Kids being separated from parents on plane?

[mom18]

I recently read a few articles about kids being separated from their parents on airplanes. One of the articles I read was from last year and a mother, father, ad children aged 5 and 2 were sat in different isles. I know I would not at all be comfortable not sitting next to my children. Especially a 2 year old. I as well wouldn't think some random person would want to listen to my kid talk to the the entire flight.

How often does this happen?
My brother is flying with his two children (aged 5 & 3) on southwest. I know they do not get assigned seating. I informed my SIL about this ad she stated he thought they seat kids and handicap first. Which may be the case but my understanding is just because they sit kids first doesn't mean they sit parents first.
My other question is has this ever happen to anyone riding JetBlue? We are flying JetBlue and when I purchased the tickets got to pick my seats right there. Is there a chance they could take those seats away?

I know that if this does happen you can ask people to switch their seats with you, but I just want to be prepared!

ETA: my brothers wife is also flying. In both cases there are 2 adults and 2 children

 

[tjmw2727]

No airline guarantees seat assignments - especially the free seats! When you purchase a seat assignment (they can range from 6 - 45 per seat) 99% of the time you will get that seat but if you don't the best they will do is refund the cost of the seat assignment. Sometimes if the flight time changes or if the type of aircraft changes the computer will randomly re-assign seats. I suggest checking your flights every so often to be sure nothing has changed, the earlier you catch a change the better chances you have of fixing any issues.

With southwest the best thing for your brother to do is read the website especially the part entitles "boarding school". Southwest boards by boarding pass group (a-c) and then number. Passengers who need special assistance board first, followed by the A group 1-60, then they board families with children under 5 - sometimes the entire family(no aunts, grandparents etc) sometimes only one adult per child. The website gives more detail on how to obtain boarding passes and the option to purchase early boarding.

I can say from personal experience that I have been separated from my kids on American, Delta and Jet Blue but Never on Southwest ! Jet Blue was the best at fixing things at the gate followed by American and I actually had my then 7yo seated a few rows ahead of myself and my then 5yo dd on Delta.

IMHO with airline travel its best to read the website - see what the seating options are, baggage policies etc. Then decide what items are worth your $ - seat fees vs baggage fees etc.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

My experience, flying with my kids 3-5 times a year on a mix of Jet Blue, US Air, and United, is that if you select your seats when you book your tickets, and occasionally keep track of the flight for the weeks and months ahead of your flight for any changes, that you can be seated together without paying-up or shuffling on board. I typically book months in advance and have a wide selection of available seats, and check-in online 24 hours before a flight, even if I can't print anything out.

My other question is has this ever happen to anyone riding JetBlue? We are flying JetBlue and when I purchased the tickets got to pick my seats right there. Is there a chance they could take those seats away?

Jet Blue only flies two types of planes, so the scenario the previous poster mentioned doesn't really apply....flight times can change, but not really the aircraft type.

I can say from personal experience that I have been separated from my kids on American, Delta and Jet Blue but Never on Southwest ! Jet Blue was the best at fixing things at the gate followed by American and I actually had my then 7yo seated a few rows ahead of myself and my then 5yo dd on Delta.

Curious why you were separated on Jet Blue? I was under the impression that Jet Blue was different in that a) it does not oversell flights and b) it does not hold back a percentage of seats for gate assignment. Were you booking these flights on short notice and there were only a few, non-adjacent, seats left on the plane?

Can you elaborate on why you've been (frequently?) separated on the other airlines? I've had a different experience and would like to know what to watch out for...

 

[rgf207]

No airline guarantees seat assignments - especially the free seats! When you purchase a seat assignment (they can range from 6 - 45 per seat) 99% of the time you will get that seat but if you don't the best they will do is refund the cost of the seat assignment. Sometimes if the flight time changes or if the type of aircraft changes the computer will randomly re-assign seats. I suggest checking your flights every so often to be sure nothing has changed, the earlier you catch a change the better chances you have of fixing any issues.

With southwest the best thing for your brother to do is read the website especially the part entitles "boarding school". Southwest boards by boarding pass group (a-c) and then number. Passengers who need special assistance board first, followed by the A group 1-60, then they board families with children under 5 - sometimes the entire family(no aunts, grandparents etc) sometimes only one adult per child. The website gives more detail on how to obtain boarding passes and the option to purchase early boarding.

I can say from personal experience that I have been separated from my kids on American, Delta and Jet Blue but Never on Southwest ! Jet Blue was the best at fixing things at the gate followed by American and I actually had my then 7yo seated a few rows ahead of myself and my then 5yo dd on Delta.

IMHO with airline travel its best to read the website - see what the seating options are, baggage policies etc. Then decide what items are worth your $ - seat fees vs baggage fees etc.

Southwest Family boarding is between the A and B groups. Family boarding is no longer first. The family boarding applies to children under 4. 1 parent is allowed to accompany that child. The rest of the family will have to board with their assigned boarding group.

Does it happen that children are seated apart from their parents, yes. I've been on flights where children were in the C boarding group and were older than 4. They were not seated with their parents. The flight attendants asked for volunteers to switch seats. I've seen scenarios where there were volunteers and I've seen ones where there were not. It's a toss up. If they are flying southwest, purchase early bird check in.

If they have A or B boarding groups, there is a very good chance that at least 1 parent will be able to sit with the child.

 

[mom18]

No airline guarantees seat assignments - especially the free seats! When you purchase a seat assignment (they can range from 6 - 45 per seat) 99% of the time you will get that seat but if you don't the best they will do is refund the cost of the seat assignment. Sometimes if the flight time changes or if the type of aircraft changes the computer will randomly re-assign seats. I suggest checking your flights every so often to be sure nothing has changed, the earlier you catch a change the better chances you have of fixing any issues.

With southwest the best thing for your brother to do is read the website especially the part entitles "boarding school". Southwest boards by boarding pass group (a-c) and then number. Passengers who need special assistance board first, followed by the A group 1-60, then they board families with children under 5 - sometimes the entire family(no aunts, grandparents etc) sometimes only one adult per child. The website gives more detail on how to obtain boarding passes and the option to purchase early boarding.

I can say from personal experience that I have been separated from my kids on American, Delta and Jet Blue but Never on Southwest ! Jet Blue was the best at fixing things at the gate followed by American and I actually had my then 7yo seated a few rows ahead of myself and my then 5yo dd on Delta.

IMHO with airline travel its best to read the website - see what the seating options are, baggage policies etc. Then decide what items are worth your $ - seat fees vs baggage fees etc.

Thanks! I actually did get assigned seating when I booked- (jetblue) at least, that's what it seemed to be. I checked their website and it says they offer the assign seating when booking your flight. As far as the flight changing in any sort of way, that's definitely something I will now keep checking!! Thanks!!

I will have my brother check their policies and keep track! Thanks!

 

[mom18]

My experience, flying with my kids 3-5 times a year on a mix of Jet Blue, US Air, and United, is that if you select your seats when you book your tickets, and occasionally keep track of the flight for the weeks and months ahead of your flight for any changes, that you can be seated together without paying-up or shuffling on board. I typically book months in advance and have a wide selection of available seats, and check-in online 24 hours before a flight, even if I can't print anything out.
Jet Blue only flies two types of planes, so the scenario the previous poster mentioned doesn't really apply....flight times can change, but not really the aircraft type.Curious why you were separated on Jet Blue? I was under the impression that Jet Blue was different in that a) it does not oversell flights and b) it does not hold back a percentage of seats for gate assignment. Were you booking these flights on short notice and there were only a few, non-adjacent, seats left on the plane?

Can you elaborate on why you've been (frequently?) separated on the other airlines? I've had a different experience and would like to know what to watch out for...

Thanks!! I did select my seats when I booked the flight, so I'm hoping I will be fine! I'll be sure to keep track of any changes!!

 

[NotUrsula]

While technically, a child aged 5 or older is old enough to fly as an unaccompanied minor, in a situation like the OP posted where there is one adult and two children aged 3&5, the 5 yo would NOT be seated alone on SWA.

Even if the OP's brother fails to get A-group BP's, in this case the 3 of them would be allowed to use family boarding together, as the younger child is 3, and there is no second adult in the party. (If the older child was 15 it might be different, but in my considerable experience with SWA, a family party with only one adult that can legitimately use Family Boarding will be allowed to use it for the entire party as long as the kids are obviously grade-school age or younger. Teens may be asked to board separately if there are a lot of families using FB, but not younger kids.)

If he doesn't have A-group BP's, and boards using Family Boarding, my best advice is to head straight for the rear of the aircraft; there will normally be more open full rows back there, and folks seated at the rear of the plane also tend to be more open to moving around for a family party without needing to be bribed. (Folks who arrange things so as to be able to sit up front tend to be more proprietary about their seating positions; don't bother looking in the first 10 rows at all.)

Note that if he is using a carseat on board, it MUST be placed in the window position, and cannot be placed in the row directly behind the exit row.

 

[mom18]

While technically, a child aged 5 or older is old enough to fly as an unaccompanied minor, in a situation like the OP posted where there is one adult and two children aged 3&5, the 5 yo would NOT be seated alone on SWA.

Even if the OP's brother fails to get A-group BP's, in this case the 3 of them would be allowed to use family boarding together, as the younger child is 3, and there is no second adult in the party. (If the older child was 15 it might be different, but in my considerable experience with SWA, a family party with only one adult that can legitimately use Family Boarding will be allowed to use it for the entire party as long as the kids are obviously grade-school age or younger. Teens may be asked to board separately if there are a lot of families using FB, but not younger kids.)

If he doesn't have A-group BP's, and boards using Family Boarding, my best advice is to head straight for the rear of the aircraft; there will normally be more open full rows back there, and folks seated at the rear of the plane also tend to be more open to moving around for a family party without needing to be bribed. (Folks who arrange things so as to be able to sit up front tend to be more proprietary about their seating positions; don't bother looking in the first 10 rows at all.)

Note that if he is using a carseat on board, it MUST be placed in the window position, and cannot be placed in the row directly behind the exit row.

Now when I was reading up on the situation I saw in a few different places there is no longer "family boarding" unless the child is an infant. Did I misunderstand this?
There is actually two adults. It's two adults and two children. I assume they wouldn't be seated alone, seeing as though there is one adult for each child, just want to be sure!

 

[DebbieB]

Now when I was reading up on the situation I saw in a few different places there is no longer "family boarding" unless the child is an infant. Did I misunderstand this?
There is actually two adults. It's two adults and two children. I assume they wouldn't be seated alone, seeing as though there is one adult for each child, just want to be sure!

For Southwest, it's 4 and under for family boarding. Other airlines have different rules. I know I've heard "infant" or age "2 and under" on Delta but they have assigned seats.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Now when I was reading up on the situation I saw in a few different places there is no longer "family boarding" unless the child is an infant. Did I misunderstand this?
There is actually two adults. It's two adults and two children. I assume they wouldn't be seated alone, seeing as though there is one adult for each child, just want to be sure!

Always go to your airline's website for definitive information on their policies, including seating assignments. Don't rely on articles in newspapers or magazines or what a friend says.

 

[stazmatic]

The last time I flew on Southwest was Sept 2012. Our entire family of 9 which included 6 kids (only one of them was under 4) boarded together in the family boarding which was after the A group boarding.
We have never had a problem on Southwest making sure we were all seated together.

 

[tjmw2727]

My experience, flying with my kids 3-5 times a year on a mix of Jet Blue, US Air, and United, is that if you select your seats when you book your tickets, and occasionally keep track of the flight for the weeks and months ahead of your flight for any changes, that you can be seated together without paying-up or shuffling on board. I typically book months in advance and have a wide selection of available seats, and check-in online 24 hours before a flight, even if I can't print anything out.
Jet Blue only flies two types of planes, so the scenario the previous poster mentioned doesn't really apply....flight times can change, but not really the aircraft type.Curious why you were separated on Jet Blue? I was under the impression that Jet Blue was different in that a) it does not oversell flights and b) it does not hold back a percentage of seats for gate assignment. Were you booking these flights on short notice and there were only a few, non-adjacent, seats left on the plane?

Can you elaborate on why you've been (frequently?) separated on the other airlines? I've had a different experience and would like to know what to watch out for...

I didn't say frequently but I have had the experience of having our seats re-assigned prior to flights. In fact I find the further you book in advance the more likely there are to be changes. In flight times, equipment changes and even flight cancellations. As I said in my OP this results in a computer change and that can randomize seats.

I don't remember what happened with Jet Blue it was a while ago but when I booked the flight we did have 3 seats together (or I would not have booked). When we arrived at the airport to check our bags the ticketing agent was able to re-seat us together.

 

[DebbieB]

The last time I flew on Southwest was Sept 2012. Our entire family of 9 which included 6 kids (only one of them was under 4) boarded together in the family boarding which was after the A group boarding.
We have never had a problem on Southwest making sure we were all seated together.

It really depends on the gate agent, probably based on how full the fight is. I've most commonly seen parents & siblings only. I saw grandparents turned away when I was coming back from Orlando in March, they had to wait for their #.

 

[tjmw2727]

Southwest Family boarding is between the A and B groups. Family boarding is no longer first. The family boarding applies to children under 4. 1 parent is allowed to accompany that child. The rest of the family will have to board with their assigned boarding group.

Does it happen that children are seated apart from their parents, yes. I've been on flights where children were in the C boarding group and were older than 4. They were not seated with their parents. The flight attendants asked for volunteers to switch seats. I've seen scenarios where there were volunteers and I've seen ones where there were not. It's a toss up. If they are flying southwest, purchase early bird check in.

If they have A or B boarding groups, there is a very good chance that at least 1 parent will be able to sit with the child.

Not sure why you quoted me because I did say family boarding was between A and B? And it is children 4 and under or "under 5" for family boarding and most times the immediate family boards.

I fly SWA almost monthly and I have only seen them enforce the 1 parent limit a few times. They do enforce the immediate family rule however so no grandparents, aunts etc.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

In fact I find the further you book in advance the more likely there are to be changes. In flight times, equipment changes and even flight cancellations. As I said in my OP this results in a computer change and that can randomize seats.

I've had a similar experience with equipment changes and seat reassignments. But I've always been able to get the issues resolved way before check-in. I know airlines change schedules, but I've rarely seen the schedule change meaningfully within a month or so of the flight. Were some of the equipment changes a surprise to you until you arrived at the airport?

I don't remember what happened with Jet Blue it was a while ago but when I booked the flight we did have 3 seats together (or I would not have booked). When we arrived at the airport to check our bags the ticketing agent was able to re-seat us together.

Sort-of the same question as above...why did you not know about the seat reassignment until you arrived at the airport for your flight?

I'm just trying to understand at what point in the process can I lose what-I-thought-was-my-seat assignment.

 

[tjmw2727]

I've had a similar experience with equipment changes and seat reassignments. But I've always been able to get the issues resolved way before check-in. I know airlines change schedules, but I've rarely seen the schedule change meaningfully within a month or so of the flight. Were some of the equipment changes a surprise to you until you arrived at the airport?
Sort-of the same question as above...why did you not know about the seat reassignment until you arrived at the airport for your flight?

I'm just trying to understand at what point in the process can I lose what-I-thought-was-my-seat assignment.

I never said I didn't know about the seat assignment prior to getting to the airport I said the ticketing agent at the airport was able to fix it. I was aware of the re-assignment a couple weeks prior but could not get the seats "fixed" via the website or telephone agent.

Not sure why your picking this apart? Airlines don't guarantee seats and they can be re-assigned randomly. I am not the only poster here who has experienced it maybe someone else knows more about the when and why than I do?

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Not sure why your picking this apart?

I'm not picking apart. I'm asking questions to help a novice flyer understand the likelihood of him/her finding her previously selected sets reassigned. Your experience seems to be unusual. Possible, yes, but unusual.

I was hoping you'd elaborate on how far in advance you typically book tickets. Or how often you fly. Or if these were often miles or buddy pass tickets. Or if you don't monitor your tickets, with some regularity, for flight time or equipment changes. Or you don't check-in online beforehand because of some prior bad experience. Or anything that gives some context other than 'your seats assignments are a crapshoot', because most of the time, people get the seats they picked when they bought their tickets.

 

[DebbieB]

I've had a similar experience with equipment changes and seat reassignments. But I've always been able to get the issues resolved way before check-in. I know airlines change schedules, but I've rarely seen the schedule change meaningfully within a month or so of the flight. Were some of the equipment changes a surprise to you until you arrived at the airport?
Sort-of the same question as above...why did you not know about the seat reassignment until you arrived at the airport for your flight?

I'm just trying to understand at what point in the process can I lose what-I-thought-was-my-seat assignment.

I've had my seat assignment changed at the gate, most of the time when I was by myself on business trips, mostly on Delta. They want to put others together so they just changed my seat without even asking. I found out when I handed my boarding pass to be scanned and a paper popped out with a new seat assignment. Most of the time it was an aisle seat for an aisle seat just a different row but one time I went from the front of coach all the way to the back.

 

[Kimberle]

I fly delta a lot. It really depends on the crew, too. Sometimes they really don't care, and sometimes they do. Last month we were flying home from Orlando on delta. They made a last minute plane switch and everyone was shuffled around. The crew was very patient, and basically resat most of the plane.

 

[tjmw2727]

I'm not picking apart. I'm asking questions to help a novice flyer understand the likelihood of him/her finding her previously selected sets reassigned. Your experience seems to be unusual. Possible, yes, but unusual.

I was hoping you'd elaborate on how far in advance you typically book tickets. Or how often you fly. Or if these were often miles or buddy pass tickets. Or if you don't monitor your tickets, with some regularity, for flight time or equipment changes. Or you don't check-in online beforehand because of some prior bad experience. Or anything that gives some context other than 'your seats assignments are a crapshoot', because most of the time, people get the seats they picked when they bought their tickets.

You really can't expect a person to post their life history in a post - all I did was advise the OP to check her itinerary and make sure her seats don't get reassigned.

Since you must know - I fly at least twice a month and I have been for many years. Sometimes my kids fly with me other times they don't. I do monitor my flights as I said in my prior posts - otherwise why would I advise someone to do something I don't do? My next flight is in two weeks, then two in August and one in September so far.

Right now my primary airline is US Air with SW a close second depending on airports and such. I have never had my seats changed on US Air btw - and I have status on US Air, Delta and American. My experience was not with miles or buddy tickets - I would have mentioned that.

Finally don't misquote me I NEVER said "your seats are a crapshoot" that was RUDE of you in my opinion. If you want to argue find someone else.

The simple fact is that NO airline guarantees your seat assignment - read up on it.