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

[GrnMtnMan]

Yay! Another one of these threads!!!!

I've been waiting to post this:

 

[goofy4tink]

But, because it is a "necessity" for a toddler to sit with a caretaker, people (rightly or wrongly) don't feel they should pay extra for a "necessity." In their minds (again, rightly or wrongly) the paying extra is for the privilege of picking specific seats. If they don't care where they sit, then they believe they shouldn't have to pay extra for the privilege of picking specific seats in order to receive the "necessity" of sitting with the toddler.

Many people also under the incorrect impression that airlines are obligated to have young children sit with their caregiver. If you believed this to be the case, would you pay extra to select seats in advance (assuming you don't care where you sit)?

However...flying isn't a right. You make the choice to fly. And if you have young kids, and they need a seat, then of course you're going to want to be next to them. However....how does your decision to fly, with said toddler, yet not pay for specific seating, trump my need to sit in the seat I chose, and in some cases, paid to choose!!! I'm a mom, so I get it. But I've been on too many flights where parents didn't think they needed to pay a bit more for particular seats, figuring others would simply move to help out....and overheard them, on more than one occasion, saying quietly (or so they thought) to their partner...'I told you we didn't need to pay extra...people have to move so we can sit with the kids!'...or some variation of that comment. Kind of sad.
I really wish the airlines did away with the 'no assigned seats at this fare, one will be assigned to you at the gate' mentality. Those of us that paid for particular seats should be able to keep them without feeling guilty!!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

However...flying isn't a right. You make the choice to fly. And if you have young kids, and they need a seat, then of course you're going to want to be next to them. However....how does your decision to fly, with said toddler, yet not pay for specific seating, trump my need to sit in the seat I chose, and in some cases, paid to choose!!! I'm a mom, so I get it. But I've been on too many flights where parents didn't think they needed to pay a bit more for particular seats, figuring others would simply move to help out....and overheard them, on more than one occasion, saying quietly (or so they thought) to their partner...'I told you we didn't need to pay extra...people have to move so we can sit with the kids!'...or some variation of that comment. Kind of sad.
I really wish the airlines did away with the 'no assigned seats at this fare, one will be assigned to you at the gate' mentality. Those of us that paid for particular seats should be able to keep them without feeling guilty!!

i agree in this case but in mine we had legally booked together seats but when we got on plane we were not allowed to sit in those seats because of rules we could not sit there. after FA made the announcement that plane would not leave gate until a row changed seats. it was after departure time when a row finally decided to change. they told FA if this was what had to happen to make take off happen they would because they did not want to miss their change of plane.

 

[ktate82]

However...flying isn't a right. You make the choice to fly. And if you have young kids, and they need a seat, then of course you're going to want to be next to them. However....how does your decision to fly, with said toddler, yet not pay for specific seating, trump my need to sit in the seat I chose, and in some cases, paid to choose!!! I'm a mom, so I get it. But I've been on too many flights where parents didn't think they needed to pay a bit more for particular seats, figuring others would simply move to help out....and overheard them, on more than one occasion, saying quietly (or so they thought) to their partner...'I told you we didn't need to pay extra...people have to move so we can sit with the kids!'...or some variation of that comment. Kind of sad.
I really wish the airlines did away with the 'no assigned seats at this fare, one will be assigned to you at the gate' mentality. Those of us that paid for particular seats should be able to keep them without feeling guilty!!

I would really like to see airlines get rid of the ability to book that fare if you have a child in the party. I don't think it's an issue if adults want to book that, as they are fine to sit by themselves. But why would the airline allow someone to book those fares with a few toddlers or small children in tow knowing the seats aren't assigned till day of?

We have almost always flown Southwest, but when I did fly United or AA, I always paid for seats so we would be together. Once on United, it was just the kids and I (they were 5 & 6), they changed our flights so we got our seats changed. Where we had been in a row of 3, they had us all over the plane from each other. When I called, they were able to move us back into a row of 3, but it makes me wonder if a computer assigns the seats when they move or if a person does and why it's not looking at birthdays when moving people.

I do get annoyed when I see people asking about buying Southwest's EBCI and if it is "worth it" or when people save seats. If you want to sit together, then yes it is worth it. We all pay for it (and we travel either 4 or 6) so we can get an early boarding position and sit together. If you don't care, then don't pay for it. But if someone doesn't pay for it, don't ask me to change the seat I have in order to accommodate them when they chose not to spend the money to upgrade.

 

[goofy4tink]

i agree in this case but in mine we had legally booked together seats but when we got on plane we were not allowed to sit in those seats because of rules we could not sit there. after FA made the announcement that plane would not leave gate until a row changed seats. it was after departure time when a row finally decided to change. they told FA if this was what had to happen to make take off happen they would because they did not want to miss their change of plane.

I hate it when you book a flight, choose seats and then, when you get there, find they've changed equipment on you and you are in seats that you can't sit in!!! Just dopey. So, yes, that's a very valid issue!!! It's happened to me as well.

 

[Ava]

I really hate to sound like this, but not my problem! I paid a higher rate so as to choose my seat. They didn't. They made a choice, and no amount of begging from them, or a FA, is going to get me to change my seat to one I don't want. I've seen too many cases of whiny parents begging to be able to sit with their kids...but they didn't want to spend the money to make that happen. You get what you pay for!

I'm with you on this. It's your responsibility to make sure your family has the accommodations you need. If you have young children and need to sit together on the plane, it's up to you to book a fare class that allows you to choose seats in advance. I also check the available seats before I even book a flight to make sure there are enough seats together left for us to choose. Usually I book far enough in advance that this isn't an issue, but I always check just to be sure.

If I were flying alone and was asked to switch seats to accommodate a family sitting together, and the seat I was being asked to move to was comparable to the one I had, I'd most likely agree to move. But if I'm flying with my family and we booked tickets that allowed us to choose seats together in advance, sorry I'm not going to move.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I'm with you on this. It's your responsibility to make sure your family has the accommodations you need. If you have young children and need to sit together on the plane, it's up to you to book a fare class that allows you to choose seats in advance. I also check the available seats before I even book a flight to make sure there are enough seats together left for us to choose. Usually I book far enough in advance that this isn't an issue, but I always check just to be sure.

If I were flying alone and was asked to switch seats to accommodate a family sitting together, and the seat I was being asked to move to was comparable to the one I had, I'd most likely agree to move. But if I'm flying with my family and we booked tickets that allowed us to choose seats together in advance, sorry I'm not going to move.

if you read my post we did that ahead but when we got to gate was different type of plane and we were not allowed to sit in our assigned seats. so the announcement was made that we would not be leaving gate until a row changed seats with us. we sat until past leave time when a group decided they wanted to make their next flight and complained if tat was what it took to get this flight in the air they would change seats. so yes it can happen when do all the right planning when we had prebooked legal seats together

 

[KrazeeK120]

if you read my post we did that ahead but when we got to gate was different type of plane and we were not allowed to sit in our assigned seats. so the announcement was made that we would not be leaving gate until a row changed seats with us. we sat until past leave time when a group decided they wanted to make their next flight and complained if tat was what it took to get this flight in the air they would change seats. so yes it can happen when do all the right planning when we had prebooked legal seats together

I can't believe they had such a hard time finding someone who would sit in the exit row! If I didn't have my kid with me, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat!

 

[LadyBeBop]

I can't believe they had such a hard time finding someone who would sit in the exit row! If I didn't have my kid with me, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat!

When my eldest daughter worked for the airlines, the entire family flew free if there were available seats.

Once, my youngest daughter (age 18 at the time) flew in the only available seat, an exit row seat. So yes, exit row seats don't fill up.

 

[Bernie23]

I'm with you on this. It's your responsibility to make sure your family has the accommodations you need. If you have young children and need to sit together on the plane, it's up to you to book a fare class that allows you to choose seats in advance. I also check the available seats before I even book a flight to make sure there are enough seats together left for us to choose. Usually I book far enough in advance that this isn't an issue, but I always check just to be sure.

If I were flying alone and was asked to switch seats to accommodate a family sitting together, and the seat I was being asked to move to was comparable to the one I had, I'd most likely agree to move. But if I'm flying with my family and we booked tickets that allowed us to choose seats together in advance, sorry I'm not going to move.

Yeah, except EBCI doesn't guarantee that you will all be sitting together. It increases your chances, but if everyone on the flight buys it, then the argument about how it's your "responsibility" is nullified. Your position with EBCI is dependent on other people not buying it.

 

[Ava]

if you read my post we did that ahead but when we got to gate was different type of plane and we were not allowed to sit in our assigned seats. so the announcement was made that we would not be leaving gate until a row changed seats with us. we sat until past leave time when a group decided they wanted to make their next flight and complained if tat was what it took to get this flight in the air they would change seats. so yes it can happen when do all the right planning when we had prebooked legal seats together

That's an extenuating circumstance, and I definitely wouldn't fault a family who booked seats together but then had to be moved due to a change in equipment.

Yeah, except EBCI doesn't guarantee that you will all be sitting together. It increases your chances, but if everyone on the flight buys it, then the argument about how it's your "responsibility" is nullified. Your position with EBCI is dependent on other people not buying it.

I'm not sure what EBCI is; is that the boarding groups for Southwest? I've never flown Southwest so I don't have experience with their boarding process. Do they not allow families with young children to board early? We've flown Delta and Jet Blue as a family and with both airlines we've had the option of doing early boarding.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

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. 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!

 

[FCDub]

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. 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!

This is really great parenting. Truly.

You know some people DO have specific reasons for choosing certain seats, right? Not everyone is trying to be a jerk, and behaving literally like a child in response to you not getting your way is absurd.

 

[sam_gordon]

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!

I notice you don't suggest YOUR seatmate swapping with your child. It must be the person next to your child who swaps. I would agree if the child is in the middle (for example), a stranger in the aisle and you're directly behind them in the aisle, there's no sense in not switching. If you're not directly behind them, you can't kick the seat or "bounce my lap laptray", or prevent reclining (which I think CAN get you kicked off a plane). You have no idea why that person wants to sit in that seat. Maybe they paid for it. Maybe they have a tight connection and don't want to move 20 rows back.

 

[FCDub]

I notice you don't suggest YOUR seatmate swapping with your child. It must be the person next to your child who swaps. I would agree if the child is in the middle (for example), a stranger in the aisle and you're directly behind them in the aisle, there's no sense in not switching. If you're not directly behind them, you can't kick the seat or "bounce my lap laptray", or prevent reclining (which I think CAN get you kicked off a plane). You have no idea why that person wants to sit in that seat. Maybe they paid for it. Maybe they have a tight connection and don't want to move 20 rows back.

Regardless, be prepared to have the poster's daughter literally throw things at you.

Truly, truly absurd.

 

[megveg]

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....

Basic courtesy is NOT being an obnoxious brat on a flight full of people.....
All of this is absolutely ridiculous. You and your child don't get to be jerks just because the flight doesn't revolve around you and your child. The fact you have taught your child its acceptable to be a nuisance to get your way is horrifying. Grow up.

 

[FCDub]

For the record, as long as the person asking is pleasant (and NOT demanding) and I don't have a tight connection to make, I will generally switch seats so people can sit together. We're all going to get there at the same time.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I can't believe they had such a hard time finding someone who would sit in the exit row! If I didn't have my kid with me, I'd be all over that in a heartbeat!

there were a few that would change but needed the row not single seats with preschooler and a lapbaby

 

[megveg]

For the record, as long as the person asking is pleasant (and NOT demanding) and I don't have a tight connection to make, I will generally switch seats so people can sit together. We're all going to get there at the same time.

But Im assuming if you move, youre not going to be kicking the seat or flapping trays lol

 

[goofy4tink]

That's an extenuating circumstance, and I definitely wouldn't fault a family who booked seats together but then had to be moved due to a change in equipment.


I'm not sure what EBCI is; is that the boarding groups for Southwest? I've never flown Southwest so I don't have experience with their boarding process. Do they not allow families with young children to board early? We've flown Delta and Jet Blue as a family and with both airlines we've had the option of doing early boarding.

EBCI is early bird check in. You pay an addtl $15, pp, each way. Then, SW will automatically check you in at the 36 hr mark, vs you checking yourself in at the 24 hr mark. SW boarding is by section, A, B, and C. With numbers within those sections. Basically, those who have bought EBCI, and get checked in 36 hrs prior to departure, get lower numbers, in the A and B groups. Those that are checking in at the 24 hr mark, get what's left over..usually high Bs and then Cs. The further back in the boarding group you go, the fewer the seats are that are available to choose from. 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.
But, in all reality, SW has a wonderful boarding process. I find it to be very efficient. And don't get me started on JB's allowing families to board early. I'm pretty sure JB didn't mean families with 5 kids, and grandparents..especially when the youngest child in the family is 12!!! Yes, I've seen it happen on almost every single JB flight I take. Those with babies? Yes, I get that.

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. 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!

Here, on the Transportation Board, we have little patience with that type behaviour! Educate your 6 y/o child that something could possibly happen and you might not be right next to them. I find it hard to believe that if there was an equipment change, and you were flying with young children, and found yourselves in seats you couldn't sit in, such as exit row seats, there would be other passengers that would happily change seats. But...when booking flights, and choosing seats, it's always a good idea to choose seats that, if the equipment changed for some reason, aren't going to be impacted by said change. Usually rows toward the back of the plane won't change.
But in all seriousness, saying that you would adopt that kind of behaviour isn't going to make you very popular. A lot of us here fly a lot. I've flown and had flights canceled and had to be put on a flight that was leaving within 10 mins of airport arrival! I explained to my daughter that there was a very good chance we weren't sitting together! As luck would have it, there were two seats together. But, she would have known how to behave if that hadn't been the case. Threatening to bang the back of someones seat, because they didn't change with you? Wonderfully adult behaviour. You child throwing things? Seriously? That's not what I consider to be courteous behaviour. As already mentioned, the person you are threatening, and that's exactly what you're doing, may have very valid reasons for not moving. For you to believe that your needs are more important than their reasons is out of line.
Children under 6 fly by themselves all the time. My dd has been flying since she was 3. Would she have been happy to be away from me? Probably not. And you know what? Most people will try to make it possible for a parent to sit with their child. I almost always change seats...but not if I want the window and they want me in a middle seat. Or, if I'm sitting three rows from the front and they want me to move behind the wing. Or, if the parent comes across as very entitled to my seat. I have offered to move, before being asked. So, yeah, I get it. But, if I get an attitude from a parent, nope, not budging.

Oh, and it just doesn't happen all that often!!!