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- They reserved their seats together months ago, but then the airline capriciously switched them so they could let some self-important Gold Platinum Preferred businessman sit there instead.
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Originally Posted by revelated
This doesn't happen in Economy or Refundable and you know it. Strawman argument.
You're right, this has never happened to me. But plenty of people on this very thread have said that it has happened to them, or seen it happen to others. Are they all lying?
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Originally Posted by bus man
- They booked their seats together, but then the airline did an unscheduled equipment change to a plane with a different seating configuration, which threw off the seat-selection process.
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Originally Posted by revelated
Advance notice is always given of any change in the plane. In 20+ years of flying I have never had this type of thing happen. Doesn't mean it doesn't, but it's so rare it doesn't matter anyway. They tell you it happened and what happened; and if you paid for the proper seat, you still can re-situate yourself.
This has happened to me, personally, at least three times that I can recall just off the top of my head. (And that is NOT counting times when the flight was cancelled and I was rebooked onto another flight with a different type of plane, which has also happened a few times.) In none of those times did I get the equivalent of my original seat.
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Originally Posted by bus man
- They're traveling on short notice due to a family emergency, such as a relative passing away.
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Originally Posted by revelated
Yeah, all those Mickey Mouse balloons and Shamu stuffed animals are certainly key to getting over that loss.
I never said nor inferred that attending a funeral was the only, or even the most common, reason that families travel. I simply used this as an example of a situation that would explain lack of prior planning.
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Originally Posted by bus man
- They left home plenty early, but then Baby took a huge dump and soiled his clothes, and they had to stop and clean up the mess. (If this has never happened to you, count your blessings. Don't ask me how I know.) So by the time they got to the airport, their pre-assigned seats were canceled and they were given whatever was left over.
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Originally Posted by revelated
This is bad planning. Again, you are instructed to get to the airport EARLY. Yes, that means you're sitting there bored as all what for X hours. Those are the breaks. I'm often 2 hours early every time because of such unknowns.
The airports all have a baby care section in the bathrooms for these events. Get there early, and deal with it.
You're right. Bad baby, for thoughtlessly interfering with your family's travel plans! And bad parents, for failing to foresee a situation that quite possibly may have never happened to them before. (Again, don't ask me how I know that something like this can be an entirely unexpected surprise, and completely contrary to how Baby has functioned in the year or so that you've had him.)
And if the parents do show up early and hang around the airport for X hours, and their kids are bored out of their minds, I imagine you'll be one of the ones complaining about those out-of-control hellions running around, and the clueless breeders that inflicted them on you.
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Originally Posted by bus man
- Their first flight was late and so they missed their connection, and were instead rebooked onto your flight, and given whatever seats were left over.
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Originally Posted by revelated
The key there is "whatever seats were left over". That's fine - but then you take what you're given. That is not a free pass for me to get shortchanged.
I did not say nor imply that this situation is in any way your fault. But you cannot deny that it is a circumstance in which the family might be split up through no fault of their own, having nothing to do with "poor planning."
Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
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Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
reading this I couldn't help wondering: why do so many people loathe the idea of sitting in the back of the plane? Does it make a difference?
If you are taking a short flight, the plane is likely small and it doesn't really make a huge difference in terms the time you get off ... 2 or 3 minutes?
If you are flying international/cross Ocean, what's another 5 or 6 minutes compared with the 10+ hours you have already endured?
I just took a 14 hour flight last month and deliberately chose row 43 out of a total of 44. It is actually much quieter in the back as everyone prefers to sit in the front, so there is more empty seats toward the back, and chances you have an empty seat beside you is much higher. There was one time I had 3 seats just to myself, so I could comfortably lie down to sleep! Won't happen for row 12, will it? Also airline staff are more likely to put passengers with babies in the front, so I will be far from them as well. For a long haul, you have no freedom to walk around without worrying about getting in the face of other passengers (as the case with front seats).
So unless it is an exit row, I really don't have a preference for front seats - it is not be bus where back seats are bumpier.
Two flights in a row I had the window seat in the last row with the wall at my back....I LOVE sitting there....
reading this I couldn't help wondering: why do so many people loathe the idea of sitting in the back of the plane? Does it make a difference?
If you are taking a short flight, the plane is likely small and it doesn't really make a huge difference in terms the time you get off ... 2 or 3 minutes?
If the phrase "37 minute connection time in Atlanta" (aka the world's busiest airport) doesn't strike fear in your heart, then you have had a charmed flying experience. Even on an RJ, those extra three minutes make a difference if you're trying to get from like A to E terminal, and that's assuming your first flight actually arrives on time and there are no technical issues. I've had a couple of flights where we've had to wait ten minutes to deplane due to jet bridge issues.
Second of all, if I DID have kids, I would purposely purchase seats next to them. That's called planning.
Here is a good article for you to read about seat assignments. Even if you plan ahead, which many families do, they get reassigned. I'm surprised you have never had equipment changes on flights, that has happened frequently to me in my 20 years of flying. I normally only care when I am traveling as a family though, as that is when seats assignments get messy.
I recently switched seats so that an elderly couple could sit together with another elderly relative on a flight back from Germany. As an experienced traveler, I would go so far as to say it is rude to refuse to switch seats. For those who say that families should plan better, you should understand travel better. It is not always easy to get seats together, and many times the airline will switch seats so you don't always don't get the seat you thought you were going to get.
I have always got the seat I picked and paid for without ever being asked to change seats.
I doubt I would move unless there is already a screaming, squirming child next to me.
Otherwise it really depends on the situation.
Assume that you are traveling alone, so that it doesn't matter who you are sitting next to. If the flight attendant told you that she is trying to seat a family together, would you move? If so, under what conditions?
Sure, why not? Do unto others. I can sit anywhere and read a book.
Things happen. The airline changes planes, and the original seat assignments get scrambled. The kids get to come along at the last minute, perhaps because of babysitting snafus, etc., etc.
If I had paid extra for a seat with extra leg room . . . maybe not. Depends on situation. Flight attendants generally take good care of you if you make their life easier. :-) I've been moved to 1st class in order to accommodate seating reshuffles. One of them would have put me 12 rows back in a middle seat, from my comfy bulkhead seat. On that one, the attendant just moved me to an empty first class seat -- sweet!
I recently switched seats so that an elderly couple could sit together with another elderly relative on a flight back from Germany. As an experienced traveler, I would go so far as to say it is rude to refuse to switch seats. For those who say that families should plan better, you should understand travel better. It is not always easy to get seats together, and many times the airline will switch seats so you don't always don't get the seat you thought you were going to get.
And I would go so far as to say it is rude to put somebody on the spot by asking them to switch seats.
Your family seating problem is between you and the airline, don't force the other passengers to participate in your drama.
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It is rude to ask fellow pax to switch seats
