Seat Assignments w/children

If the charge for seat selection were assessed only from people who want/need to get seats next to their families, I might agree. But it's not. Most airlines that offer the option to pay for seat selection in advance charge any customer for any reason.

When/if you stop charging this group, you're discriminating the remaining passengers.

I think you are misunderstanding me....I don't think charging a person who wants to sit in the exit row or aisle seat at the front of the plane is a problem. I stated I think it is unfortunate that a family that looks at a map and sees only scattered seats EXCEPT for the pay extra seats must decide to sit apart, pay the money or look for a different flight. Just makes it more difficult for them.
 
I think you are misunderstanding me....I don't think charging a person who wants to sit in the exit row or aisle seat at the front of the plane is a problem. I stated I think it is unfortunate that a family that looks at a map and sees only scattered seats EXCEPT for the pay extra seats must decide to sit apart, pay the money or look for a different flight. Just makes it more difficult for them.

I'm not understanding you. Because it sounds as if you are saying that families shouldn't be expected to pay the same fees as everyone else.
 
Let me put this another way....I understand that airlines charge for some seats and do not propose that any person/group should be exempt from those same fees. I was trying to point out that if a group of passengers make a reservation and the only seats that are available (at no extra charge) are the scattered seats, they have the option of taking those seats (for free) or paying the fee for preferred seating (assuming there are seats together in that section). They make the decision, but I was just noting that families with very small children might feel pressured to pay the fee to have seats together, rather than waiting to try at the airport to have seats rearranged.

Sorry if this has been confusing...:confused3
 
I understand better what you're saying, Malificent53, and I don't envy you your job :) - but with a lá carte pricing, even families with small children who must be seated together need to accept the responsibility for ensuring that at the time of ticket purchase. Expecting, or even hoping, that seating can be rearranged at the airport is presumptuous, to say the least (and I could say more, but I don't want to be attacked for seeming to attack families with small kids).
 

Thanks for the feedback and setting me straight regarding the law. I think you are right that the Disney Cast Member was confused and referring to the children in car seat rule.
Some additional information......They bought their tickets 4-6 months in advance. The plane was basically empty when they bought their tickets. The only thing they didn't do was pay the extra fee to select their seats. The airline gave them the impression that they would not separate children from their parents. They did not expect to all sit together. They just thought the airline would seat one parent with each child. I know Air Tran had told me the same thing in the past as well.
On the way there they were all seated together. On the way back they were not. No one expected people who had paid an extra fee to move so this family could sit with their kids. However, I just can't imagine the majority of people pay this extra fee. I do pay the extra fee because I don't want the added stress.
Honestly, I think splitting younger children up from their families would be a safety concern. If something happened on the plane and your 7 year old is sitting 6 rows away from you.....what are you going to do? Sit there and do nothing hoping these strangers will help your child or mow through people trying to get to your child? Also, I can't imagine other people would be all that happy being seated with a 5-7 year old who is not theirs and not being supervised.
I don't envy the airline staff who have to deal with these seating charts at the gate either. Honestly, I think it would be much easier if they just raised their prices the 6.oo and let everyone choose their seats when they book.
 
Chiming in- we have always booked seats together when traveling with the kids, and only once were we not all together, but my youngest DD was 7 months and older DD was 2... So, they kindly asked someone if they would switch for us, and they did....

Now, older DD is almost 10, and while she would probably do just fine sitting with strangers, she gets motion sickness, and should there be turbulence, I wouldn't want a stranger to have to care for my puking child(though I certainly wouldn't mind not dealing with it myself!LOL).
 
I'm doing a dummy booking on AirTran right now. Now that I've chosen flights, each flight description includes the statement:
Advance seat assignment is available for a small fee, or you may select your seats upon check-in at no cost.
Now I'm on the Passenger Contact Information page, and near the bottom of the page but above the Continue button is the option to select seats. It's clearly labeled and includes photographs titled
Extra legroom
Sit together
Aisle seat
Window seat
Each picture demonstrates its title. The "sit together" picture is of two adults with a young child between them.

Really, AirTran can't make it any clearer. Pay the fee, choose your seat/s. Don't pay the fee, take your chances.

Before any of that, though, on the home page, there's a link to Learn about all [their] services and associated fees. And while airfares are taxed, fees aren't - so airlines aren't likely to return to bundled services.
 
I think it would be much easier if they just raised their prices the 6.oo and let everyone choose their seats when they book.


Nope not me! I like ala carte flying and only paying for what I think is important. I don't care where I sit and either do my kids so I will gladly save the extra money and use it at Disney or where ever.

If you must sit with your kids then pay for what is important to you.
 
I just think it's funny that people think airlines have never moved people around when they've chosen seats.

One of the reasons I moved to Southwest for quite a long time was because I was sick and tired of booking a flight, spending time choosing a seat beforehand, and then having that seat changed by the time I got my boarding pass. This happened to me constantly in the late 80s and through the 90s. At least with SW once I choose my seat I'm SITTING in it.
 
In my 7 years of flying with Airtran I have only been moved to a different seat once, and that was when I didn't pay extra for the seat. We were still seated together, but in the 2nd to the last row. After that I always pay a fee to get a seat up near the front. The rear of the plane made me sick :crazy2:

If I was asked to give up my seat for a family to sit together, I would ask the adult to give me the $$ I spent to get the assigned seat. It's not fair that I had to pay and they get a free ride!
 
Every airline, every single one, can move people around. There is no certainty that you will be seated in the seat you 'requested'. Equipment changes, flights are combined, etc. Does it happen often? No. But, it does happen. You can't even be 100% certain you will be on the flight you chose and booked until you are actually seated on that plane!!! The consumer must take it upon themselves to check, and doublecheck, their flights leading up to travel time!!!

Now, having said that....the vast majority of people will be seated where, and with whom, they want. Of course, there will always be the folks like the ones I encountered on one AirTran flight. I, as usual, took my seat way in the back...usually get an empty middle seat next to me there, as well as plenty of overhead storage. I do pay for that seat and I like to pay for the ability to board first. So...now the majority of people have boarded and are seated. Along comes a family of about 8...and I don't think English was their language of choice. They were really confused about how to find their seats. It seems that they were scattered all over the plane!! I imagine that they hadn't chosen, and paid for, specific seats early on, but had waited to arrive at the airport and get checked in to get seats. They were incredibly confused!!! ANd now, really stressed. I did tell the FA that I would give up my window seat if it made it any easier for her. I had lucked out and I had no other people in my row. The FA thanked me and said that she thought they had it figured out. It seemed that they split the family into a few groups so that everyone was seated next to at least one family member. The FAs did find people to move around since there were so many open, available seats. But they were mostly single, middle seats, with some aisle and window seats.
But in all reality, it's really hard to expect someone to take a different seat when they actually paid extra for that particular seat!! It's not really fair.

The thing I'm seeing more and more of is the airlines making a lot of a certain catagory of seat a 'extra cost' seat. It used to be that a small number of extra legroom seats on JetBlue were addtl cost, as well as the exit rows. Now??? It's the aisle seats. And to get an extra legroom aisle seat??? Huge addtl cost!!! So when we flew to Ca last month, my 6'4'' dh had to sit in a regular aisle seat vs the usual addtl leg room aisle seat. And it still cost about $20 more for his seat than my middle seat, right next to him!!

So, we already have people paying extra to be able to fly together!!! And even then, those seats can change, with little to no warning.
 
The thing is, if you were buying tickets for anything else, you would make sure you were seated together or you wouldn't make the purchase. For instance, if you were buying tickets to Disney on Ice and there were not seats for all your family to sit together, would you still purchase the tickets? No, of course not. You would look for another day or time or pay up for more expensive seats to make sure that your party is together. Why is this different?

Making airlines assure that families sit together is ridiculous. Really, how could they? What defines a family? It is too complicated.

Take the responsibility to make sure you are together and if that means paying, then pay. If, despite your best efforts, you are not together, then you need to roll with it. Maybe that means taking a different flight on a different day. Only you can decide how important it is to you.
 
So, we already have people paying extra to be able to fly together!!! And even then, those seats can change, with little to no warning.

Yep! My husband and I paid for preferred seating on United last year. We did end up in in the preferred section, but not in the same seats that we had chosen when we booked.

I don't think there's any way to 100% guarantee that you'll be able to sit next to your kids. Another unfortunate reality of airline travel, IMO.
 
I just think it's funny that people think airlines have never moved people around when they've chosen seats.

One of the reasons I moved to Southwest for quite a long time was because I was sick and tired of booking a flight, spending time choosing a seat beforehand, and then having that seat changed by the time I got my boarding pass. This happened to me constantly in the late 80s and through the 90s. At least with SW once I choose my seat I'm SITTING in it.

and I am a confirmed SWA traveler ( also have tons of RR points so fly free a LOT!! :cool1:). But occassionally Delta has a better (not better than free of course) price out of BDL. DD and I flew Delta several years back on $69 fares, a steal! Booked seat assignments in the back of the plane where we like to sit and, you got it, our seats were reassigned at the gate. We were forced to sit in.... First Class!!! :thumbsup2 I've flown Delta 3 times and been upgraded to FC twice so seat reassignments aren't always bad!
 
I think you actually meant to refer to section 121.311 ("Seats, safety belts, and shoulder harnesses") - but looking at the text of the regulation (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title14-vol3/xml/CFR-2012-title14-vol3-sec121-311.xml), I don't see any such requirement. Are you perhaps relying on a separate FAA or third-party guidance document?

You are correct on the citation; my apologies for the typographical error.

The requirement for contiguous seating is there, though not spelled out to the extent that I did; that part is normally airline policy to ensure compliance, and is found in the FARS.

The section that applies is 14 CFR 121.311(b)(2)(i), and it reads:

(2) Notwithstanding any other requirement of this chapter, occupy an approved child restraint system furnished by the certificate holder or one of the persons described in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, provided:
(i) The child is accompanied by a parent, guardian, or attendant designated by the child's parent or guardian to attend to the safety of the child during the flight;

BTW, in regard to a child being old enough to fly as an unaccompanied minor making a difference, a big part of the reasoning for that lies in the fine print of most airlines rules for when the fee must be paid. Pretty much every airline covers this specifically by defining an unaccompanied minor as a child who will be flying without a parent or guardian in the same class of cabin. This serves two purposes; it prevents fliers from insisting on contiguous seating on the grounds that the child would have to be an unaccompanied minor if the parent was seated separately, AND it gives the airline recourse to stop parents of young children from taking upgrades to F for themselves while leaving their children unattended in coach -- you either pay the escort fee or you can't take the upgrade.
 
Yep! My husband and I paid for preferred seating on United last year. We did end up in in the preferred section, but not in the same seats that we had chosen when we booked.

I don't think there's any way to 100% guarantee that you'll be able to sit next to your kids. Another unfortunate reality of airline travel, IMO.

Well, you can always fly SW!!! But people continue to say how awful that boarding is. But, you do get to sit wherever you want..and if there are 5 in your group, you can usually get those seats together, in some fashion. You just need to buy EBCI or be on the computer right at that 24 hr window.
 
I travel AA and all seats that are aisle or window are now preferred seats and you have to pay a fee to sit in them. I recently booked my flights to WDW for next Spring break and nearly all the seats were already booked. I chose to pay for preferred seats. I have been unable to use my preferred seat once before when the flight was changed to a dfferent airplane. I was sent an email to tell me of the change and that I may not be able to get my preferred seat, but that I would get a refund of the preferred seat cost. I know this is not ideal, but it's a business. If you want to have a specific seat then pay the cost. I have always paid for my childrens seats even when they were under 2. I paid for a full seat and put their car seat in the seat with them in it. I have been on flights where people pack their small kids in on their knees and demand to be seated together when they haven't paid for any preferred seat assigment. If you have paid for your seat then it is very upseting when you get separated from your child, but if you haven't paid then I don't think you have any right to complain. If you can afford the flight ticket then why not pay the extra for your seat assignment.
Oh and I fly SW also, I pay to be in the first boarding group, so I get to chose my seat.
 
The thing is, if you were buying tickets for anything else, you would make sure you were seated together or you wouldn't make the purchase. For instance, if you were buying tickets to Disney on Ice and there were not seats for all your family to sit together, would you still purchase the tickets? No, of course not. You would look for another day or time or pay up for more expensive seats to make sure that your party is together. Why is this different?
While your comparison might be applicable the majority of the time, it's not always.
When you select your seats for Disney on Ice (or any show), there is basically no chance that your seats will be reassigned. Unfortunately with the airlines, that's not the case. It can happen months in advance or even the day of.

Two years ago, my family was flying to WDW. Five people, I elected to seat 2-1-2. This way every kid gets a window, and we're right behind each other. The family filling the remaining two seats in 'our' middle row and the one remaining seat in the last row had selected their seats months in advance. When Delta made a schedule change late, there weren't three seats together to select. Delta did make it reasonable at the gate.

This summer, we were flying to Mexico. Our original flight had a mechanical issue and we missed our connecting flight. Delta put us on the next flight, but I couldn't 'reserve' seats (I had Delta's mobile app on my phone), the flight was full. We got to the gate, told them we had children with us, and they put is in one row of 3, the aisle directly across, and an aisle a couple rows up.
 
I travel AA and all seats that are aisle or window are now preferred seats and you have to pay a fee to sit in them.
That's not true.

American Airlines still offers window and aisle seats as regular economy seats.

For example, on an American MD80, there are 13 window seats, 5 aisle seats, and 18 middle seats that are not Preferred or Preferred Plus. Many of those seats allow 2 or even 3 seats to be assigned together without any fee. (There are 4 rows of 3 non-preferred seats in the back of the plane.)

Of course, those are likely to be the first seats grabbed by people who book far ahead.

In addition, there are 17 seats that are not available for pre-assignment, not even for top-tier frequent flyers in the AAdvantage program. These are under airport control and are perfect for family members who want to travel together and are willing to get to the airport early.

Also, there are 15 seats that are available only to elite-level AAdvantage members. Other passengers won't see them as available on the seat map. (They will appear to be already assigned.) On routes that primarily serve leisure travelers, some of them may go unassigned until 24 hours before the flight, when American will assign regular passengers to them.

I'm not defending AA. The majority of seats on the plane now require an extra fee for pre-assignment. The old system was definitely more friendly for families who want to travel together. But, under today's a la carte airline pricing, optional seat assignment fees are one of the factors to consider when comparing prices on different airlines.

One other thing to be aware of is that not everyone has to pay a fee for Preferred seats on American. Full-fare economy passengers and the airline's best customers (very frequent flyers) can get them without an additional fee. Of course, a full-fare economy ticket can cost 5 times as much as a discounted economy ticket, and very frequent flyers might be spending tens of thousand of dollars with American every year.
 
I travel AA and all seats that are aisle or window are now preferred seats and you have to pay a fee to sit in them. I recently booked my flights to WDW for next Spring break and nearly all the seats were already booked. I chose to pay for preferred seats. I have been unable to use my preferred seat once before when the flight was changed to a dfferent airplane. I was sent an email to tell me of the change and that I may not be able to get my preferred seat, but that I would get a refund of the preferred seat cost. I know this is not ideal, but it's a business. If you want to have a specific seat then pay the cost. I have always paid for my childrens seats even when they were under 2. I paid for a full seat and put their car seat in the seat with them in it. I have been on flights where people pack their small kids in on their knees and demand to be seated together when they haven't paid for any preferred seat assigment. If you have paid for your seat then it is very upseting when you get separated from your child, but if you haven't paid then I don't think you have any right to complain. If you can afford the flight ticket then why not pay the extra for your seat assignment.
Oh and I fly SW also, I pay to be in the first boarding group, so I get to chose my seat.
Perhaps you could let us know how you pay to be in the first boarding group. The only way to be 100% assured of being in the A group is to book either a fully refundable fare or a business select fare. They get boarded before everyone else. Even if you buy EBCI, there are no assurances that you will be in the A group. We are hearing more and more that those with EBCI are getting in the B group.
 





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