Selecting Seats on Flight- worth the money?

[marcyinPA]

Vickie46 and it'll - just so you know, Southwest takes unaccompanied minors starting at age five. Since they let kids this young fly with their parents not even being on the plane, there's no reasonable argument against allowing young children to fly separated from their parents by just a few rows.

For parents concerned.about emergencies, well, apparently kids are better at following instructions - because of fire drills - than adults.

The difference is that parents who put their child on a plane unaccompanied are making that choice up front. They've probably prepped their child, and the child maybe already has previous experience traveling alone, and the child is hopefully ready (maturity wise) to travel alone.

For families traveling together, they probably had no intention whatsoever of their child sitting alone on the aircraft. The child is probably not prepared to do so. And the child may not be emotionally ready to be separated from their parent, even by a few rows. It may even be their first time on an airplane, which can be scary for some children.

I would strongly encourage the OP to buy the seats!!

 

[tjmw2727]

We also saw a little girl get separated from her mother on Southwest this summer. She was 5- I know because her mother was throwing a fit that she did not want to be separated from her 5 year old. The mother also had a 3 year old. There was room for the 2 of them together, but not the other little girl. We couldn't move to help because we had our 4 year old. There were lots of kids on that plane. I felt sorry for the little girl because she looked really scared at first. Luckily the person next to her was really nice and was talking to her.

This family could have boarded with famiy boarding since they had a 3yo. If they boarded between A and B with the families there is no way they couldn't have found seats together.

Actually, it is an example of what happens when you don't research your options on various airlines like family boarding or pre-selecting seats depending on the carrier.

Oh and I certanly didn't choose to have my 5yo 5 rows ahead but based on the options we had and the situation we were in we made the decision to fly separate on that flight.

 

[ktlm]

This family could have boarded with famiy boarding since they had a 3yo. If they boarded between A and B with the families there is no way they couldn't have found seats together.

Actually, it is an example of what happens when you don't research your options on various airlines like family boarding or pre-selecting seats depending on the carrier.

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Actually, they did board with the family boarding which was why the Mom was so upset. Even doing the family boarding they could not get seats together. It was not the first leg of that plane's flight, and there were ALOT of people already on the plane. We paid the extra money and were pretty early in the A group and we still had to go pretty far back on the plane to find seats together.

 

[ccgirl]

Actually, they did board with the family boarding which was why the Mom was so upset. Even doing the family boarding they could not get seats together. It was not the first leg of that plane's flight, and there were ALOT of people already on the plane. We paid the extra money and were pretty early in the A group and we still had to go pretty far back on the plane to find seats together.

Another example of when EBCI would not guarantee good seats. That, along with the price, is the reason I decided to switch carriers. I got sick of wondering if we could all sit together and what boarding position we would get etc. I also only fly non stop for this reason. Parents that do not purchase seats ahead of time are making a conscious decision that they are willing to chance not sitting together IMHO. BIte the bullet with the $$ or don't complain.

 

[azdizzymom]

OP please pay for the seats. Cut costs elsewhere. You can't be guaranteed seats together. IF you ask someone to move are you going to pay them for the cost of the seat they chose and paid for prior to the flight if it comes to that?

I would certainly not expect anyone to move for me and I would certainly not move if asked...sorry we pay for our seats (just budget it in) and our kids are more than able to sit alone at 13 and 15. This summer I had us aisles across in 2 rows and my 15 year old said he wanted to sit 3 and 1 across! Think of the "what if" turbulence how would your child react if you were separated, what if there were storms and your child is afraid and you couldn't sit together. It appears some airlines try to ask people to move and some don't, sometimes people will move and sometimes they won't.

I can't believe the attitude of some of the people here who think it is no biggie not to pay and then it is o.k. to ask and expect people to move for them! What make it right for you to think it is o.k. to ask someone traveling with their family for them to be separated, what if the person is alone and chose that seat for a reason. I would not take kindly to the comment 'enjoy babysitting' my child if I didn't move. We are all trying to do things for cheap in these economic times, flights are full, airlines are charging for everything. No one is so special that they shouldn't have to pay for a seat and then expect and demand someone move for them. Flights are full...at times overbooked so the days of empty seats are pretty much gone. We all want to sit with our family...if it is that important pay or don't complain when people don't move and flight attendants don't help when you talk to them rudely demanding they move people for you! This is why I won't do Southwest .... I will pay for assigned seats. IF I chose to fly SW and saw the newspapers and books saving seats....I would kindly move them.

This isn't a rant for OP....just to all those who expect people to move for them cause they can spend money on the goodies in the park, princess outfits for girls, go to the boutique and get hair done, etc etc but then won't spend the extra $$ to sit together on the plane.



Just my opinion on it...OP just pay and have peace of mind. People might be able to say our experience was this fine not paying....BUT EACH FLIGHT, EACH AIRLINE, EACH DAY IS DIFFERENT! Who know what could happen to you...are you feeling lucky!!

 

[tjmw2727]

Actually, they did board with the family boarding which was why the Mom was so upset. Even doing the family boarding they could not get seats together. It was not the first leg of that plane's flight, and there were ALOT of people already on the plane. We paid the extra money and were pretty early in the A group and we still had to go pretty far back on the plane to find seats together.

I thought about that right after I posted, in that case rather than relying on family boarding the parents should have paid the extra money for the EBCI.

Yet if I were to suggest that esp on the family or transportation board I would be flamed

I like Southwest because I have control of when I board and where I sit as much and sometimes more than on the legacy carriers. I often use EBCI and before that was online at T24 minus 5 minutes. I can say that I have never ever been separated from my kids on SWA whereas I have been on AA, Delta and Jet Blue.

I always research to see if my flight is a continuation of another flight and if possible avoid that. When flying out of PHI its easier than when I have to fly out of Baltimore. You bet I will be purchasing EBCI on a continuing flight!

 

[crashbb]

I thought about that right after I posted, in that case rather than relying on family boarding the parents should have paid the extra money for the EBCI.

Yet if I were to suggest that esp on the family or transportation board I would be flamed

I like Southwest because I have control of when I board and where I sit as much and sometimes more than on the legacy carriers. I often use EBCI and before that was online at T24 minus 5 minutes. I can say that I have never ever been separated from my kids on SWA whereas I have been on AA, Delta and Jet Blue.

I always research to see if my flight is a continuation of another flight and if possible avoid that. When flying out of PHI its easier than when I have to fly out of Baltimore. You bet I will be purchasing EBCI on a continuing flight!

I don't know about the family board, but you'd find a lot of support for paying for EBCI on the transportation board.

 

[tjmw2727]

I don't know about the family board, but you'd find a lot of support for paying for EBCI on the transportation board.

Yeah your probably right, definately more support on transportation.

Unfortunately, I am very reluctant to participate on an airline travel thread on the family boards. Just the mention of the possibility of an airline not seating young school age kids with a parent causes "frenzy" If it were me, I would rather be aware of the worst case senario and what I can do to prepare for it or prevent it.

Since I am a frequent flier and have been traveling with my kids since they were born, often solo - I could probably help some folks.

 

[crisi]

The difference is that parents who put their child on a plane unaccompanied are making that choice up front. They've probably prepped their child, and the child maybe already has previous experience traveling alone, and the child is hopefully ready (maturity wise) to travel alone.

For families traveling together, they probably had no intention whatsoever of their child sitting alone on the aircraft. The child is probably not prepared to do so. And the child may not be emotionally ready to be separated from their parent, even by a few rows. It may even be their first time on an airplane, which can be scary for some children.

I would strongly encourage the OP to buy the seats!!

It probably isn't a bad idea to prepare kids to get separated from their parents from a fairly young age. Not just on planes, but they should have some idea of what happens if they get "lost" in a grocery store or at WalMart. It happens all the time, even to very observant parents, the kid darts under a clothes rack and suddenly they are gone.

When our kids were little, we introduced them to "Mickey's Friends" (the CMs) in case they got lost and told them if they couldn't find Mom or dad, to find one of Mickey's friends.

Its a little different if they get separated on a plane, but even with purchased seats, things happen. We ended up taking different flights than we'd booked due to a connecting rain delay last summer that had us in seats we didn't plan to be in - things happen and its possible that even with all the planning your child will end up not next to you. I'm not sure I'd burden a three year old with that sort of preparation, but I would by the time they were eight or so - don't make a big deal out of it, just present it as a possibility and the opportunity to be "very grown up" - and you'll see them when you are off the plane!

 

[tjmw2727]

It probably isn't a bad idea to prepare kids to get separated from their parents from a fairly young age. Not just on planes, but they should have some idea of what happens if they get "lost" in a grocery store or at WalMart. It happens all the time, even to very observant parents, the kid darts under a clothes rack and suddenly they are gone.

When our kids were little, we introduced them to "Mickey's Friends" (the CMs) in case they got lost and told them if they couldn't find Mom or dad, to find one of Mickey's friends.

Its a little different if they get separated on a plane, but even with purchased seats, things happen. We ended up taking different flights than we'd booked due to a connecting rain delay last summer that had us in seats we didn't plan to be in - things happen and its possible that even with all the planning your child will end up not next to you. I'm not sure I'd burden a three year old with that sort of preparation, but I would by the time they were eight or so - don't make a big deal out of it, just present it as a possibility and the opportunity to be "very grown up" - and you'll see them when you are off the plane!

Great point! I would take it one step further, even when they are younger make sure you have a backpack for each person even though they may not be carrying it. This way if you get separated ,2/2 lets say, then the parent with little jonny has his stuff and the parent with janey has her stuff. Now your not handing stuff back and forth down the asile 'cause mom has the backpack with all the fun stuff and the food!

 

[bettymae1121]

Actually there have been studies done that show kids do better in emergencies than adults because they actually follow the directions and listen to the FA's. And it really isn't any different than sending them alone on the school bus or to school.

True, but my point wasn't so much how the kids will handle an emergency, but how the parents would! I know I'd be a basket case, but someone else knows they'd be okay if something bad happened on a flight and their kids wasn't near them. If you think you're the type that would panic, be upset, etc. (or you think your kid would) that's something to consider when deciding to purchase seat assignments. As I said, people just need to think through their choice, and this was one factor I thought I'd bring up because it's not something people always consider.