Families booking middle seats and then expecting others to switch with them

[Anonymous]

We're headed to London in September with our three year old and four year old. I've got assigned seats altogether and keep checking to make sure they don't change. I've also mentioned to the kids that we'll all be on the same plane, but I'm not sure if we'll sit together. When I bought the tx, the agent on the phone told me the seats weren't guaranteed until we were actually sitting in them! My take from this thread is that I'll keep checking to make sure the planes and our seats don't change, if they do change, try to get them back together, and show up at the airport in time to make a last minute switch if necessary/possible. If we still wind up separate, we'll make it an adventure and not be the PITAs who hold up the whole plane trying to switch seats. That said, this will be my kids' fifth international flight and they're generally pretty easy going and seem to typically rise to the occasion.

Bravo! This is not happening to people who upgrade their seats, check assignments, and don't book the middle seats so this will not happen to you anyway. However, kudos on not having an entitled attitude and raising kids that will actually be function in the future! We had a flight cancelled and two options. One option was to take an earlier flight with all middle seats and the plane would have been completely booked after we took those or a later flight where we could be together. We weighed the options of which would be less convenient for us..sitting apart on the plane or hanging out in the airport for a few hours. We chose the later but if we had gone with middle seats we would have gone into it with the expectation that we would be sitting in the seats we booked. It would never have occurred to me to be a PITA to everyone and expect someone to switch for us!

[Anonymous]

Fly into smaller airports inthe same area. Usually cheaper flights and smaller planes with only two seats per row.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP. Look, I have traveled EXTENSIVELY and this sort of thing (airlines switching planes, etc) happens all of the time.

DH travels extensively for work. I travel moderately for work, more lately. We take our kids on trips involving 4-6 hour flights 3-4 times a year. We fly internationally about every other year. This never happens to us. Even when a plane is switched, we have NEVER been re-assigned to all middle seats. At least one adult was next to the children. When we fly solo and planes change, we have been switched from one aisle to another aisle but never to a middle seat.

I've wondered about this because we do see families trying to switch on planes all the time. I think you just WANT people to think it was an airline screw up not your own choice with an assumption that you'll just switch around with other people.

I'll add another family of 5 traveling 4 times a year together for more than ten years and we've NEVER been split apart to all middle seats after we've purchased our seats.

Well, that makes three or possibly four different families that travel and have not been all split up with preplanning. I was the original poster who said this has never happened to her family. I just dont think the airlines would separate small children from both parents.

Lucky all of you -- count your blessings. Single parent here. On our last two R/Ts on United, traveling with my four-year-old, the airline made aircraft changes and moved our seats. They had to -- at Christmas, if I remember correctly, the plane had one less row. So my daughter, who was booked into a window seat, was moved to an available middle seat about ten rows ahead of us. They kept me in the middle seat I had originally booked to be next to her. If I had booked us on the other side of the plane, or into an aisle and middle seat, we would have been undisturbed. And of course if we'd been traveling with another adult we still would have had two seats together, so it would be less important where the third ended up. But we had two middle seats, ten rows apart. And trust me, Christmas is an awesome season to try to get that problem fixed ahead of time ... I did get it fixed, when I discovered the problem when I went online to check-in and then called the airline, but I will never get that two hours of my life back.

Not everyone looks like your family, and just because things haven't happened to you doesn't mean they can't happen to others.

Off to double-check our reservation for later this month ... as if it will make a difference should the airline decide to screw us up yet again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's amazing to me how the airlines have managed to deflect attention from the fact that they are causing this problem.

They sell off seats, including the ones someone has already selected, and then let us tear each other to pieces.

I think an airline is obligated to let one parent sit next to a child under 5 (and probably under 9), and I would certainly volunteer to move my seat in those circumstances.

If it's a second parent (or just two adults) then I would probably look at where their seat is, how young the kid is, etc.

How many of you who think kids under ten should sit by themselves would send these same kids into a public restroom by themselves?

I thought so.

If I noose my seats during the purchase process, the airline should nOt arbitrarily move us. I don't want to take care of my three year old on my own. That's why I book a ticket for my husband and chose a seat next to us. those who said we are blaming the wrong people are right. The airlines are wrong any way u look at this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP. Look, I have traveled EXTENSIVELY and this sort of thing (airlines switching planes, etc) happens all of the time.

DH travels extensively for work. I travel moderately for work, more lately. We take our kids on trips involving 4-6 hour flights 3-4 times a year. We fly internationally about every other year. This never happens to us. Even when a plane is switched, we have NEVER been re-assigned to all middle seats. At least one adult was next to the children. When we fly solo and planes change, we have been switched from one aisle to another aisle but never to a middle seat.

I've wondered about this because we do see families trying to switch on planes all the time. I think you just WANT people to think it was an airline screw up not your own choice with an assumption that you'll just switch around with other people.

I'll add another family of 5 traveling 4 times a year together for more than ten years and we've NEVER been split apart to all middle seats after we've purchased our seats.

Well, that makes three or possibly four different families that travel and have not been all split up with preplanning. I was the original poster who said this has never happened to her family. I just dont think the airlines would separate small children from both parents.

Lucky all of you -- count your blessings. Single parent here. On our last two R/Ts on United, traveling with my four-year-old, the airline made aircraft changes and moved our seats. They had to -- at Christmas, if I remember correctly, the plane had one less row. So my daughter, who was booked into a window seat, was moved to an available middle seat about ten rows ahead of us. They kept me in the middle seat I had originally booked to be next to her. If I had booked us on the other side of the plane, or into an aisle and middle seat, we would have been undisturbed. And of course if we'd been traveling with another adult we still would have had two seats together, so it would be less important where the third ended up. But we had two middle seats, ten rows apart. And trust me, Christmas is an awesome season to try to get that problem fixed ahead of time ... I did get it fixed, when I discovered the problem when I went online to check-in and then called the airline, but I will never get that two hours of my life back.

Not everyone looks like your family, and just because things haven't happened to you doesn't mean they can't happen to others.

Off to double-check our reservation for later this month ... as if it will make a difference should the airline decide to screw us up yet again.

Yeah I sincerely hope the PP you bolder is not a researcher because a sample of four means diddly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's cause I ride Metro every day and am used to being squished in with hundreds of my not-closest friends, but I would gladly switch seats, even to a middle seat, to help a family sit together, regardless of the circumstances. I'm pretty small, and I'm just going to be sitting in a seat reading during the flight anyway.

+1

And the metro I rode was in a city of 12 million in southern china. Stinky smelly people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This freaks me out that airlines would switch seats and think it's OK to let a 3 year old fly alone. We booked months ago for a flight in a few weeks, and no hell way is my 3 year old sitting alone. I would be asking everyone to help me if that happened. Sorry that would piss you off OP.

Really? I'd be overjoyed to foist my 3 yo on someone else for a few hours.

If you think I'm taking care of yourkid, you're dreaming!

[Anonymous]

To the people saying they fly a lot and this never happens to them so it must not happen to anyone, a friend of mine had her family split up, oncluding her blind nonverbal preschooler. They were told it was because the airline prioritizes the requests of frequent flyers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the people saying they fly a lot and this never happens to them so it must not happen to anyone, a friend of mine had her family split up, oncluding her blind nonverbal preschooler. They were told it was because the airline prioritizes the requests of frequent flyers.

I think what is happening is the airlines now offer certain seats (window or aisle) for an extra fee. Those who do not pay extra are not guaranteed their seats, even if they request certain seat configurations. It's a way to force everybody to pay more to ensure they get the seats they want. So really, the OP should be angry at the airlines because they basically make it impossible for anybody to sit whe they want to unless they pay more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

NP. Look, I have traveled EXTENSIVELY and this sort of thing (airlines switching planes, etc) happens all of the time.

DH travels extensively for work. I travel moderately for work, more lately. We take our kids on trips involving 4-6 hour flights 3-4 times a year. We fly internationally about every other year. This never happens to us. Even when a plane is switched, we have NEVER been re-assigned to all middle seats. At least one adult was next to the children. When we fly solo and planes change, we have been switched from one aisle to another aisle but never to a middle seat.

I've wondered about this because we do see families trying to switch on planes all the time. I think you just WANT people to think it was an airline screw up not your own choice with an assumption that you'll just switch around with other people.

I'll add another family of 5 traveling 4 times a year together for more than ten years and we've NEVER been split apart to all middle seats after we've purchased our seats.

Well, that makes three or possibly four different families that travel and have not been all split up with preplanning. I was the original poster who said this has never happened to her family. I just dont think the airlines would separate small children from both parents.

Lucky all of you -- count your blessings. Single parent here. On our last two R/Ts on United, traveling with my four-year-old, the airline made aircraft changes and moved our seats. They had to -- at Christmas, if I remember correctly, the plane had one less row. So my daughter, who was booked into a window seat, was moved to an available middle seat about ten rows ahead of us. They kept me in the middle seat I had originally booked to be next to her. If I had booked us on the other side of the plane, or into an aisle and middle seat, we would have been undisturbed. And of course if we'd been traveling with another adult we still would have had two seats together, so it would be less important where the third ended up. But we had two middle seats, ten rows apart. And trust me, Christmas is an awesome season to try to get that problem fixed ahead of time ... I did get it fixed, when I discovered the problem when I went online to check-in and then called the airline, but I will never get that two hours of my life back.

Not everyone looks like your family, and just because things haven't happened to you doesn't mean they can't happen to others.

Off to double-check our reservation for later this month ... as if it will make a difference should the airline decide to screw us up yet again.

Good post. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I got stuck in that "all seats unavailable, pay extra for seat in coach" nonsense this summer. DS had to be on a specific flight for a youth group and even though it was booked 3 mos in advance, all seats were reserved or whatever so I paid the premium. Lucky me. At least he got an aisle seat so he felt lucky. Of course, when he got there a mother asked him to move so she could sit with her 9 yo in the middle seat and he didn't refuse. Why would he? He got bumped to a non-premium middle seat. Lost money on that deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's amazing to me how the airlines have managed to deflect attention from the fact that they are causing this problem.

They sell off seats, including the ones someone has already selected, and then let us tear each other to pieces.

I think an airline is obligated to let one parent sit next to a child under 5 (and probably under 9), and I would certainly volunteer to move my seat in those circumstances.

If it's a second parent (or just two adults) then I would probably look at where their seat is, how young the kid is, etc.

How many of you who think kids under ten should sit by themselves would send these same kids into a public restroom by themselves?

I thought so.

If I noose my seats during the purchase process, the airline should nOt arbitrarily move us. I don't want to take care of my three year old on my own. That's why I book a ticket for my husband and chose a seat next to us. those who said we are blaming the wrong people are right. The airlines are wrong any way u look at this.

I'm not following you?

What does sitting next to a stranger have to do with public restrooms?

FTR, I've been sending my kids alone into public bathrooms since they were 6 years old. Is there some reason not to do this? What am I missing?

[Anonymous]

If you are nice, I would probably move. If you are an whole or you act entitled, no wAy will I move! Don't assume that bc someone is traveling wout kids, they owe you their seat. Be nice, apologetic.... Most people will be accommodating on shorter flights. On cross country or international flight, asking someone to trade you for the middle seat, well you had better be extra nice when asking.

[Anonymous]

We just flee cross-country with our three-year-old, and United chaned our seats so that DH, DD, and I were no longer sitting together. My DD is 3 and would freak out if she wasn't with one of us on the plane. We tried to get it fixed at chec-in (having arrived at the airport early for that purpose) and they just referred us to the gate agent. We were first on line to talk to the gate agent, and she took our info and said to wait. I don't know what she may have done on the computer, but she waited until after all groups had boarded before trying to page the other passengers who were next to our seats, to see if they would switch. Of course by that point they had all boarded. So then she said I should just ask people to switch, leaving it to me to find a volunteer, after people had already settled into their seats, and making me one of the last people to board the plane. Luckily the flight attendant helped me find a volunteer (THANK YOU AGAIN! nice lady!!!) so DD and I were next to each other in the end, but SO stressful, and incompetently-handled by the airline and not fair to anybody involved. Why can't they just flag seats of young kids and pit a block on moving them separately without a parent next to them? How hard could that really be??

[Anonymous]

PP here. Sorry about all the typos!