OUTRAGED WITH EXPEDIA PLAIN TICKETS PURCHASE- what would You do?

[Anonymous]

You must not fly that much so let me help. Did you click the "parent next to child button?" No? Then call the Dept. of Homeland Security and complain.

They will totally set everything right for you. Yeah, they'll move those folks who paid more than you did to sit where they are, but tell them you have a family and it's the law you get to sit in a nice tidy row.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would you do if you bought 4 tickets via expedia for the family (parents and little children) and it turns out that your seats are not together to say least, they actually are all over the plane. As it is not enoght this happened to all flights (total of 4) with one connection each way.

This is outrageous. Called expedia and they said that they don't guarantee seats together??????????????????????????????????????????????????

I am talking parents and little children under 5 for God's sake! How this can be even called human? They asked me to call airlines, airlines told me that
they don't have any seats available at this time and Maybe and it is big maybe they can seat us together once we will be at the airport.

It is devastating. What if we arrive to the airport and then it turns that my little ones are still seated 10 rows away from me in each direction?
and my husband seats another five?

HELP!

Easy-peasy. Just tell the airlines at the gate, nobody will won't to voluntarily sit next to crying children who only want their mommy. So they'll put you guys together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You must not fly that much so let me help. Did you click the "parent next to child button?" No? Then call the Dept. of Homeland Security and complain.

They will totally set everything right for you. Yeah, they'll move those folks who paid more than you did to sit where they are, but tell them you have a family and it's the law you get to sit in a nice tidy row.

oh cute replier.. you really can't see plan B?.. how about that the law would require to inform a person prior to clicking payment that the seats are not together and
they are proceeding from here at their own risk?

It is not like they have to sell tickets together.. but at least they should say so upfront so one could have option to opt out. If one is clicking a button answering how many children under the age of.. whatever is traveling then clearly they do have knowledge that one is traveling with a tinny kid so the site should advise that one won't be seated next to their own child and be prepared for unexpected and unwished for. It could be so avoided by buying ticked with arilines.

And I do appreciate all of you Expedia undercover agents on this site but then again, you are very transparent of who you are and you are everywhere instead of
doing better job you are just trying to shut people up who are trying to get what they paid for.

[Anonymous]

Haha, you are crazy.

[Anonymous]

Okay, why this is not surpising? 280 reviews of Expedia and ONE star!.. all complaints, complaints complaints - and this is all over the internet, if you find one good comments or posts praising the expedia or condemning people who have apparent problems with their servides then it is from the expedia employers and you can easily tell them apart as they are in the same tone as the ones above. Pleeeeease Expedia people, we know who you are.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews8022.html

[Anonymous]

Every single time I travel, I book on Expedia. Before I book the tickets I click the clearly-marked "preview seat availability" feature and find out if seats are available together for me and my kids. I can pre-select the seats I want. If there are no seats together, I don't take the flight. If the "preview seat availability" feature doesn't have the information available, I don't book the flight OR I call the airline and suck it up and pay the telephone reservation fee to have them book seats together for me.

Frankly, I don't understand why you would assume that seats are available together. Given that you are traveling with kids, I think it was your responsibility to confirm this before you bought the ticket. Expedia has a feature that allows you to do it. Your screw-up, not theirs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And I do appreciate all of you Expedia undercover agents on this site but then again, you are very transparent of who you are and you are everywhere instead of doing better job you are just trying to shut people up who are trying to get what they paid for.

You got me, I'm a Expedia blog troll here to "shut you up". C'mon they have better things to do than follow you around on this board. Apparently I don't!

I'm sorry you are inconvenienced, even "devastated," but this problem is not anyone's fault but your own. Doesn't mean you are a bad person, just laughably reactionary. If you have the energy to get this worked up about it now, I'm sure you have the energy to figure a solution at the airport.

[Anonymous]

23:07 here; I ran out of room. So now that I've told you you that you screwed up, which I realize is not so helpful, I will also tell you that it will be slightly stressful but will be ok. I myself have given up my nice aisle seat from CA to DC for a parent in a similar situation. Because I'm a mom. Especially with really small kids, no one will want to sit next to a crying toddler, especially if you mention that they tend to get motion sick. Try to check in online the night before--sometimes they open up premium seats -- you might have to pay a bit extra for those. If no dice, get there early, alert the ground crew, and buy the nice people who switch with you a drink or one of those snack packs. And don't overdramatize--it is not a "nightmare" -- it is a pain in the ass and frustrating, but it will be resolved.

[Anonymous]

happens more often than you might thing:

http://www.blogher.com/my-kids-are-seated-where-flight-oh-no-they-arent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:23:07 here; I ran out of room. So now that I've told you you that you screwed up, which I realize is not so helpful, I will also tell you that it will be slightly stressful but will be ok. I myself have given up my nice aisle seat from CA to DC for a parent in a similar situation. Because I'm a mom. Especially with really small kids, no one will want to sit next to a crying toddler, especially if you mention that they tend to get motion sick. Try to check in online the night before--sometimes they open up premium seats -- you might have to pay a bit extra for those. If no dice, get there early, alert the ground crew, and buy the nice people who switch with you a drink or one of those snack packs. And don't overdramatize--it is not a "nightmare" -- it is a pain in the ass and frustrating, but it will be resolved.

OP here.. Geee.. thanks 23:07.. I feel much better now after reading your post and the link just above my reply.
I am going to buy myself "the easy" button from Staples! and once I use it to solve those problems then I am going to donate it to you for future use.

thanks

[Anonymous]

it always work out.. or does it..

http://consumerist.com/2010/02/us-airways-uninterested-in-seating-families-together.html

[Anonymous]

For those of you who don't fly often, as is obviously the case with OP, you should know that every airline (at least the domestic US ones) and sites like Expedia and Travelocity have a feature which allows you to look at a seat map and select your seat. As long as you check in on time (do it online 24 hours before) you should be fine (unless you miss your flight, the airline overbooks, etc.)

If you call the airline, they will book your seats together but they will also charge you a service fee for making buying your ticket on the phone (think $20-$30 a seat). So basically, if you buy online, you are getting a lower price because you aren't paying for one-on-one customer service. Which means the burden is on you to actually read and understand the information on the website.

[Anonymous]

Yeah it gets better by the mintue, the more one digs the more articles one finds on the Internet how often it happens and how little one can do to actually resolve the problem.
What is most curious is that this IS actually against at least airline policy..

There is a bunch of horror stories from separated parents, how anybody would be surpised that one worries?

http://childwild.com/2010/02/15/us-airways-hates-families-and-kids/




Curiously enough... "This in spite of the fact that airline policy prohibits minors from flying alone if they are under 12" more:

http://consumerist.com/2010/02/us-airways-uninterested-in-seating-families-together.html

[Anonymous]

OP, I actually tried to give you helpful information and also let you know how you could prevent this from happening again, but you are obviously more interested in having a tantrum than actually solving the problem. Bottom line is you are shit out of luck and there is absolutely no legal or other action you can take to guarantee that you will get seated together. Got that? Now, there is lots you can do to maximize your chances that people will help you out to resolve the problem, even though they are not required to do so, but you are clearly hell-bent on maximizing your chances that everyone will want to smack you instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:23:07 here; I ran out of room. So now that I've told you you that you screwed up, which I realize is not so helpful, I will also tell you that it will be slightly stressful but will be ok. I myself have given up my nice aisle seat from CA to DC for a parent in a similar situation. Because I'm a mom. Especially with really small kids, no one will want to sit next to a crying toddler, especially if you mention that they tend to get motion sick. Try to check in online the night before--sometimes they open up premium seats -- you might have to pay a bit extra for those. If no dice, get there early, alert the ground crew, and buy the nice people who switch with you a drink or one of those snack packs. And don't overdramatize--it is not a "nightmare" -- it is a pain in the ass and frustrating, but it will be resolved.

You are a nicer person than I. I travel all the time and I am happy to trade aisle seats, or even an aisle for a window, but I will not take a center seat on a long flight.