United, online check-in NOT sitting together!

[davidmolliesmum]

...so have just gone online to check in for our flight with UNITED tomorrow morning and me, DH, DD7 and DS9 are all sitting in totally different parts of the plane, surely i am able to sit with my children!!!?!?!?!

theres an option to change seats with only 1 free seat in economy!

i feel sick.....

 

[2Tiggies]

Phone them.

Unlike European Airlines, many US airlines do not have the same priority of seating children with the adult they are booked with. My experience with their call centers however have all been very pleasant and it's worth a call. They also may not have released all their seats into the system for selection yet so this could be why you are seeing no availability to switch.

If all else fails, ask passengers on the flight if they will switch seats. Trust me, on a longhaul flight (even a shorthaul) being given the option of keeping my allocated seat and staying next to someone else's very unhappy child or moving ...... well it's a no brainer for me, and that's even before you add a bit of humanity and compassion into the equation

Did United not give you the option to select when you booked? I did a quote with them a few weeks ago and it gave me the option to choose a seat before even paying. When we flew with them from EDI I changed our seats several times after booking so I'm wondering if you had selected them and they changed them? Or did you not try select until now?

 

[flortlebap]

Don't panic!

Check in early and ask to switch seats. There's no way children that age can be separated from you. It's just not happening.

 

[foxxxy83]

I thought children had to sit with parents on aeroplanes and that people were only not guaranteed seats together if they were a group of adults travelling together. Although, having said that, Thomson define sitting together as sitting next to each other or one behind the other! This apparently was why they created the Select Your Seat service

 

[2Tiggies]

I thought children had to sit with parents on aeroplanes and that people were only not guaranteed seats together if they were a group of adults travelling together. Although, having said that, Thomson define sitting together as sitting next to each other or one behind the other! This apparently was why they created the Select Your Seat service

There is no obligation for an airline to put children with parents. For obvious reasons it is in their best interests (and those of the other passengers too) to do their utmost to make this possible. Older children (12 and over) fly on an adult ticket and if they have to separate kids, they are more likely to go with the older ones. It's very uncommon and usually because the system did it not a person. Those seats are not likely all full. They don't release 100% of available seats into the system for OLCI so there will be seats showing as occupied that are in fact not. I do think this is very easily resolved at check in.

Just not very nice to sit up worrying all night the night before you fly. I do wish the OP had her answer at least before bed time. In fact, their phone lines may still be open ..... But she's not online

 

[jahber]

I flew united a few weeks ago. I had purchased my tickets and selected seats at that time, but when I did online check-in, 2 of our seats had been moved and separated from each other by several rows. We have 2 kids, so NOT ok. I moved them back together and assumed that would be the end of it. We get to that leg of the trip and our boarding passes didn't work. Turns out they moved us AGAIN. Why? Who knows.
So I got none of the seats I wanted (and which I had specifically selected, because sitting together is essential for us). I was exhausted by that point in the journey and I just told the gate attendant that they better at least be 2 and 2. Fortunately, they were two groups of 2 seats. But it was supremely annoying and I worried about going through all that again on the return trip (that trip went well, at least!). Is this the norm on United?

 

[davidmolliesmum]

...The only contact number i have is a US one ...
if it were 2 & 2 i'd be happy but no way me nor my kids will fly without being beside me!! early check-in i think .... and not much sleep tonight!!

 

[davidmolliesmum]

...oh no i have just come accross this page... https://www.facebook.com/UnitedAirlinesLetChildrenSitWithTheirParents

looks as though they may actually expect us to sit seperate to our families...... oh god i really dont want this, my daughter will be hysterical!!!!!

 

[wayneg]

Unfortunately it can happen with any airline, either ring or get to the airport early.
From their website:

United Kingdom

Reservations
0845-607-6760
0845-607-0777 (United BusinessFirst®)

Hours
8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., daily

MileagePlus Service Center
0207-365-1859

Hours
Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

 

[2Tiggies]

...oh no i have just come accross this page... https://www.facebook.com/UnitedAirlinesLetChildrenSitWithTheirParents

looks as though they may actually expect us to sit seperate to our families...... oh god i really dont want this, my daughter will be hysterical!!!!!

There is probably nothing anyone can say to make you feel better but, this may offer you some comfort. Forget about the airline for a moment. There are other people on the flight.

Nobody wants to sit with someone else's screaming kid. I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Can you not ring United in the USA? They will be open now. There is no reason they can't track your booking with your reference.

 

[davidmolliesmum]

...actually sitting in floods of tears panicking about this now....

 

[irenep]

...actually sitting in floods of tears panicking about this now....

Aw, try not to worry too much. If you can't get hold of anyone tonight either ring first thing or get to the airport as early as possible and speak to them there at check in. I really doubt you will all be split up once you get on board.

 

[2Tiggies]

So sorry you have to feel this way when you should be looking forward to fly. What time is your flight?

P.S. Look - all your Scottish friends who have come to support you on this thread

 

[tinkerpea]

Please don't worry yourself too much, if you get to check in early they will re-arrange your seating for you.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

Please let us know how you get on. I think its barbaric to expect a 7&9 year old to sit alone on a plane, airline policies or not.Hopefully common sense will prevail

 

[T16GEM]

I do hope that you have got this problem sorted.

Following reading your post I thought I would log on and check my seat assignments for next month, they have also split my family up for the Newark - Orlando leg - we have been split into a two and then two singles - my DD is 7 and my DS is 6 and they were seated alone!!!!

I have managed to change to the final two seats that are together - but I will be very nervously checking each day to make sure they haven't moved us again - what's the point of choosing your seats when you book if they are just going to swap them around anyway??

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

I do hope that you have got this problem sorted.

Following reading your post I thought I would log on and check my seat assignments for next month, they have also split my family up for the Newark - Orlando leg - we have been split into a two and then two singles - my DD is 7 and my DS is 6 and they were seated alone!!!!

I have managed to change to the final two seats that are together - but I will be very nervously checking each day to make sure they haven't moved us again - what's the point of choosing your seats when you book if they are just going to swap them around anyway??

I cant believe airlines would be so incompetent.Regardless of the final outcome,what poor customer service by putting parents through the obvious trauma of the possibility of having their child sitting next to a stranger
And what if some of these situations weren't resolved and (god forbid) an emergency situation occurred,would a complete stranger be expected to look after someone else's child

BTW, are you using the same airline as the OP?

 

[flortlebap]

OP - Did you manage to sort this out at the airport?

 

[foxxxy83]

I'm still REALLY shocked by this... is it just United Airlines that do this?? I've NEVER heard of it happening before! (Not that I don't believe you!) It's just SO shocking and, as one PP said "barbaric" that such young children should be expected to sit away from their parents on a flight (which can often be quite a scary experience for adults never mind children!) If me and my son got split up, the person he got sat next to would have real fun calming him down with his Autism when it came to take off! Lol! I have to hold him and distract him with absolutely anything I can think of or he flaps wildly and gets quite distressed. Ah well, fingers crossed and all that... although, I am slightly anxious now!

 

[2Tiggies]

I'm still REALLY shocked by this... is it just United Airlines that do this?? I've NEVER heard of it happening before! (Not that I don't believe you!) It's just SO shocking and, as one PP said "barbaric" that such young children should be expected to sit away from their parents on a flight (which can often be quite a scary experience for adults never mind children!) If me and my son got split up, the person he got sat next to would have real fun calming him down with his Autism when it came to take off! Lol! I have to hold him and distract him with absolutely anything I can think of or he flaps wildly and gets quite distressed. Ah well, fingers crossed and all that... although, I am slightly anxious now!

It's not uncommon. All airlines, to my knowledge, do not guarantee that you won't be split up. Generally they do endeavour to keep families together to the best of their ability, prioritising those with young children. BA has a policy whereby they allocate seats for families with children before online check in opens so you can see where you are sitting a week ahead.

It's not something you need to worry about because it's not the norm, but it is something you need to be aware of. Most of the time this is easily resolved either with a phone call or at check in. It is more common with US carriers