him because he needs it.

That said, unless there are multiple families in this situation, Delta should be able to reassign seats so that one parent is able to sit next to the child. In addition to the people who will likely be upgraded, freeing their economy seats, there are the handicapped seats at the front of the plane that are usually not all assigned.

To the OP -- if you fly on a regular basis, I suggest that you factor in the cost of seat selection especially if you are booking at the last minute. If all of pairs of "free seats" are gone, it's somewhat rude to expect people to move so you can have the seats you want on a flight that you booked later. Either pay more or book a different flight.

 

[AmyAnne]

Equally - parents shouldn't take a booking if it involves the likelihood of their 3-year-old sitting alone*, or, if they but it, they should have to deal with the outcome.

This. The OP booked this flight knowing that she could not reserve seats together at the time of booking. It's a different story if she booked the seats together and the airline moved them.

 

[Valstew]

There was actually a large lawsuits that the airlines lost saying they can not charge more so parents can sit with children und

 

[MomToOne]

FAA: Airlines can't charge parents to sit next to their children

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...6116e6-483d-11e6-bdb9-701687974517_story.html

While this law unfortunately does not take effect until July 2017, the Airline abuse in this situation has been deemed so bad that Congress actually had to take action on it.

This country has GOT to get away from everything being about only money and greed. Common sense has got to rule at some point. It's sad that we have to pass laws like this, and Corporations can't just step up and do the right thing without being forced into it.

 

[Gracie09]

Sorry, but I disagree. You have to enter birth dates when you make airline reservations these days - airlines either shouldn't sell a booking if it involves the possibility of a 3 year old sitting alone, or if they sell it, they should have to deal with the outcome and make sure a 3 year old isn't sitting by themselves.

Corporations have responsibilities too.

As a side note - airlines will often show no seat assignments available when you look at seat maps online, even when there are plenty of seats still unassigned, to try and scare you into paying for an upgrade. See this article: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-airline-fee-to-sit-with-your-family-1464198317 In their example flight, 30% of the seats were unassigned, but the airline was showing nothing other than seats you had to pay extra for.

The op said she opted not to pay for the assigned seats. She creates the problem. And 1/3 of airline seats (or close to it) are middle seats. I could see why they would be unassigned until the end. She valued money over sitting with her child.
It's amazing people complain about the nanny state but then balk at taking responsibility for themselves

 

[HeatherC]

What I don't get is why the airlines don't simply put all the people on one reservation in seats next to each other. Seems simple to me.

 

[Marionnette]

FAA: Airlines can't charge parents to sit next to their children

http://www.fox25boston.com/news/faa...rents-to-sit-next-to-their-children/407417471

While this law unfortunately does not take effect until July 2017, the Airline abuse in this situation has been deemed so bad that Congress actually had to take action on it.

That only means that if said child is in a "free" seat, the airlines cannot charge the parent to sit in a "preferred" seat next to the child. Nor does it mean that parent and child should be upgraded to preferred seats because there aren't 2 adjacent seats at the time that seats are assigned. And it certainly does not mean that the airline is obligated to move a passenger from their assigned seat to accommodate the parent and child.

I hate how the airlines nickle and dime passengers on everything from seat selection to checked bags to on-board snacks and headphones for the entertainment. But everyone can choose to pay (or not) pay those prices. There's an easy, albeit not an economical, solution to this problem - pay the premium price for seat selection (or EBCI on Southwest).

 

[MomToOne]

What I don't get is why the airlines don't simply put all the people on one reservation in seats next to each other. Seems simple to me.

Because then they can't scare you into paying more for something that costs the airline absolutely nothing in return.

 

[MomToOne]

That only means that if said child is in a "free" seat, the airlines cannot charge the parent to sit in a "preferred" seat next to the child. Nor does it mean that parent and child should be upgraded to preferred seats because there aren't 2 adjacent seats at the time that seats are assigned. And it certainly does not mean that the airline is obligated to move a passenger from their assigned seat to accommodate the parent and child.

I hate how the airlines nickle and dime passengers on everything from seat selection to checked bags to on-board snacks and headphones for the entertainment. But everyone can choose to pay (or not) pay those prices. There's an easy, albeit not an economical, solution to this problem - pay the premium price for seat selection (or EBCI on Southwest).

The gist of it is the airlines cannot charge anything extra for a parent to sit next to a child that is under 13. They must sit them together. The only exception allowed is if the only seats available are ones with more leg room/seat pitch, or in another cabin class. But if at the time they sold the tickets, two seats are available with the same leg room/seat pitch and cabin class, then they can't charge more for the privilege of being guaranteed to sit together. So they won't be able to pull this "let's charge more for preassigned seats" garbage to the same extent now.

 

[Marionnette]

What I don't get is why the airlines don't simply put all the people on one reservation in seats next to each other. Seems simple to me.

Because window and aisle seats are preferred by many travelers. Passengers are more likely to pay to pre-select them. If the airline only has middle seats left when it comes time to assign seats to a family that did not pay to pre-select their seats, the family ends up getting split up.

 

[megster1123]

why? The parent choose a ticket that does not include seat selection. The website is upfront that it does not include seat selection. People choose and pay for seating for a variety of reasons. We do so so that we sit with our children. We also check the seating on a regular basis to make sure plane changes etc do not displace us. Its personal responsibility. Will Delta try to help, probably. But the OP put herself in this situation.

THIS.

I paid the fee so I could select the seats I wanted. We're traveling with a 4 & 5 yo and I want the seats I want. I also caught an error with our seating when the plane was changed to one of a different configuration - I caught it because I was diligent and I checked.

I made a post a while back about a nasty encounter I had with a family on a Spirit flight because I wouldn't give up my seat. They wanted me to move and I wouldn't. I was flying solo, it was a redeye from Vegas to Detroit and I had paid for the option of choosing my seat. Its unreasonable to put the expectation on other passengers to change the seats they paid for simply because another parent does not have the mindfulness to ensure their seats will work for their family. I would not put another passenger in that position. If she was so concerned about the seating in the plane she should have made sure it was taken care of when she bought the tickets.

 

[HeatherC]

I wish they would just charge everyone $20 more per ticket and have you pick seats when you book.

 

[megster1123]

What I don't get is why the airlines don't simply put all the people on one reservation in seats next to each other. Seems simple to me.

We actually don't like to sit together like that. We prefer two in front in window/middle and then two in the row behind in window/middle. My parents both prefer aisle seats due to knee injuries. No family is the same, it wouldn't make sense to just put people in one reservation next to each other.

 

[megster1123]

I wish they would just charge everyone $20 more per ticket and have you pick seats when you book.

They do...

 

[Marionnette]

Wrong - read the WSJ link I changed my post to refer to. The airlines cannot charge anything extra for a parent to sit next to a child that is under 13. They must sit them together. The only exception allowed is if the only seats available are ones with more leg room/seat pitch, or in another cabin class. But if at the time they sold the tickets, two seats are available with the same leg room/seat pitch and cabin class, then they can't charge more for the privilege of being guaranteed to sit together.

Wrong! To quote the article:

Perhaps the most troubling item for airlines, in terms of new regulation, is a rule that directs the transportation secretary to establish a policy to allow children under age 13 “to be seated in a seat adjacent to the seat of an accompanying family member over the age of 13” at no additional cost. There is an exception for when such a seat assignment would require an upgrade to another cabin class or a seat with extra legroom or seat pitch, for which additional fees generally are required.

It does not mandate that passengers be move to accommodate a parent, nor does it mandate that parent and child be upgraded to preferred seats to place them next to each other. It only states that the parent cannot be charged an additional fee in order to be seated next to their child. An airline is more likely to offer an upgrade to the passenger who paid for their seat selection than they are to offer the parents who took no responsibility to ensure that they were seated next to their child.

 

[mommajo143]

Because then they can't scare you into paying more for something that costs the airline absolutely nothing in return.

Lol - this thread suddenly seemed very Disney to me. Charging for something that costs them nothing... Lol...

 

[crisi]

We've had that happen. ALWAYS pay extra to pick your seats when flying with children. If you don't, what will be left is a string of middle seats.

The airlines couldn't do anything because there were tons of people in the same situation. When a flight is full of families with children, sometimes the juggling isn't going to work.

I've been on flights were people couldn't board because only the exit seats were available and everyone was traveling with children they had to sit next to.

The last Orlando flight we were on was horrible - ten minutes late pulling out from the gate because families with kids were trying to juggle seats. (Since everyone in our party was old enough - we took the exit rows).

If I booked early enough to get my aisle seat, giving it up because you want to sit next to your kids is going to depend on the mood I'm in. The last time I did it, I ended up in a middle seat between two overweight guys with poor personal hygiene who spent the flight trying to pick me up.

 

[Marionnette]

FAA: Airlines can't charge parents to sit next to their children

https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...6116e6-483d-11e6-bdb9-701687974517_story.html

While this law unfortunately does not take effect until July 2017, the Airline abuse in this situation has been deemed so bad that Congress actually had to take action on it.

This country has GOT to get away from everything being about only money and greed. Common sense has got to rule at some point. It's sad that we have to pass laws like this, and Corporations can't just step up and do the right thing without being forced into it.

.