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Airlines tell parents to pay up or risk sitting rows away from their kids. That's wrong.

andysnovel

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Airlines tell parents to pay up or risk sitting rows away from their kids. That's wrong.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/opin...families-children-separate-column/4196405002/


Richard
On Delta there is assigned seating, so you know ahead of time, where you are seating, unless you book basic economy where there is no assigned seating. Southwest Airlines has no assigned seating but for an extra fee you can book early bird, which gets you on the plane sooner, they also have family boarding after A group has boarded, we have an autistic son and make sure we take care of this seating issue long before we board. I have seen flight crews in the past make an extra effort to seat families together. This writer should be asking why do parents not take care of business ahead of time, make sure the have assigned seating. Planes fly full these days, hoping for the best is not going to cut it.
 

mcsteve

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Sorry, but I don't agree this is an issue the airlines should be held accountable for (except when they reassign seats). IMHO, if you are traveling with a child or someone else you "need" to be with, then it is your responsibility to take the steps necessary to ensure this happens. I would never play roulette with my young family members by not selecting seating prior to arrival. And the concept of forcing someone out of their "paid" seat so that they can be together is a bit on the entitled side (again IMHO).

I pay to have an isle seat in the forward section of the plane so that I am in the final boarding groups (more time in the lounge area waiting with only an under seat carry on) but still in the seating section which I prefer. When I have been approached to move I have offered to accommodate if they compensate me for the price I paid to have that seat. This has always been met with disdain by someone who obviously cared less for my needs/wants than their own.

On a different perspective, I have given up my seat when there were people with physical or mental challenges that needed to be accommodated. There was a lady flying in to a medical appointment in Dallas whose travel companion could not get a seat next to her due to the late booking. I gladly exchanged seats because it was just the right thing to do and I have done so several times.

A simple solution could be for the airlines to impose mandatory group seat selection when an itinerary includes young children. This would eliminate the roulette factor of seat assignment at the gate and ensure young children are not separated by rows. After all, we are simply paying for a service and if you need an obvious additional level of service, perhaps the minimum fare should reflect that. Or the airlines could simply increase all fares so that seat selection was included in each ticket as it was before, should you choose to take advantage of it. This will not likely happen as the competitive nature of air travel drives the airlines to find new ways to reduce the base price yet recover those costs through add on fees.
 

am1

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I ran in to this with Delta last year traveling with my two young sons. We booked late and the second leg we misconnected. Coming home we bumped up the flight a day to avoid a hurricane. Posted about this last year on here. I do not feel I should have to pay extra so we can sit together. The airlines should understand and somewhat do that it an important issue. It is a safety issue above all. Who is going to look after my kids better then I am? Who is going to protect them from the scum that walk among us. In an event of an evacuation I am going to get my kids before evacuating. Even if that means going away from the nearest exit. Delta does save rows in the back for this but in my case they were already full. There is a difference between wanting a certain seat and wanting to seat together anywhere on the plane. Why are children charged the same price as people multiple times their weight? Sitting with young children should not be a choice. Choosing an aisle in the front of the cabin or beside your wife or friend is. Why do airlines think they should put other passengers in the situations of having to babysit?

For this I choose to fly airlines that do not charge to sit with ones young children. I do not think history will look fondly on these airlines.
 

louisianab

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I feel like this is the same scenario when people are upset about luggage charges or printing your boarding pass charges. It's spelled out ahead of time.
With my kids, we fly Southwest. By myself, weekend trip? I'll fly Spirit or Frontier with my messenger bag and sit between strangers.
Reading the fine print would save people a lot of stress in every facet of life.
 

PamMo

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I HATE flying. I used to love it, but when airlines started charging for "extras" that used to be included in the normal fare, they knew passengers would game the system. They're OK with pitting passengers against each other, as long as record profits come in from those fees.
 

x3 skier

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Well said mcsteve. Never have understood why folks who want a higher level of service get upset with having to pay for it.

It’s not as if there aren’t choices. I like the early boarding on Southwest so I pay for it. I like the room in Business Class to Europe so I pay more in miles. I like the service and seating on the Majors more than on the Low Cost Carriers so I pay more for it.

Now if we can just ban the so-called Emotional Support Animals..........:D

Cheers
 

pedro47

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Sorry, but I don't agree this is an issue the airlines should be held accountable for (except when they reassign seats). IMHO, if you are traveling with a child or someone else you "need" to be with, then it is your responsibility to take the steps necessary to ensure this happens. I would never play roulette with my young family members by not selecting seating prior to arrival. And the concept of forcing someone out of their "paid" seat so that they can be together is a bit on the entitled side (again IMHO).

I pay to have an isle seat in the forward section of the plane so that I am in the final boarding groups (more time in the lounge area waiting with only an under seat carry on) but still in the seating section which I prefer. When I have been approached to move I have offered to accommodate if they compensate me for the price I paid to have that seat. This has always been met with disdain by someone who obviously cared less for my needs/wants than their own.

On a different perspective, I have given up my seat when there were people with physical or mental challenges that needed to be accommodated. There was a lady flying in to a medical appointment in Dallas whose travel companion could not get a seat next to her due to the late booking. I gladly exchanged seats because it was just the right thing to do and I have done so several times.

A simple solution could be for the airlines to impose mandatory group seat selection when an itinerary includes young children. This would eliminate the roulette factor of seat assignment at the gate and ensure young children are not separated by rows. After all, we are simply paying for a service and if you need an obvious additional level of service, perhaps the minimum fare should reflect that. Or the airlines could simply increase all fares so that seat selection was included in each ticket as it was before, should you choose to take advantage of it. This will not likely happen as the competitive nature of air travel drives the airlines to find new ways to reduce the base price yet recover those costs through add on fees.

I agree with mcsteve, if parents needs to sit with that child; then the parent needs to pay up for the costs of that seat. IMHO.
 

b2bailey

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The mention of being a passenger put in the position of 'watching out' for another passenger's child...

My first flight to Europe, I purposely booked an overnight flight, and my friend gave me something to help sleep. However, a young boy appeared in the seat next to me -- don't remember the story. But, his presence there prevented me from sleeping since I felt 'responsible' for his well-being. I'm a grandma and he reminded me of grandson.
 
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PamMo

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Well said mcsteve. Never have understood why folks who want a higher level of service get upset with having to pay for it.

It’s not as if there aren’t choices...

I agree to a point, but reality is many passengers don't get it. The vast majority of flyers aren't the million milers, who keep up to date on the ever changing ins and outs of flying. And those fees add up for a family. They lug around all sorts of bags to avoid fees and search the overhead bins in vain to find an empty space, they crowd the gate before their boarding group is called, they ask to move seats at the gate and again when they get on board, they don't sit in their seats when the fasten seat belt sign is on, they put bare feet up on your armrest, etc. Sure, it can get annoying. But, so are those people who complain about lack of upgrades, drink too much, stand around talking with the crew while you're trying to sleep, etc. I'm always impressed with the unflappable gate agents and flight attendants who try their hardest to keep everyone happy and safe. I'm even more impressed with those compassionate souls who help their fellow passengers with acts of kindness - like those saints I've seen helping a parent with a crying baby!

I'm very glad that I have the choice to fly Business or First, but I realize how fortunate I am. I'm very sympathetic to families and infrequent flyers.
 

am1

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Families with small children should be accommodated with out a motive of profit. DOT should get their act together and address this.
 
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PigsDad

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Families with small children should be accommodated with out a motive of profit. DOT should get their act together and address this.
I agree airlines should make their best effort to seat small children w/ their parents together when, by no fault of their own, they are split up due to seat reassignments or there were not available contiguous seats available at the time of booking. However, I see no reason why they should do so if the parents chose not to purchase the seat assignments if they were available at the time of booking.

Kurt
 

am1

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I agree airlines should make their best effort to seat small children w/ their parents together when, by no fault of their own, they are split up due to seat reassignments or there were not available contiguous seats available at the time of booking. However, I see no reason why they should do so if the parents chose not to purchase the seat assignments if they were available at the time of booking.

Kurt
Why profit off of a necessity?
 

pedro47

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Do you really feel that the airline industry will give parents with children the best seats on their planes ?
 

Luanne

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Do you really feel that the airline industry will give parents with children the best seats on their planes ?
Was anyone asking for parents and children to have the best seats on the plane? I think all that some people think is reasonable is for families to be seated together. As a parent when traveling I would always book flights and get seat assignments ahead of time. Or when flying SW I'd get in line early (before they had the assigned boarding numbers) and when it became available pay for Early Bird.

I wouldn't expect to demand seats together if I were flying an airline that charged extra for upfront seat assignment and I chose NOT to purchase that. I would expect, or hope, that if something changed with the aircraft, or flight got cancelled/delayed and we were put on a completely different plane that that airline would try to seat us together.
 

am1

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Why not charge for elderly, handicap, emotional support animals extra as well?
 

PigsDad

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Why profit off of a necessity?
Why should parents automatically get a discount??? Everyone else has to pay for a seat assignment, but you think that just because you have kids that you shouldn't have to pay?

Kurt
 

PigsDad

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Why not charge for elderly, handicap, emotional support animals extra as well?
First, I agree that emotional support animals (aka, pets) should be treated as any other pet.

Second, there is a thing called the American Disabilities Act (ADA) that prohibits charging extra to accommodate those with disabilities.

Third, where have you seen that the elderly do not have to pay for an assigned seat? Yes, they are allowed to board early (along with anyone that feels they need more time to board -- including those with small children), but I have never seen where they get free assigned seats on airlines that charge for that.

Kurt
 

geist1223

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2 years go my Son, DIL,and 2 GDs (age 4 months and 2.5 years) were flying from SLC to Orlando on Delta. They Booked months in advance and had 4 seats located together. The day before when they went online to checkin. Their seats were scattered all over the Plane. They called Delta Customer Service. They could not help them. The next morning the Gate Agents were able to get them 2 and 2 but not together.
 

mcsteve

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2 years go my Son, DIL,and 2 GDs (age 4 months and 2.5 years) were flying from SLC to Orlando on Delta. They Booked months in advance and had 4 seats located together. The day before when they went online to checkin. Their seats were scattered all over the Plane. They called Delta Customer Service. They could not help them. The next morning the Gate Agents were able to get them 2 and 2 but not together.

situations like this I believe, as many have stated as well, that the airline should take responsibility for the change. However, many times airlines will make small modifications for flights “months in advance” that impact seating assignments due to plane style changes as booking forecasts change for the flight. These are typically seen in the flight modification emails (at least I see these with Delta. And an email contact would need to be provided). If you don’t read the entire notification these seat changes can easily be overlooked.

I’ll say it again, my issue is with those who expect to be accommodated but refuse to pay for that accommodation along with others who do so. As an individual who is flying alone or with my spouse, I pay extra to select my seat and for us to be seated together. People with children should take the steps needed to ensure this as well. Seat selection is not optional if you want your group together.
 

am1

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First, I agree that emotional support animals (aka, pets) should be treated as any other pet.

Second, there is a thing called the American Disabilities Act (ADA) that prohibits charging extra to accommodate those with disabilities.

Third, where have you seen that the elderly do not have to pay for an assigned seat? Yes, they are allowed to board early (along with anyone that feels they need more time to board -- including those with small children), but I have never seen where they get free assigned seats on airlines that charge for that.

Kurt

Added costs for wheelchairs at the gate. History will agree with me. Government is just dragging their ass as noted on this thread.

Air Canada a poor airline in most ways allows free seat assignments for people traveling with young children. Others do as well. I wonder why?
 

Sandy VDH

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RULE, the schedule WILL change. So if you book seats, regularly recheck them to assess impact of any equipment changes.

Waiting until check in is NOT the time to be doing that.
 

jehb2

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I pay extra to select my seat and for us to be seated together. People with children should take the steps needed to ensure this as well. Seat selection is not optional if you want your group together.

I buy my tickets 9 months in advance. I check my reservation regularly. Sometimes (actually A LOT of the time) the new flight does not have me sitting with my children. This is NOT my fault. Yes, I expect the airlines to fix this.
 
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