Seat Assignments w/children

[keishashadow]

That is my sticking point also. You can also include missing a connection because of airline/weather and put on a different flight. IMO, in these situations, it becomes the airlines responsibility to do everything it can to sit the child & parent (or husband & wife or whatever) as close to each other as possible. This might include bumping someone (or multiple ones) up to first class, or even offering some incentives for people to give up their seats.

However, there will still be situations where they can't get a good solution.

I've been lucky in my travels and have had few such issues. There are airlines i won't patronize based upon their cancellation records and poor on-time flight performance. It's something people need to consider when booking a price-driven flight.

I have been on connecting flights on SWA where nearly everybody moves up to the front of the plane and the A boarders (who paid for EBIC) are lucky to get mid plane.

The only incentives i've seen offered by a FA to move a seat on a near full flight is a free drink or two. If the airlines would offer a one-way voucher many people would knock themselves out to volunteer.

 

[goofy4tink]

One interesting consideration in this discussion is that flights to and Orlando have so many more young children than on typical routes.

When I'm flying somewhere other than Orlando, there are usually a few young children, but not many -- perhaps just one or two. In the unlikely case that a young child is not assigned to sit next to a parent, the airline counter agent or gate agent should be able to reassign their seating from the seats that are under airport control (and were not available to anyone for pre-booking).

Compare that to Orlando flights. During periods when school is not in session, there are plenty of families with children of all ages. When school is in session, there are still plenty of families -- but now most of the children are babies, toddlers, or pre-school age kids. (Families of such young children have learned that WDW crowds are down and prices are lower if they travel when many other families have kids in school.) So you could have a flight with dozens of children under 5 or 6 years old!

Now consider that many of these families will choose to save the cost of "preferred" seats, choosing instead to rely on the seats that the airline assigns to them at 24 hours -- which may or may not be contiguous seats.

Not a good combination!

And that is the problem. If I have paid addtl to be seated next to my traveling companion, be it my young child, my dh or just a friend, I can't understand how anyone is going to expect me to change seats to enable a family to be seated together!! I did my homework, I paid extra for the seat I wanted. Not giving it up to someone who waited until the last minute or decided to not pay the extra.
And with so many families flying to Orlando, that is the one route that is more likely to happen. So I either book SW and board via boarding group, or I fly JB and pay for the seat I want.

I disagree. I feel it should be the AIRLINES responsibility to notify the passengers there's going to be a change and help the passengers find an alternative. Granted, that doesn't happen now, and yes, current flyers should check their reservations at least weekly.

I understand that ...and it used to be that way. BUT...it just doesn't seem to work that way. A few years ago, I arrived in WDW on Sunday. My dh and dd were arriving the following evening. My dh is obsessive about tracking flights, so was checking on their flights (with JB) all day...right up until the time they left for Logan...around noontime, for a 3pm flight. The flight, a connecting one, was ontime...gave the gate number. So, they get to Logan, 45 mins later, only to find that the flight had been cancelled!!! No notification via his cell phone, which he always lists when traveling. But, they were told that they would be put on a flight to NY about 6:15. Ah, that's going to make it difficult to make the 6pm connection there. And that flight was the last one out to MCO that night!!! So, they got rushed to the gate that was almost done boarding the 1:30 flight!!! They got onboard, the doors closed.
It would have been nice if they had been notified.
So now? I start checking on my flights weekly. Then, when I get to a month out, it's every 3 or 4 days. Two weeks out?? Every day. Yes, it's a pain, but at least I know I'll catch something if it changes.

Ordinary good customer service would include quietly rebooking the child or the parent to be back on the same plane as the other, upon request, even if the parent did not catch the cancellation right away. This might include forcible booking, which, incidentally, can always be done by pushing just the right buttons (keys).

But that's going to be an issue if the flights are full. I always check on my flights constantly. That way I can be proactive, rather than worry about someone else trying to fix it down the road.

 

[sam_gordon]

I understand that ...and it used to be that way. BUT...it just doesn't seem to work that way. A few years ago, I arrived in WDW on Sunday. My dh and dd were arriving the following evening. My dh is obsessive about tracking flights, so was checking on their flights (with JB) all day...right up until the time they left for Logan...around noontime, for a 3pm flight. The flight, a connecting one, was ontime...gave the gate number. So, they get to Logan, 45 mins later, only to find that the flight had been cancelled!!! No notification via his cell phone, which he always lists when traveling. But, they were told that they would be put on a flight to NY about 6:15. Ah, that's going to make it difficult to make the 6pm connection there. And that flight was the last one out to MCO that night!!! So, they got rushed to the gate that was almost done boarding the 1:30 flight!!! They got onboard, the doors closed.
It would have been nice if they had been notified.
So now? I start checking on my flights weekly. Then, when I get to a month out, it's every 3 or 4 days. Two weeks out?? Every day. Yes, it's a pain, but at least I know I'll catch something if it changes.

I understand. I know the airlines don't notify of changes currently. I think they should. Of course, that and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I understand. I know the airlines don't notify of changes currently. I think they should. Of course, that and a quarter will get you a cup of coffee.

But that's going to be an issue if the flights are full. I always check on my flights constantly. That way I can be proactive, rather than worry about someone else trying to fix it down the road.

[/QUOTE]

We have to expect $#!+ customer service from airlines, so there is little choice but to stay on top of a reservation.

BTW, where do you get your coffee?

 

[maxiesmom]

We have to expect $#!+ customer service from airlines, so there is little choice but to stay on top of a reservation.

BTW, where do you get your coffee? [/QUOTE]

I hope it is not airline coffee. There was just another report about how the water on the airplane is not the most pure, to say the least!

 

[Greysword]

I disagree. I feel it should be the AIRLINES responsibility to notify the passengers there's going to be a change and help the passengers find an alternative. Granted, that doesn't happen now, and yes, current flyers should check their reservations at least weekly.

I agree that the airline should send notification of an itinerary change. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't for one reason or another.

I guess what I am saying is that even if the airline sends notification, it may be after all assignments were made and that is if the email/text is found in a reasonable time. Checking my own reservation periodically ensures I am notified of a change, and likely will allow me to make the required adjustments before others read their notification.

As for making notification mandatory via a law, I think a proclamation from the FAA would be ok or an addendum to the Flyer Bill of Rights would be acceptable, but taking the time and energy to force this through Congress is a bit much, IMO.

The big question would be to determine what penalties would be enacted and how to enforce the notification issue. It is difficult to prove a negative (not receiving something), especially if the airline says they did send notification. Innocent until proven guilty, so it would be incumbent on us to prove damage, which would be difficult and inconvenient for the average passenger.

 

[goofy4tink]

We have to expect $#!+ customer service from airlines, so there is little choice but to stay on top of a reservation.

BTW, where do you get your coffee? [/QUOTE]
I was going to ask the same thing!!!!!

 

[jsilvers]

As for making notification mandatory via a law, I think a proclamation from the FAA would be ok

Actually, the DOT already such a requirement. It's a bit convoluted, but notably:

For travel itinerary changes involving passengers whose flights are scheduled more than a week in the future, notification should be provided to the passengers as soon as practical. In such circumstances, if notification is made less than 48 hours after the carrier becomes aware of such change, we would consider the notification to be timely.​

http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/EAPP_2_FAQ.pdf#page=16. But note that the notification requirement only applies if the airline actually has a passenger's contact information - which an airline may not, if the ticket was purchased through an agent.

(Also note that the FAA generally is responsible for safety and not consumer protection requirements; consumer protection is DOT's responsibility. Although sometimes the lines blur - for example, if the issue is child seats.)

 

[sam_gordon]

Actually, the DOT already such a requirement. It's a bit convoluted, but notably:

For travel itinerary changes involving passengers whose flights are scheduled more than a week in the future, notification should be provided to the passengers as soon as practical. In such circumstances, if notification is made less than 48 hours after the carrier becomes aware of such change, we would consider the notification to be timely.​

http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/EAPP_2_FAQ.pdf#page=16. But note that the notification requirement only applies if the airline actually has a passenger's contact information - which an airline may not, if the ticket was purchased through an agent.

(Also note that the FAA generally is responsible for safety and not consumer protection requirements; consumer protection is DOT's responsibility. Although sometimes the lines blur - for example, if the issue is child seats.)

Is that a "requirement"? To me the "should" sounds more like a recommendation. If it had "must", then I'd agree it's a requirement.

Regarding how to enforce notification, I don't know. But there are ways to log sent emails and texts. I have a hard time believing airlines ARE sending out these notifications but they're just not getting through.

As far as the coffee, I usually say "50 cents will get you a soda", but that's not the case much anymore either.

 

[jsilvers]

Is that a "requirement"? To me the "should" sounds more like a recommendation. If it had "must", then I'd agree it's a requirement.

As noted in my prior post, it's a bit convoluted. A DOT regulation requires airlines to adopt customer service plans that make various commitments, including:

Notifying consumers in a timely manner of changes in their travel itineraries.​

14 C.F.R. § 259.5(b)(10). The language in my previous post is from a DOT FAQ which explains how that requirement is interpreted by DOT. While that may not strictly be a "must", any airline that doesn't follow that guidance is risking a fine of $27,500 per violation (which DOT has suggested would be calculated on a per passenger basis - i.e., a BIG number).