Seat assignments and minors on a plane.

[Girls1]

Flying from LGA tomorrow using Delta Airlines.
It's our first flight ever! We have been given seat numbers but it looks like my DD's are seated together on our first flight as opposed to with a parent like a requested! My husband and I have seat numbers 39E and 39F and the girls have 40E and 40F which I presume is directly behind us.
Is it possible for one parent to switch seats with one of the girls on our own or do I have to call Delta and ask for a formal change?
I have been told that it's a federal law to occupy only the seat that has been assigned to you on an airplane. Please inform.
Thanks

 

[francie57]

Just switch seats when you get on the plane. We just flew Delta to and from Hartford and we were all in the seats that belonged to another family member. No one will no the difference.

 

[mhawk4]

Flying from LGA tomorrow using Delta Airlines.
It's our first flight ever! We have been given seat numbers but it looks like my DD's are seated together on our first flight as opposed to with a parent like a requested! My husband and I have seat numbers 39E and 39F and the girls have 40E and 40F which I presume is directly behind us.
Is it possible for one parent to switch seats with one of the girls on our own or do I have to call Delta and ask for a formal change?
I have been told that it's a federal law to occupy only the seat that has been assigned to you on an airplane. Please inform.
Thanks

We switch around all of the time. I usually book two seats together next to a window and two directly behind it. That way they both get a window seat. I don't really ever pay attention to who is "assigned" to the seat number but do sit in the four seats assigned to our family.

 

[Girls1]

Thanks guys. Just got through to Delta and they said we can switch seats without formality. Just wanted to be sure.
Thanks for the prompt replies.

 

[seashoreCM]

Sit in your assigned seat until everyone else is on board and seated. Then after takeoff and when the seat belt sign goes off then you can switch seats with other family members.

This cuts down on problems if there was a seating error such as two persons assigned to the same seat.

 

[ironz]

Sit in your assigned seat until everyone else is on board and seated. Then after takeoff and when the seat belt sign goes off then you can switch seats with other family members.

This cuts down on problems if there was a seating error such as two persons assigned to the same seat.

I would say don't do this...all you do is cause extra commotion and moving around after everyone is seated, especially since the seats are either middle + window (or aisle/window if it is a 2/2 plane).

Just sit one adult and one child in each row, and, in case of any seat screwups (not super common, in my experience, and I fly about 100 segments a year, at least)...have one of the adults keep the boarding passes handy until all passengers are seated.

 

[jsilvers]

I have been told that it's a federal law to occupy only the seat that has been assigned to you on an airplane. Please inform.

Completely false. However, fight attendants are known to claim that certain requirements are based on federal law, when in fact they are only that airline's internal policy, or exist only in that particular FA's imagination. (However, disobeying a FA's instructions can be considered a violation of federal law, which is where it can get problematic, even if the FA is wrong about the law.)

 

[goofy4tink]

I would say don't do this...all you do is cause extra commotion and moving around after everyone is seated, especially since the seats are either middle + window (or aisle/window if it is a 2/2 plane).

Just sit one adult and one child in each row, and, in case of any seat screwups (not super common, in my experience, and I fly about 100 segments a year, at least)...have one of the adults keep the boarding passes handy until all passengers are seated.

Have to agree.....no one is sitting in an incorrect seat. They are merely switching with their own child. 'IF' something were to be wrong, with the seat assignments,it would actuall be better to have a parent with the child to sort out any seating issues.

 

[ironz]

Also you are not disturbing, not one, but two people (whoever has the D seats on each row) with all the moving around.
I can just picture it now....'ok, Susie, come back to this seat'...'oh, excuse us'...'who has the backpack'....'I left my purse back there can you pass it over' ...oh, you wanted the window now? Let's switch again'.....

Get situated....just have all the BPs available. Also, with one adult and one kid in each row, both kids get a window.


As for any law about changing seats...not true. FA's sometimes move people for whatever reason, including weight balance issues on small planes. Also, since SW has no assigned seats that wouldn't work...

 

[dzorn]

I would just look at the reservation on line and change seats if possible. We always do three across then DH or I sit on another aisle seat. Given three of us together it makes it easier for potty breaks and such.

Denise in MI

 

[hubbylovesdwd]

We are a family of 4 with 2 DD ages 6 and 11. I always book 2 sets of seats directly behind each other just like you did. On the plane I always place my DD 6 yo behind her sister, so then she plays with the tray table or kicks the seats she only bothers a person she loves not a stranger.

 

[ironz]

We are a family of 4 with 2 DD ages 6 and 11. I always book 2 sets of seats directly behind each other just like you did. On the plane I always place my DD 6 yo behind her sister, so then she plays with the tray table or kicks the seats she only bothers a person she loves not a stranger.

Just so you know...since the seats in a row are connected....kicking the seat is felt by all three people in the row. I travel a lot and have to explain this to parents from time to time. Same with the tray table, if they are constantly flipping it up and down, hitting it, etc. Best to remind your kids to sit relatively quietly....or at least just shimmy in their own seat. thanks!

 

[smitch425]

On the plane I always place my DD 6 yo behind her sister, so then she plays with the tray table or kicks the seats she only bothers a person she loves not a stranger.

That's a great tip, but I think I may have to put our 6 year old son behind DH. If he sits behind his sister and kicks her seat, the WHOLE plane will be hearin' about it.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

It doen't matter if a family of four switches seats amongst themselves. Nobody else will know or care.

There's is no need to have the individual seats officially reassigned, or to ask for permission from the flight attendants, or to wait until after take-off.

There is no Federal Law requiring you to sit in an assigned seat. Some airlines don't even have assigned seats.

If you were to take seats assigned to other passengers because you like those seats better, that would be a problem. But that's not what you're doing.

On a Delta Air Lines MD-88 -- which is probably the type of aircraft you'll be on if you, as a family of four, were assigned to two sets of back-to-back E-F seats -- you're on the side of aisle with two seats: an aisle seat and a window seat.

Put whatever family member you want in each seat, and a have a great flight!

 

[DebbieB]

I just got home from a SNA-ATL-PIT trip. On the ATL-PIT plane, it was a 70 seat RJ, there was musical chairs going on with several people. Not a big deal.