RANT: I don't care if you want to sit next to your kids on the airplane

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Oh, that's a good one! Seriously? People are just plain happy to get a seat these days even when there are no delays. Airlines run their flights so freaking full there are often no seats together on a later flight. Add the cancellations to the mix and I bet people are still just getting home.

Obviously not. This woman wasn't happy to get a seat. No, she wanted a particular seat. The one next to her child. If she had been just plain happy to get a seat, this thread wouldn't be here.

Given the fright was from FLL to NYC, I would bet a significant number of the passengers were in the middle of the Caribbean when the storm hit.

Then she could have left a day early. Or even two, if it was so important to her to sit next to her child.

 

[gwynne]

I'm quite aware. A DIS "tongue in cheek" emoticon would be helpful..for a few of us.

Gotcha.

 

[disney4us2002]

I have thought of another reason to not switch seats. If you do this on your own without the FA handling it, you have no record that the seat you are sitting in is yours in the case of overbooking. We were on a flight where our seats were assigned to us and another couple. The wife in the other couple became very upset and demanded we get out of their seats. The FA had to calm her down but our ticket with the seat assignment kept us in the seat.

It is possible for the same seats to be assigned to more than one person? We almost always fly Southwest so I'm unfamiliar with the assigned seat policy but that seems nutty to me. Why do airlines overbook anyway? Are there that many people just not showing up for flights?

 

[TLSnell1981]

I have thought of another reason to not switch seats. If you do this on your own without the FA handling it, you have no record that the seat you are sitting in is yours in the case of overbooking. We were on a flight where our seats were assigned to us and another couple. The wife in the other couple became very upset and demanded we get out of their seats. The FA had to calm her down but our ticket with the seat assignment kept us in the seat.

It's a waste of time to ask the flight attendant for seat assistance. They will not get involved, but have the passenger request the seat change...work it out amongst themselves. Maybe, if relieves the airlines of any responsibility..for all parties?

 

[Wishing on a star]

We once flew back from Cancun, last day after Holiday Break at beginning of Jan... with such a storm hitting.
We had NO idea that it would hit so quickly and hit so far South.
OMG - WHAT A MESS!!!
We did get on our plane, and land, hours late... made the last of the drive back home, straight up in elevation, after midnight, as the freezing snow and ice storm hit.

I always said that I would never, EVER, plan travel like that, at any time in the Winter, also because of the huge number of travelers traveling while sick... but we had come up on a deal that was too good to pass up.
I don't think ANY deal could entice me to fly at this time of year again!!!

 

[Wishing on a star]

It is possible for the same seats to be assigned to more than one person? We almost always fly Southwest so I'm unfamiliar with the assigned seat policy but that seems nutty to me. Why do airlines overbook anyway? Are there that many people just not showing up for flights?

It does, sometimes happen... so many reservations coming in thru so many various venues. And, airlines being slack, hoping to make sure every aircraft flies FULL.

They will sometimes offer credits and vouchers to somebody who is willing to volunteer to delay their flight - so that there are seats for those who really have to be on that flight and get where they are going.

 

[asta]

It is possible for the same seats to be assigned to more than one person? We almost always fly Southwest so I'm unfamiliar with the assigned seat policy but that seems nutty to me. Why do airlines overbook anyway? Are there that many people just not showing up for flights?

This happened to us several years ago and not on Southwest so the seats were assigned. I don't know if the airlines do it on purpose or if it was a glitch in their system that allowed two people to be assigned the same seat. The wife in the other couple was extremely upset. She kept demanding that we get up. My husband told me to not get up, we got in the seats first. That made her even madder. The FA intervened and offered deals over the intercom to anyone willing to be bumped. She got volunteers but I don't know if the other couple were seated together.

 

[Turn the Page]

This thread has made me think of the episode of Roseanne where they all go to Disney World. They had the whole family, almost a dozen people, spread all throughout the plane and made such a show of passing things back and forth and hollering across the plane at each other that the entire plane took a vote and asked that they be moved to the empty first class section just to get rid of them lol.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Then she could have left a day early. Or even two, if it was so important to her to sit next to her child.

You do realize, this would likely NOT solve the seating problem? And really, if this was Delta an airline consolidating flights, passengers may not be aware of the change, until they arrive at the airport.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Hahahahaha!!!!!!!

That Roseanne must have been TOO funny!

 

[RedAngie]

I don't understand all the seat-trading going on. We were all separated on our last flight and it didn't dawn on me to ask someone to switch. My kids know how to entertain themselves and how to behave. And if they should so happen to need me for something, I am like 10 feet away lol.

Seat swapping is common enough that there's now an app for people with superior seats who are willing to trade them to the less fortunate for $. I read about this a few weeks ago.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/new-app-seateroo-seat-swaps

The article says the app just started this month, so I don't know how it's working yet. I'm sure there may be other copycat apps as well.

If you ever want to amuse yourself, go to the FlyerTalk website and pick any airline you want. You'll find a whole host of complaining posts from mega frequent flyers who don't get free upgrades anymore because (gasp) airlines have figured out that people will pay for them instead and are offering these seats to other people on a paid basis. The derisively refer to these flyers as "kettles" (as in backwards people who don't know how to behave in the rarefied air of first class...LOL). I frequently will upgrade to first class (paid) because I enjoy the extra room, and more relaxed environment. I love that these seats are now available for somewhat reasonable prices. We are going on vacation in March and the price I paid for my first class seats is below the price currently being charged for coach seats (because I booked pretty far in advance). Yup, I will gladly be sitting in first for less than some people paid for their middle seat in the back.

I sometimes browse FlyerTalk and yes, the guy DH encountered was a classic DYKWIA. (Do you know who I am?) I don't know when airlines release unsold first class seats for elite upgrades, but they were still selling them to kettles like me 90 minutes before flight time. The man's status may have been high enough to be first to claim an unsold FC seat for his companion, and he thought he could intimidate a kettle into relinquishing the seat.

I wouldn't doubt he wrote a long diatribe on FlyerTalk later that day about the kettle who had the audacity to BUY what was HIS free companion upgrade.

This was on United, where I understand many elites are upset about fewer perks since they merged with Continental.

How do you know that? Maybe she started with the people around her and struck out there too.

She started in the BACK trying to get people to swap seats?? Please.

 

[Jennunc]

Wow.

When flying to Hawaii we arrived at our second airport to find none our seats together, though when we booked them 11 months earlier they were together. I was flying with my DH & 26month old who was obviously still in a car seat (car seats must be in the window or middle of a row with two exits). There's no way I'd leave my newly potty trained, 2year old, strapped in a car seat for 8 hours while I sat 5 rows up. Luckily the gate agents handled it & got me & DS together. DH sat elsewhere. Same happened on our red eye home on our 2nd & longest of the three flights. Then we were moved all 3 together in the last row.

Im not sure how I could have avoided the scenario with pre planning. And it has nothing to do with stranger danger.

I've never flown SW so I don't know how that works but this thread has opened my eyes. And to think the CMs aren't as friendly as they used to be- geesh.

 

[mnrose]

I sometimes browse FlyerTalk and yes, the guy DH encountered was a classic DYKWIA. (Do you know who I am?) I don't know when airlines release unsold first class seats for elite upgrades, but they were still selling them to kettles like me 90 minutes before flight time. The man's status may have been high enough to be first to claim an unsold FC seat for his companion, and he thought he could intimidate a kettle into relinquishing the seat.

I wouldn't doubt he wrote a long diatribe on FlyerTalk later that day about the kettle who had the audacity to BUY what was HIS free companion upgrade.

This was on United, where I understand many elites are upset about fewer perks since they merged with Continental.

.

I mainly browse Delta, but the complaints are exactly the same. The savvy ones realize that if they want their upgrades, they are going to have to pay (and they often get offered them for less $$$ than the kettles pay), but the days of the free upgrades are just about gone. From the airlines perspective, they are completely unnecessary. They fly full whether or not they give free upgrades so why not monetize your first class perks. Makes tons of sense. And, since there is less and less competition in the flying world (with more and more consolidation) it's only going to get worse. As a practical matter, if I want to fly from MSP, it's going to be Delta. Anywhere else involves connections (and sometimes more than one). The ONLY other choice I have for non-stops to more than a handful of destinations is Sun Country, and the problem with them is that they typically have only one one flight per day, or even one flight per week, to where they fly. If there are equipment or weather delays, forget about it. This is true at almost any airport....usually ONE choice, and maybe a "discount" carriers (like Southwest). But, the legacy carriers have near monopolies on the airports they serve.

 

[JoeA]

A lot of assumptions are being made on this thread.

11 pages of arguing over a rant that the OP dropped and then never responded again to.

I was just about to type this! People are talking about autistic kids needing mom, mom and kid being bumped from another flight, mom not planning and wanting to weasel a better seat, is the kid 5? 16? And our society is doomed, too!

Man, I love the internet!

 

[Turn the Page]

Hahahahaha!!!!!!!

That Roseanne must have been TOO funny!

Of course she had to call the airline and cancel some strangers reservation to get enough open seats to get everyone on that flight in the first place. Had to try three times before she came up with a name that had a reservation lol.

God I miss that show.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Wow.

When flying to Hawaii we arrived at our second airport to find none our seats together, though when we booked them 11 months earlier they were together. I was flying with my DH & 26month old who was obviously still in a car seat (car seats must be in the window or middle of a row with two exits). There's no way I'd leave my newly potty trained, 2year old, strapped in a car seat for 8 hours while I sat 5 rows up. Luckily the gate agents handled it & got me & DS together. DH sat elsewhere. Same happened on our red eye home on our 2nd & longest of the three flights. Then we were moved all 3 together in the last row.

Im not sure how I could have avoided the scenario with pre planning. And it has nothing to do with stranger danger.

I've never flown SW so I don't know how that works but this thread has opened my eyes. And to think the CMs aren't as friendly as they used to be- geesh.

Well, a 26 month old would be truly young enough to need A parent sitting next to them----and speaking to the gate agent, who could see this was truly needed, fixed the issue. That makes sense to me.

 

[gwynne]

Wow.

When flying to Hawaii we arrived at our second airport to find none our seats together, though when we booked them 11 months earlier they were together. I was flying with my DH & 26month old who was obviously still in a car seat (car seats must be in the window or middle of a row with two exits). There's no way I'd leave my newly potty trained, 2year old, strapped in a car seat for 8 hours while I sat 5 rows up. Luckily the gate agents handled it & got me & DS together. DH sat elsewhere. Same happened on our red eye home on our 2nd & longest of the three flights. Then we were moved all 3 together in the last row.

Im not sure how I could have avoided the scenario with pre planning. And it has nothing to do with stranger danger.

I've never flown SW so I don't know how that works but this thread has opened my eyes. And to think the CMs aren't as friendly as they used to be- geesh.

No one would expect you to leave a 2 year old alone. It must have been very frustrating trying to work through the changes. This is the kind of thing gate agents work hard to fix. They understand this is not acceptable. Glad the agent was able to get 2 seats together. Please know gate agents will always continue to work an issue like this until it's fixed. (Either seats with at least one parent on this flight or booked on another one.)
It's entirely possible my tip below wouldn't have helped, but it's good to know going forward.

I've learned to do a quick check on our booked flights about once a week. It allows me to catch changes usually before an email goes out. (And sometimes they never email...) Changes in equipment or schedule, I like to have first pick of getting things fixed. If it's equipment change, I may need to re-select seats together. The computer system doesn't always put us together or in the part of the plane we prefer.
If it's schedule, sometimes the change they have made is fine, sometimes it's not. If the timing is a problem-and I'm eligible for a change- I call and choose a better flight time. (I look up the options online ahead of time. Usually they will go with my choice as long as it fits within the rules.)

This doesn't solve every problem in the book, but it's helped me many, many times, and maybe it will help someone else.

 

[Jennunc]

No one would expect you to leave a 2 year old alone. It must have been very frustrating trying to work through the changes. This is the kind of thing gate agents work hard to fix. They understand this is not acceptable. Glad the agent was able to get 2 seats together.
It's entirely possible my tip below wouldn't have helped, but it's good to know going forward.

I've learned to do a quick check on our booked flights about once a week. It allows me to catch changes usually before an email goes out. (And sometimes they never email...) Changes in equipment or schedule, I like to have first pick of getting things fixed. If it's equipment change, I may need to re-select seats together. The computer system doesn't always put us together or in the part of the plane we prefer.
If it's schedule, sometimes the change they have made is fine, sometimes it's not. If the timing is a problem-and I'm eligible for a change- I call and choose a better flight time. (I look up the options online ahead of time. Usually they will go with my choice as long as it fits within the rules.)

This doesn't solve every problem in the book, but it's helped me many, many times, and maybe it will help someone else.

It actually wasnt frustrating at all to work with the gate agent from what I remember (this was 4 years ago). I'm just surprised at the responses & offered a perspective in which I pre planned, booked seats together, inserted my child's age & still things go array. Some things are out of our control. I wonder what the people who were moved to different seats to accommodate me and my snowflake had to say on message boards. Yikes!

 

[morgan98]

Well, a 26 month old would be truly young enough to need A parent sitting next to them----and speaking to the gate agent, who could see this was truly needed, fixed the issue. That makes sense to me.

Right, if there are true reason why people have to sit next to each other, like a parent next to an infant or toddler, I would expect a gate agent to think that is reasonable and intervene. Same thing if you have a very sick/injured child or some other documented medical excuse. I would think this would benefit not only the passenger, but also the airline as it would reduce the possibility of some incident once everyone is aboard.

I think the issue is when someone expects other to move/trade/give-up their seat as a convenience. I mean your 8 or 10 year old should be able to sit in a seat in a controlled environment like an airplane for a couple of hours next to a "stranger". It may make a parent a bit nervous, or it may be less than ideal, but it really does not trump anyone else's need for why they may need the sit they are in either.

 

[gwynne]

It actually wasnt frustrating at all to work with the gate agent from what I remember (this was 4 years ago). I'm just surprised at the responses & offered a perspective in which I pre planned, booked seats together, inserted my child's age & still things go array. Some things are out of our control. I wonder what the people who were moved to different seats to accommodate me and my snowflake had to say on message boards. Yikes!

If it was an equipment change, you were likely not the only ones affected. The gate agent may still be shifting around some of the folks who weren't aware of the change. Sometimes the change happens without warning, and the gate agent is playing musical chairs right up to boarding.

Your situation was totally not the same as passengers boarding and deciding to ask/tell another passenger they want that passengers seat.