To think airline software should not allow a 3 year old to be seated away from their parent?

[Inkstainedmags]

I suppose I'm looking for reassurance as I lie here unable to sleep before a flight. DP, DS (3) and I are due to take a transatlantic flight in the morning. We were unable to select seats when we booked the flight - we suspect because the grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircrafts meant the airline didn't know what craft they would be putting us on. Then, when check-in opened, the airline's website wouldn't allow us to proceed because it couldn't cope with dual citizenship and insisted we needed proof of visas for travel to the country we live in.

When we finally managed to try to check in at an airport kiosk, we found that all three of us are seated separately and there was nowhere for two of us to be sat together. No one from the airline was available to speak to.

Surely the airline has to sort this out, right? As much as I'd love the opportunity to spend a 7-hour flight watching movies and reading books like I used to pre-DS, they can't expect a barely 3-year-old to be sat next to a stranger can they?

AIBU to think that with all the amazing things software can do these days, an airline should be able to force a parent and toddler to be sat together and cope with travellers with dual citizenship?

Hope you got/get it sorted x

If this isn’t sorted at check in for you my advice would be to massively play up the fact that you haven’t chosen not to pay to select a seat, it was the visa/passport issue that prevented you from doing so. Paying to reserve seats is still a fairly new hidden cost that if we are all honest about stings a little, remember the good old days when the price of the flight was the final price! So you need people to realise that you’ve not just chanced it when asking for their goodwill to change seats. In your situation the plane seat configuration seems like you’ll definitely get a few willing volunteers to swap. The only thing is, aren’t you meant to sit in your allocated seat for take off?

Is it an airline fault? We, consumers, seem to want to be able to choose our seats. That means people will select an empty row. You see this on buses every day. Single people pick an empty row not the seat next to someone.

Maybe the question is do we really want to be able choose or should they be assigned on booking based on party configuration. Like the OP suggests algorithms and AI could be used. Have airlines deliberately or inadvertently gone down this road of passenger booking even though it doesn’t suit us as consumers?

Personally I do want the option to select my seat and will pay for this. Years ago, before the current days of low cost dominance, when travelling with small kids I remember there was an option to do this even on package holidays.

SunshineSpring

I think it's obvious that you would not be asked or expected to swap your seat in the scenario you have suggested.

I hope you have managed to get this sorted out OP. If not someone is having a lovely flight with your 3yo whilst you get to read your book in peace!

It's a shame so may people now refuse to pay and expect others to move as it makes people less inclined to moved and those who genuinely couldn't get anxious and stressed

When I first started seeing the countless shall I pay or risk it threads on here I was firmly of the belief that it's perfectly fine for a budget flight to have a basic price and charge for 'extras', including seat choice. It's got completely out of hand now as it's not just the budget carriers, it's all of them. And now choosing a seat for 'free' is a 'premium option' on long haul too. I've been charged £££ by Cathay Pacific and Virgin this year and it pissed me off. More and more people are going to start declining this option and it will cause friction and problems. Totally agree with the OP that they should sort their software out so that a small child becomes a double booking with an adult which automatically gets two seats together allocated. Luckily no one in the OPs cabin will have paid, so at least no one can accuse her of being cheap and then nicking their paid for seat.

Hope it's sorted OP.

Recently I checked in online so we were together and we were moved (by airport staff) to sit separately. In fact they did it to numerous families. And didn’t mention it in the airport. On the return leg I paid to sit together (as the online check in separated us despite there being hundreds of free seats) and they still separated us. I’m still waiting for the refund.

Next time I’ll double check the boarding cards and insist they give me the seats I’ve paid for.

We, consumers, seem to want to be able to choose our seats.

Do we? This is an airline-driven change, and it's all about charging for "extras".

it's all about charging for "extras".

It's also about giving the lowest basic price for people who don't want the extras.

When my oldest children were small, you couldn't pre-book seats at all, you had to turn up early at the airport to be first in the queue.

HouseName i do agree that under 5s should be automatically seated by one adult and having to pay to book is expensive. I had to do it recently and watch the costs soar. But at the end of the day thats too bad for us all as realistically some people want the cheapest of cheap which they cater for and airlines can make a profit. In the grand scheme of things the regular people don't matter because people won't take their custom elsewhere as there is no elsewhere. We are over a bagel.

I suspect either it becomes mandatory to book in the future and we all pay the rise or there will be friction and many people thrown off planes because it will become less tolerated to not book and expect.

Given anything else would be at a cost to the airline, it won't happen in our favour.

I'm very much of the mind that everyone should be travelling with their party. Regardless of age. It doesn't cost the airline anything to sit people together.

I'm not a brilliant flyer. I pay to reserve with whoever I'm flying with. I don't like the assumption that adults should automatically move. I have anxiety (diagnosed!!!) and travelling is one of my major "things". I was separated from my family once, luckily I had a lovely older lady next to me. She held my hand at take off because she could see I was getting upset. A lot of random strangers wouldn't do that.

I spent most of that flight stood in the aisle so I could be near my family.

Over a bagel. I love that type.

@Mistigri

That’s exactly the question I posed. Low cost airlines unbundled the cost of a flight and it is extremely popular. I personally always wanted and have been willing to pay for frills. Where I have a choice I pick an fashioned airline who bundles in the frills. Otherwise I pay for them.

The downside of this is that the industry now allows passengers to choose their seats on most types of ticket. But I think the cost and availability should be displayed upfront at the time of booking. Before you pay not at check in. The OP didn’t seem to get this offer and that is unusual.

I only ever seen a family asking to be moved once. It was in business class where with seats of 2. At least one was seated with their children but not both. Everyone offered to accommodate them but they went total CF. Someone logic bombed them and pushy (minor celeb rent a mouth mum) backed down.

HunterHearstHelmsley 🤣😂 me too!

Headphones in and ignore them, same as any other random stranger passenger sat next to me

Have you met any toddlers @apacketofcrisps ?

We were on a night flight with DS who was under 2 so no separate seat but we were bumped due to bad weather/delays and were in 2 of a set of 3. The third person was in the aisle and there were spare aisle seats further back in the plane. The cabin crew spent about 10 minutes persuading this person that we and they would be much, much more comfortable sitting next to two adults without an under-2. They also gave them some drinks (I think it was one where you had to pay for alcohol normally).
They will sort you out!

But on the overall issue - my DS is 7 but he has SEN and also needs someone next to him. Just allocating based on age would not really work.

londonsfirst any kind of abuse. He's not a badly behaved kid but at the end of the day he's 3 and on a plane. He'll likely annoy whoever is next to him as he can't entertain himself for 3 hours.
This was my thought too, given that even a bit of bouncing in a toddler's seat can be felt in the seat behind/in front and some passengers are highly capable of shouting at/pushing their seat into a child they are annoyed with.

I flew to Spain on Monday. I am overweight and prefer an aisle seat. DH is a bit overweight, but has very broad shoulders, he also likes the aisle, so I pay for seats and book seats across the aisle from each other.

A mother and grandmother were travelling with infant twins. One was in the aisle seat in front of my husband, the other was meant to be next to me in middle seat.

I was asked to move to the centre, so they could have aisle seats, I refused. Had I been offered their aisle seat for mine, so they had aisle and middle together, I would happily have swapped, but I was asked to take the middle seat, I paid not to sit next to my husband in a middle seat, i’m certainly not going to squash between 2 randoms and pay for the privilege.

Yes the seat swap should be for a like for like eg. Aisle for aisle or middle for middle, window for window and then there is no issue (unless it can't work that way) then you are really looking for goodwill.

I hope OP comes back to update

I wouldn't move from a window or aisle seat to a middle seat - especially not if I had paid extra to be able to choose my seat. I also wouldn't move from a row near the front of the plane right to the back. But if it was a seat fairly near and equivalent eg. window to window swap, then I would.
I think the paying to choose a seat is a menace and hasn't been a good move. I think you should be able to choose a seat free of charge when you book your ticket with perhaps some seats costing extra. Then families would be able to choose seats together straightaway without having to fork out a small fortune. I think it is cheeky of some people to not pay to choose for a seat and then expect others to move to make sure their child sits with them but on the other hand, costs do add up when you have 4 or 5 family members and you have to pay to choose a seat for all of them.
The fault ultimately lies with the airline though. A booking coming through with small children should be allocated seats together irrespective of whether they have paid or not. They may not be the best seats in the plane but they should be together. I really don't see why this can't be done - after all when I book with Norwegian who I fly with a lot, I choose LowFare+ because that includes one hold bag and a seat reservation is included in that. As soon as I have booked and chosen my seat, the seat number is printed on my e-ticket. Same could easily be applied to families - just if they haven't paid to choose a seat they might be in row 29 when they might have preferred row 7.

Does the money get refunded if you pay for a seat then have to move?

OP when you couldn’t check in online did you call the airline? Surely that would have that would have been the first thing to do? Their number comes up on a google search

I'm afraid I'm another who would have paid to book an aisle seat and wouldn't swap. I have an invisible (at first sight) disability which means I need the access and additional room. I would prefer not to have to announce this to a bunch of strangers so I'd probably come across as awkward for not moving (albeit I'd be polite and apologetic when saying no).

Hope you got it sorted OP - I can't imagine a plane at least half-full of Canadians would be anything other than helpful!)

Those who would not swap - would this still apply (apart from apacketofcrisps who is clearly insane) if you were then sat next to the toddler for a 7 hour flight?