Letting Airline pick your seat

[Disneyfan754321]

Today was the first time i did not pick my seats because it was the same price as the ticket. The seats are 3 together and there are 4 of us two adults 2 kids on American.
Has anyone else let the airline pick your seats?
My flight is in mid October late night flight and as of now the plane is empty

 

[cjlong88]

We always allow the plane to pick our seats if it means we pay less. We don't mind being separated or sitting in the very back. Less money spent on flights means more money I can spend elsewhere. If I had kids, I would probably select my seats to ensure we sit together (depending on age), but I'm not a parent so I can't speak from experience.

With that said, I did select our seats for the way down and back to MCO for our WDW trip at the end of July. I want as much control as possible in the current situation. The price was meh, but I think it's worth it.

 

[Oktavia_von]

I work for a airline and we only pick your seats when you check in. I mean the flight can still be empty in October just keep a eye on it and if its filling up just pick your seats. To many times I got yelled at cause I had to split up a family cause the flight got full.

 

[JM23457]

Today was the first time i did not pick my seats because it was the same price as the ticket. The seats are 3 together and there are 4 of us two adults 2 kids on American.
Has anyone else let the airline pick your seats?
My flight is in mid October late night flight and as of now the plane is empty

If you find out that you're going to be separated, please don't ask fellow passengers to move so that you can sit together.

I'm not saying you would do that, but too many other passengers choose to save money by not selecting seats, then impose on other passengers to try to improve their seating situation once onboard.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We normally sit 2 together one parent-one kid anyways because the seats are only three wide.
Also its a 830 -midnight flight so as long as someone is with my 10 year old I think we will be fine... i agree ill just watch it and buy the upgrades if needed.

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

Today was the first time i did not pick my seats because it was the same price as the ticket. The seats are 3 together and there are 4 of us two adults 2 kids on American.
Has anyone else let the airline pick your seats?
My flight is in mid October late night flight and as of now the plane is empty

We usually let American pick our seats. We have found that when traveling with a child 14 and under they will assign seats shortly after booking. We just booked flights last week and when I checked online yesterday they had already assigned all five of us seats. The seats are usually in the back of the plane and all in one row, so three seats on one side of the plane and the two across the aisle.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

If you purchased basic economy you could end up far away from each other. I would not count on a flight being empty- just because seat map shows empty there are others like you waiting for airline to assign seat. Is saving a few dollars worth having your kids sit by a compete stranger especially in Covid times? As others stated it is not fair to ask or expect airline to ask people who paid for seats to move. I certainly wouldn’t move if I paid for a seat. Do you honestly expect your kids to be comfortable sitting near a stranger especially if you are several rows away? It amazes me when people try to save money on seat assignments and then in the end if separated expect people to move. Save elsewhere pay for seats for your kids comfort and peace of mind!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

This weekend trip we are doing on budget.. the flight was 198.00 for 4 people RT to pick my seats it was another 160.00 so I am hoping for the best.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

We normally sit 2 together one parent-one kid anyways because the seats are only three wide.
Also its a 830 -midnight flight so as long as someone is with my 10 year old I think we will be fine... i agree ill just watch it and buy the upgrades if needed.

If you are worried about 10 year old could you just pay for 2 seats? Just a thought.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

If you are worried about 10 year old could you just pay for 2 seats? Just a thought.

Thats not a bad idea

 

[Dis703]

I fly Frontier and we don't ever pick our seats anymore. We have never been separated so far, but occasionally when traveling alone we've been assigned a middle seat and then changed it. I'm not sure if it's the same with all airlines, but with Frontier you can still pay for your seat selection after check in so we check in right at 24 hours and see what we get. If we don't like it then we'll pay and pick other seats. There have always been plenty of options left. Even though the flights themselves are almost always full.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

It’s a simple thing. Don’t rely on others experiences or past experiences you’ve had. If it is important to sit with your child PAY FOR YOUR SEAT. There are reports of families being separated and kids sitting away from their parents. You can’t rely on seat map to determine how full a flight is. You can’t expect anyone who paid for a seat to move because you are to cheap to pay for a seat. It is not fair to anyone to ask/demand the airline to move people because you want to save a few dollars. If you want to sit by your child then pay for your seats and monitor for plane changes especially now with flights being cancelled.

Flights to MCO are full of families and if a family paid for seats they aren’t going to move for you. When we travel with our adult sons we pay for seats to sit near each other and we wouldn’t move - we chose aisle seats for different reasons.

This is not directed toward OP! This is a general if you have kids and want to sit together pay for seats! Be cheap elsewhere. Flying during COVID is different so past experiences are not relevant now. There is no law stating kids have to be seated with their parent!

 

[VAfamily1998]

I have flown basic economy with American and let them pick the seats for me. My kids were older (youngest was 12) and had flown as unaccompanied minors, so they already had experience sitting next to strangers and were ok with it. If my kids were very young, or if they (or I) would be uncomfortable with them sitting next to a stranger, then I wouldn't have done it. No savings would be worth putting my child through a situation where they felt scared or stressed.

American ended up assigning us seats next to each other, it was an international flight so I don't know if that made a difference.

 

[nkereina]

Agree with PPs that its best to pay for seat selection if sitting with the children is a must. If the kids are older or independent enough where you can be away from them for the duration of the flight, then its less of a concern and only you can decide what the cost is worth.

We don't have kids, but opt to pay for our seats regardless. It wouldn't be a big deal to sit separately, but we do prefer to sit closer to the front of the plane for faster exiting. Especially if we have a layover. While not paying for seats gives you more spending money on your trip, paying for closer seats gives you more time on it

 

[linfromtexas]

Today was the first time i did not pick my seats because it was the same price as the ticket. The seats are 3 together and there are 4 of us two adults 2 kids on American.
Has anyone else let the airline pick your seats?
My flight is in mid October late night flight and as of now the plane is empty

One suggestion if you do pick your seats but are on different reservations be sure to have them linked. My DD was traveling with us, first class but on a different reservation. We chose our seats. When we boarded she was in the back and we were in the front. Later we found out her seat had been switched 3 times to accommodate couple requests. My DH and I now choose adjoining aisle seats b/c we are on the same ticket and give DD the window seat. There is now no reason to move her. Finally we link the reservations. We haven't had any problems since.

 

[beercity]

I did appreciate that AA did assign our seats right away, that way I know what we are going to get unless we upgrade.

 

[Bittersweet & Strange]

I booked a Delta flight for September and they kept consolidating flights because of low demand. There were 4 direct flights on our travel day and now there is only 1. So even though there was lots of availability on our flight initially, it is now sold out. I would not count on flights staying empty.
That said, I echo the other posters that if you feel it is important to sit next to your kids, you should buy the seats you want. I personally would not worry about a 10-year-old sitting by themselves, but you know your kids best.

 

[spiders]

If you find out that you're going to be separated, please don't ask fellow passengers to move so that you can sit together.

I'm not saying you would do that, but too many other passengers choose to save money by not selecting seats, then impose on other passengers to try to improve their seating situation once onboard.

Oh, I love it. You have a window or an aisle and they ask you, "Would you mind taking that middle seat over there so we can be together?" Yes, I do mind.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

This was on the AA site..
If you skip seats

If you’re unable to choose seats, don’t want to pay for seats, or chose a Basic Economy fare, our system will detect that you’re a family traveling. The system will search for seats together automatically before the day of departure. We’ll try our best to keep you together, but if seats are limited, we’ll assign seats so children under 15 are next to at least 1 adult.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

This was on the AA site..
If you skip seats

If you’re unable to choose seats, don’t want to pay for seats, or chose a Basic Economy fare, our system will detect that you’re a family traveling. The system will search for seats together automatically before the day of departure. We’ll try our best to keep you together, but if seats are limited, we’ll assign seats so children under 15 are next to at least 1 adult.

BUT if there are no seats available next to each other they can’t magically make them appear. Still amazing how people with young kids cheap out and feel entitled. An airline can’t make 2 seats appear next to each other if there are none. It is not fair for someone who paid for a seat to be asked to move. Kids don’t entitle people to preferential treatment- if every other family or person on a flight to MCO bought a sear assignment how is the airline going to find seats for a family who feels the need to save money and wants to sit by their child. This is not directed at you but an observation. I would not move for anyone If I paid for my seat. If it is important to sit by a child a family needs to be proactive and not rely on the airline.