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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This thread makes me sad.

There is no universe in which it is okay to separate a young child from his or her parent and even booking early and trying to choose a relatively empty flight is no guarantee of anything, since flights frequently get cancelled, planes change, passengers rebooked, etc.  This should go without saying, but a small child like my two year old CANNOT sit alone.  A two year old cannot navigate the bathroom alone, cannot obtain and eat a meal without at least a little help (yes he can feed himself, but I still have to give him the food), and if god forbid there is an emergency, a two year old is not going to be able to put on an oxygen mask, know how to sit in the brace position, or evacuate an aircraft alone.  Yes it should be on the airlines to ensure children are seated with their parents, but are you really going to be the asshole who refuses to switch your seat and puts a small child in danger when the airline fails?   For what it's worth, I would get off an airplane before I allowed my two year old to sit alone (although given that virtually every flight goes sold out these days, it's not clear that will do much good), but even if I did sit separately from him, he'd FREAK out and scream for me, so are you really going to be the asshole who subjects the entire airplane to my screaming child because he's alone and scared?

[b]I agree it is frustrating when you pay for a premium seat choice to be asked to move but doing the right thing and taking it up with the airline is more likely to result in an industry change, rather than taking out your misplaced anger on a poor parent who is just as frustrated as you are.[/b]

And for what it's worth, I've been flying since I was six years old (and flying frequently in the last ten years) and can't remember a time before this year where I booked seats in advance only to have them change when I checked in (except when they were upgraded) but it has happened to me THREE times in the last four months (all on United, post-merger.  United post-merger is the worst airline in the world, but that is a complaint for another thread.).  All three flights were booked well in advance (one more than six months in advance) and on all three, I was initially able to choose three seats in a row.  In fact, there is another thread on this board by someone who paid extra to choose seats together in economy plus and not only got separated but also got downgraded to economy.  Just because it hasn't happened to you as yet doesn't mean it doesn't happen and it doesn't make it the family's fault.[/quote]
Yes!  Totally agree with this.[/quote]

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