airlines would be required to seat parents and kids 13 and younger together free of charge when adjacent seating is available at booking.
They should even go further and require to move other passengers if neccessary, so that the families can sit together always, no matter what.
What happens when the only way to seat a family together is to break up another family. What if you need to separate a couple who is engaged and traveling together?
separate a couple who is engaged and traveling together?
we call those people adults and understand that they have less requirements than children.
Fuck that noise. Plan ahead. I’ll repeat what someone else said. Parents shitty planning doesn’t become my problem. I pick the seat I want.
No. Removing fees for parent and young children makes sense, but if I’ve paid extra to choose my seat I’m not OK with being moved for someone else’s lack of planning. Not my parent and not my kid so my life doesn’t revolve around them. If someone were to ask me if I could move in that situation that’s one thing. But even then it would be well within my rights to say no.
Would that couple want to sit next to an unattended child bc the airline refused to keep the family together?
What happens when the only way to seat a family together is to break up another family.
Then their software may be clueless, so it needs some Natural Intelligence [tm], and maybe even an experienced person to solve that.
I am sure there will be a way. Most planes can carry more than 2 families.
What if you need to separate a couple who is engaged and traveling together?
They are going to survive ;-)
No problem at all.
Don’t airlines usually charge a bit extra to pick your own seat? I’d imagine/hope that there are enough people selecting the cheaper “whatever” option that they’re going to bump one of those.
What I would not like is for a parent to pay for the upgraded seat next to me and then I get bumped to accommodate their child.
Why? Can people not sit apart for a few hours? I agree with no charging but moving because you didn’t book in advance with enough time to sit together shouldn’t result in others being inconvenienced.
People…as in children? you want a toddler to sit by themselves for a few hours?
This specific thread is responding to this comment, not the original article:
They should even go further and require to move other passengers if neccessary, so that the families can sit together always, no matter what.
Which is maybe why there’s a big disconnect between you and all the comments you’re replying to
Disagree. I have a four year old and have flown with them. I made it a point to select for seat reservations when booking everything. That’s my responsibility and someone else shouldn’t lose their selected seat because I planned poorly.
I’m not entitled to someone else’s seat.
Why is this something that needs to be mandatory by law? Some airlines voluntary do it, and there is usually more than one airline to choose from unless you’re flying to a really small airport. Recently I flew on an airline that charged $50 for carry-on luggage (I didn’t bring any because it was cheaper to buy new clothing when I arrived) and $5 for a glass of water. I deliberately chose this airline because it was the cheapest. I like having the “lowest price but we deliberately treat you like shit” option available if the alternative is paying even a little more and apparently lots of other people do too. I don’t want to lose it.
Next stop, you’ll be defending having the option of “even cheaper but they may have skipped some security and safety checks on the plane”… I DoNT waNT tO LOse iT!
Possibly I would defend that option. Flying is so safe that even a large increase in relative risk corresponds to a tiny increase in absolute risk. Absolute risk rather than relative risk is what matters to me, so maybe I would choose to fly on an airline that was, say, twice as dangerous in order to save fifty bucks. I suspect that the FAA prioritizes safety over cost savings significantly more than most consumers would if given the choice.
(And I might even pay more to fly on an airline with reduced security.)
so maybe I would choose to fly on an airline that was, say, twice as dangerous in order to save fifty bucks
so your life, as per your own evaluation, is worth about $50 savings… good to know, now I can value your opinion based on that.
13 only? I’d like that option all the way to 18. 1) 14 year olds can be harassed or taken advantage of. 2) If I’m legally responsible for their behavior, I want to be nearby.
So I don’t get all this. Everything I buy tickets, I choose my seats unless I fly southwest. And even they are going to move to assigned seats.
Is this a new thing that you don’t get to pick your seats on some airlines? And if so, do they not seat everyone in your reservation together?
Seat selections are extra most of the time. If I’m traveling on a budget the cost of the seat is the same as a meal so I don’t pick it
The worst offender is Turkish airlines that charges $40 per person per leg of trip, so I’d need to pay $160 to pick seats for my upcoming trip to SEA
So I don’t get all this. Everything I buy tickets, I choose my seats unless I fly southwest. And even they are going to move to assigned seats.
At least when my kids were young, you’d have to pay extra to pick a seat, at least if you purchased through Expedia or Travelocity.
And if so, do they not seat everyone in your reservation together?
You know how you print your boarding pass and it has your seats? When my kids were young on multiple trips via United, AA and Delta, the boarding pass would not have a seat assignment and we’d have to go the gate agent at every gate, even on the same airline if it was not a direct flight and get our seats assigned last minute. So no, we weren’t always seated together. On one flight, none of us were in the same row with anyone in our family.
Since we were scraping by back then we always booked months in advance for cheaper tickets. I thought originally it was a fluke with just United but after the next trip, I had learned to pay extra and pick seats ahead of time.
That has to be seriously outdated before digital tickets. I’ve been flying United with kids for 16 years and haven’t had to pay extra to pick seats.
United only instituted a family seating policy last year so that people with kids under 12 could freely pick seats next to each other.
Do you have a source on SW moving to assigned seats? That’s devastating news to me :(
Early next year.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southwest-seating-change-what-it-means/
There’s hundreds of stories on this, not sure what the best news source is for this info, but there’s a ton.
You’ve never flown budget airlines like Frontier, Spirit then. They’ll charge you $20-$100 to pick seats (per seat)
And also even on mainline carriers like American/Delta with Basic Economy fares they do much the same
Makes sense. Otherwise, the flight attendants end up having to ask for volunteers to play musical chairs to make sure they have a place to sit together.
