When flying can they make you switch your seats even though you pre-select?

Mmmmm we pay the extra to be seated together... but if equipment changed and the flight crew had to ask someone to switch with me, and the other passenger refused to allow me to sit by my child, it would be a very, very unpleasant flight for them. I'd be hovering all over them whenever the seatbelt light was off, I'd be handing lots of messy snacks to her, I'd be kicking the seat or playing "bounce my laptray", or not letting them recline, or any number of fun things that bug the crap out of people on planes. I'm awesome at Being Considerate To Others - when Others are Considerate to Me. Please please please follow some basic courtesy!

My child knows the secret Look from Mommy that means, "This random stranger is being a jerk on purpose, by all means, this is your Magical Moment to be the hugest brat in all existence." ;) She has one of those eardrum piercing screams and she has great aim when she throws things. Fair warning y'all....

I am sure there are people who would want us thrown off the plane once that started... but who can deny that it's really stupid to force young children under 6 into a situation where they are trapped and can SEE and HEAR their parent/s but not able to be taken care of? That's a level of fright and torture for some kids that not the Tower of Terror nor the former Alien Encounter ride even comes close to...

really, we're all travelling to Disney with our families on this plane! who is that heartless, and who really WANTS to spend a flight trying to block out the frantic screaming of "Mommy! Where are you!? MOMMY I AM SCAAAAAAARED! MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYY!" You wanna sit with your young children, I wanna sit with my young child, we can shuffle the older kids and the spouses around wherever in this stupid plane. :P Use some rational thinking people, it's a small container thousands of feet above the ground, hurtling a hundred or so of us to Orlando, it cannot be the Worst Thing Eva to sit in a different seat on a 3-4 hour flight!

How about you offer to take the seats at the back of the plane, next to the lavatory, so you and your child (the one that you think is entitled to far more than anyone else and that you encourage to be obnoxious (brat in your words) when you don't get your way) can sit together?

Edited to replace the reference to snowflake due to the discussion in another thread.
 
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So, if you paid for EBCI and you got slots A18, 19, 20, and 21, you are pretty close to the start of the boarding process and have many seats to choose from. Families flying with very young kids, under 4 I believe, get to board between the A and the B group. It makes those that are hesitant to pay for EBCI, because it adds to their cost, behind the eight ball when it comes to getting seated together.

Just for the record, Southwest family boarding is for children 6 and under.

If you do family boarding, you will certainly be able to sit an adult with each child (and, unless a very large group, all together).

So, in effect (though not outright policy), Southwest does not want children 6 and under separated from caregiver.
 
Mmmmm we pay the extra to be seated together... but if equipment changed and the flight crew had to ask someone to switch with me, and the other passenger refused to allow me to sit by my child, it would be a very, very unpleasant flight for them. I'd be hovering all over them whenever the seatbelt light was off, I'd be handing lots of messy snacks to her, I'd be kicking the seat or playing "bounce my laptray", or not letting them recline, or any number of fun things that bug the crap out of people on planes. I'm awesome at Being Considerate To Others - when Others are Considerate to Me. Please please please follow some basic courtesy!

My child knows the secret Look from Mommy that means, "This random stranger is being a jerk on purpose, by all means, this is your Magical Moment to be the hugest brat in all existence." ;) She has one of those eardrum piercing screams and she has great aim when she throws things. Fair warning y'all....

I am sure there are people who would want us thrown off the plane once that started... but who can deny that it's really stupid to force young children under 6 into a situation where they are trapped and can SEE and HEAR their parent/s but not able to be taken care of? That's a level of fright and torture for some kids that not the Tower of Terror nor the former Alien Encounter ride even comes close to...

really, we're all travelling to Disney with our families on this plane! who is that heartless, and who really WANTS to spend a flight trying to block out the frantic screaming of "Mommy! Where are you!? MOMMY I AM SCAAAAAAARED! MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYY!" You wanna sit with your young children, I wanna sit with my young child, we can shuffle the older kids and the spouses around wherever in this stupid plane. :P Use some rational thinking people, it's a small container thousands of feet above the ground, hurtling a hundred or so of us to Orlando, it cannot be the Worst Thing Eva to sit in a different seat on a 3-4 hour flight!
I really can't honestly tell if you're exaggerating how you are but my oh my. You probably should take a look at how you acting and I'm being genuine about this. This is moreso because no one is going to give you the courtesy when you act like that. Truly it doesn't appear flying is for you..I would highly suggest driving next time so you can do just about anything you want.

You know the saying 'practice what you preach'.....

ETA: I should mentioned I didn't quote your other response but my statement should be applied to other response you have made on this thread.
 
I have taught her to observe what's going on and behave like the Adults. If she sees that the Adult is NOT being considerate, she always asks me why. "Why don't they move for the Grandma? Why don't they open the door for the person in the wheelchair? Why is nobody helping that homeless man on the street? Why is that person at the checkout arguing with the cashier instead of paying and letting the line move forward?"

It's hard to teach your kids how to behave when they see that Adults Get To Do What They Want. I don't let her misbehave on purpose lightly... it really HAS to be because another Adult decided they were going to be inconsiderate. here are some great examples if y'all think I'm unreasonable:
  • Want to chat with the bank teller for ten minutes in a queue 5 people long? Oh yeah I will let her scream and wiggle - because it's a bank, not a social opportunity. Deposit or withdrawal and MOVE ON.
  • Don't hold up the grocery store line and force the cashier to call a manager because you feel like you weren't discounted fifteen cents on your purchase. And now you want the tax refunded too! GO TO CUSTOMER SERVICE.
  • Don't stand in front of a door, blocking it, while texting on your cell phone and pretending you don't see that I have my arms full. Both of us will chime loudly, "Thanks for opening the door for us!" YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY PERSON HERE.
  • Don't hold places for people in line, seating, etc. We stood there and waited patiently - if a small child with special needs can wait, you do NOT need to cut in line or make someone save a place for you. WAIT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. And if you are holders of a DAS pass, you actually are waiting too, just more or less in the FP+ line. Don't try to run my kid over with your ECV because somehow you're more important than all others who made their FP+, just like you.

And this re-seating thing on a plane HAS happened before to my family. That's WHY we always pay the extra fees to sit together if possible!

When it did happen, my DH moved elsewhere without skipping a beat. I looked at the man who didn't want to move, and was like, "You really want to sit next to a sobbing and wailing 6 month old baby? You breastfeeding the kid?" It took him all of about 2 minutes to realize that a woman practically dripping breastmilk on his arm (YAY engorgement!) was probably the only one he wanted sitting next to this child. So he moved, my child settled down and fell asleep. If he hadn't moved? I have severe plane anxiety when I'm NOT hopped up on Mommy Hormones, I can't imagine that flight would have been anything but sheer torment for him...

When my child doesn't have verbal communication issues, I'll start teaching her more about behaving quietly without Mommy and Daddy breathing over her. But since she DOES have these issues, and her teachers all agree that we have to hold off on addressing some of these Big Kid Things that are more independent, she knows that the Absolute Rule of No Breaking is that "Mommy and/or Daddy MUST be near you." I don't announce her diagnosis from the rooftops, but yes, she is a special needs child. So this is a conversation that is tinged with DISabilities! for my personal circumstances. ;)


...wait? You threatened to spray a man with breast milk if he didn't cater to your whims?
 


Just for the record, Southwest family boarding is for children 6 and under.

If you do family boarding, you will certainly be able to sit an adult with each child (and, unless a very large group, all together).

So, in effect (though not outright policy), Southwest does not want children 6 and under separated from caregiver.
Duh!!! I knew that! I tend to lose track of what the age SW is using! Thanks for catching it! I don't think SW cares, either way. They realize that most airlines allow families with young kids to board together, earlier in the boarding process. But with passengers buying ebci, it became obvious that those who had paid extra, presumably for better boarding position, were hugely annoyed that families, who had paid nothing extra, were boarding before those who had paid extra. So, family boarding was put in between the A and B groups. At least, that's how I remember it happening.

I have been on SW flights where the FA asked for volunteers to change seats so that a mother and her young child could be seated together. After two announcements were made, with no volunteers, the FA announced that the plane was not leaving the gate until that mother and child were seated together. So yep, they will hold that plane.
 
My child knows the secret Look from Mommy that means, "This random stranger is being a jerk on purpose, by all means, this is your Magical Moment to be the hugest brat in all existence." ;) She has one of those eardrum piercing screams and she has great aim when she throws things. Fair warning y'all....

It's hard to teach your kids how to behave when they see that Adults Get To Do What They Want. I don't let her misbehave on purpose lightly...

In no particular order...
  • I was hoping at first that this was a joke.
  • Yes, it IS hard sometimes to teach your kids how to behave when others don't. Still... give it a shot.
  • The more I think about it, the more I think maybe I HAVE come across you (or perhaps a protégé of yours?) on a flight... ...
Just :sad2:
 


It is said that he refused to give up his assigned seat so that some Crew member could fly home
 
Did you see the video of the man being dragged down the aisle & off the plane ?
I was just thinking about this thread after seeing that! YIKES!

Would have been much cheaper to pay $10K per seat relinquished than what they'll pay in lost sales or a lawsuit!! Geez, United!
 
It is said that he refused to give up his assigned seat so that some Crew member could fly home

My son flew to Madison for a job interview the end of last week. They couldn't staff his return flight so he was 5 hours delayed and missed his connecting flight.

I wish they had worked as hard to get flight staff there for his flight.
 
I think this thread is pretty much done... ;)
True true :rotfl2:

I think I was more meaning so this thread didn't become a rabbit hole for the topic of the guy being dragged off the plane since we already had a thread exclusively for that topic (yes I know multiple threads happen on the same topic routinely but this current thread stopped 3 weeks ago and the thread I linked was just started this morning). Just providing information really :-)
 
True true :rotfl2:

I think I was more meaning so this thread didn't become a rabbit hole for the topic of the guy being dragged off the plane since we already had a thread exclusively for that topic (yes I know multiple threads happen on the same topic routinely but this current thread stopped 3 weeks ago and the thread I linked was just started this morning). Just providing information really :-)
:thumbsup2 :)
 
Mmmmm we pay the extra to be seated together... but if equipment changed and the flight crew had to ask someone to switch with me, and the other passenger refused to allow me to sit by my child, it would be a very, very unpleasant flight for them. I'd be hovering all over them whenever the seatbelt light was off, I'd be handing lots of messy snacks to her, I'd be kicking the seat or playing "bounce my laptray", or not letting them recline, or any number of fun things that bug the crap out of people on planes. I'm awesome at Being Considerate To Others - when Others are Considerate to Me. Please please please follow some basic courtesy!

My child knows the secret Look from Mommy that means, "This random stranger is being a jerk on purpose, by all means, this is your Magical Moment to be the hugest brat in all existence." ;) She has one of those eardrum piercing screams and she has great aim when she throws things. Fair warning y'all....

I am sure there are people who would want us thrown off the plane once that started... but who can deny that it's really stupid to force young children under 6 into a situation where they are trapped and can SEE and HEAR their parent/s but not able to be taken care of? That's a level of fright and torture for some kids that not the Tower of Terror nor the former Alien Encounter ride even comes close to...

really, we're all travelling to Disney with our families on this plane! who is that heartless, and who really WANTS to spend a flight trying to block out the frantic screaming of "Mommy! Where are you!? MOMMY I AM SCAAAAAAARED! MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYY!" You wanna sit with your young children, I wanna sit with my young child, we can shuffle the older kids and the spouses around wherever in this stupid plane. :P Use some rational thinking people, it's a small container thousands of feet above the ground, hurtling a hundred or so of us to Orlando, it cannot be the Worst Thing Eva to sit in a different seat on a 3-4 hour flight!

As others have said, WOW.

It is pretty incredible that a parent would actually teach their child to be a brat.

Of course, I were next to achild like that, I would just go with it. You might hear me say, "What a brat." Or, "Wow, you must have really awful parents." Or even, "Time to record this and post it, so everyone can see what a jerk you are." Or even, "SHUT UP. Shut up, shut up, shut up." And I would repeat as needed. It might not make my trip any better, but I bet said child might learn a few new words.
 
I'm a wheels up to wheels down sleeper on planes. I love it.

My younger son is the same way. As soon as we back away from the gate, he is out cold. Then sleeps all the way through till we start descending. Doesn't matter the time of day or the distance. I snag him a snack and a beverage when they come around, and he wakes up to food, cold drink, and a vacation about to start. It's why I have always chosen to sit by him ;) Nice, quiet flight for mom!
 

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