Flights - no room to sit with DS?

[ElsieToo]

We are leaving later this month for our cruise, and we booked our flights several weeks ago. Unfortuantely, one our return flight there wasn't a single spot for two people to sit together, which means unless the situation changes my DS (5 yo) will have to sit by himself.

 

I called the airline (United) customer service, and explained the situation to them. They said that there's nothing that can be done at this time, and to let the gate agent know before our flight and he or she will try to do something about it... but there is no guarrantee that anything will change.

 

Right now the four of us are travelling in the middle seats of four rows front to back, so if worst comes to worst I'll be in front of DS and DH will be in back, but I can't tell you how much I HATE THIS SITUATION. I hoping the gate agent will come through amd find new seats or that some kind passenger will be willing to switch, but it's still a big concern to me. Have you all had any luck with getting new seat assignments to sit with your kids at the last minute?

[Kamloops50]

I would keep checking seating online with airline.

[reallyitsmema]

Keep an eye on your flight online, seats can open at anytime. Flyers with frequent flyer status apply for free upgrades and will get their upgrades within 24 hours of the flight. Once they move, their seats will open up for you to grab. The ones with higher status will move to 1st class and economy, the ones with lower status, will grab the exit row seats the higher status ones had so then the other seats will open up. Just keep a close eye on it, I bet you will be able to get at least 2 together.

 

If you don't, get there early and go to the ticket counter and plead your case. Usually, there are some unassigned seats that they can play with and get you together. The phone reps aren't usually able to help with that.

 

Good luck.

[cb at sea]

When you board the plane, someone will switch seats with you.....no one wants a 5 year old sitting beside them without a parent there, too. No worries AT ALL!

[gerif]

When you board the plane, someone will switch seats with you.....no one wants a 5 year old sitting beside them without a parent there, too. No worries AT ALL!

 

Not necessarily. Not many will want to swap an aisle or window seat for a middle. Best bet is to hope someone gets an upgrade.

[junglejane]

There have been a bunch of articles about this very problem. The problem is being made worse by the fact that a lot of people have paid a premium for their seats, which makes them less willing to move. Keep checking and if nothing opens up, hope that the gate agent can help you.

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/23/11816540-want-to-fly-next-to-your-child-prepare-to-pay?lite

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/05/seat-selection

http://www.modernmom.com/hottopic/2012/may/24/airlines-force-families-to-pay-extra-to-sit-together

[Kerry's Girls]

I hate to say that I ended up in a similar situation and no one was willing to move. I had booked one of my 4 year olds into what I thought was a seat across the aisle from me, but the rows weren't even, so she ended up two rows back. Even with an aisle seat, no one wanted to move because they were sitting with others. It turned out ok because my daughter is a good flyer. I agree that the best thing to do is to keep checking, especially in the few days before the flight, and if it's still not straigtened out, get to the gate as soon as it opens so they're aware and can try to work it out. Worst case at least you're close to him.

 

Best,

Mia

[circuitrider]

We've been lucky. Any time this has happened to us, it was either taken care of at the gate (given new boarding passes) or on the plane. I still try to make sure we're as close together as possible, just in case.

[beachchick]

Not necessarily. Not many will want to swap an aisle or window seat for a middle. Best bet is to hope someone gets an upgrade.

 

Airline upgrades are usually pretty rare, at least in my experience.

 

Although I loathe middle seats and don't much care for being separated from my hubby, I'd trade seats to let a small child be seated next to his/her parent(s)--and not next to me. Don't get me wrong; I am a mother and a grandmother who loves her family, but I wouldn't have wanted my daughter to be seated with strangers on a flight or have those other passengers feel that they were somehow responsible for her. She was a well traveled, confident child, but she was just that, a child and our responsibility. No child has perfect behavior, so if she was going to be "in a mood" for any reason, it was our job to mind her behavior.

 

In any case, I suspect that they will be able to take care of it at check in or even at the gate. What I fear is that there will be more and more of this as airlines start charging more for various seats (window, aisle, bulkhead, etc.).

 

beachchick

[Mom2B&Z]

We've been lucky. Any time this has happened to us, it was either taken care of at the gate (given new boarding passes) or on the plane. I still try to make sure we're as close together as possible, just in case.

 

I guess we have been lucky too. I have always booked our seats together; however we were once caught in a snowstorm making a connection. Every plane was full, people were taking whatever seats were available. Initially my youngest, who was 3 yrs old at the time, was booked in an emergency exit ( with his car seat :)), and all of us were randomly scattered about the plane. The gate agent managed to sit a parent with each child, and no one was inn the emergency row by the time it was all said and done.

In making the requests, patience and politeness go a long way. I saw other people demand what I had asked for, and they were refused.

[crusinmama06]

I found myself in the same situation when my youngest was 3. The gate agent was NO help. Actually the gate agent couldn't have been less help if he tried and I ended up writing a letter to Air Tran.

 

When I got onboard I walked up the person seated next to me and my daughter and found one willing to switch seats. So I relied on the mercy of strangers ;)

[reallyitsmema]

Airline upgrades are usually pretty rare, at least in my experience.

 

Although I loathe middle seats and don't much care for being separated from my hubby, I'd trade seats to let a small child be seated next to his/her parent(s)--and not next to me. Don't get me wrong; I am a mother and a grandmother who loves her family, but I wouldn't have wanted my daughter to be seated with strangers on a flight or have those other passengers feel that they were somehow responsible for her. She was a well traveled, confident child, but she was just that, a child and our responsibility. No child has perfect behavior, so if she was going to be "in a mood" for any reason, it was our job to mind her behavior.

 

In any case, I suspect that they will be able to take care of it at check in or even at the gate. What I fear is that there will be more and more of this as airlines start charging more for various seats (window, aisle, bulkhead, etc.).

 

beachchick

Upgrades are rare for the casual flyer, frequent flyers get upgraded all the time. My DH flies UA for business and gets upgraded to economy plus or first class on almost every flight. When he has flown enough to be 1K on UA, he can get automatic upgrades and doesn't have to apply for them but he hasn't been 1K for a couple of years.

 

The OP needs to go online and look at the seats that are available. If there are a bunch of first class and economy plus seats available, frequent flyers will be getting upgrades to those seats and their coach seats will become available. She should really keep a close eye, check at least once a day. Business people are constantly changing their flights and seats open.

[newbiecruiser09]

Some people also book window and aisle seats and hope no one books the middles (although this is happening less and less with most flgits going out full). I have been on both sides of this situation. Flying alone switched seats so a child did not have to sit alone. Also had a situation where my son (who was 5) was seated 2 rows away from me (pregnant at the time & traveling w/o hubby) A kind man was willing to give up his seat to let son sit with me. In my experience, most people who are not traveling with small kids themselves have been willing to help out. Keep checking online, get to the gate early and talk with the gate agent and if it still is an issue, plead to the mercy of strangers. Good Luck and I hope it works out for you.

[6rugrats]

We are leaving later this month for our cruise, and we booked our flights several weeks ago. Unfortuantely, one our return flight there wasn't a single spot for two people to sit together, which means unless the situation changes my DS (5 yo) will have to sit by himself.

 

Never count on the GA being able to find you seats together or for someone to trade with you. Have you considered purchasing two seats in Economy Plus? I am guessing there are still seats available there. IMO, it is not the end of the world if a five year old has to sit a row away from their parents, but check out the E+ option.

 

When you board the plane, someone will switch seats with you.....no one wants a 5 year old sitting beside them without a parent there, too. No worries AT ALL!

Crazy advice. Many times no one will switch with you. OP seems to have middle seats and I wouldn't change an aisle or window seat for a middle. More and more I see people refuse to switch the seat they chose long in advance for someone who didn't plan ahead, or who purchased a last minute ticket.

Airline upgrades are usually pretty rare, at least in my experience.

 

 

No, on UA for a domestic flight, there are often many upgrades. OP needs to check her seat assignments daily, and even if she can't get two seats together, she needs to grab any aisle or window seats that may come up, as these are easier to trade. In any case, the upgrade window starts 72 hours before the flight and elites will start moving up. She justs need to be a bit obsessive about it, or fork up the money and purchase E+ seats.

[higgib]

On a flight from Heathrow to Orlando on Virgin, we requested 4 seats in the middle of the plane so we could sit with our kids, and were seated 3 across with 1 behind. I had prebooked 11 MONTHS earlier so was not pleased at check-in! It was here that I discovered that they hold the bulkhead seats vacant in case a family with a baby need to use the skycots. As it was now half an hour until the flight closed, on the first weekend of UK summer holidays, I said that if a family with a baby had left it this late to organise their seating, when I had tried to organise mine nearly a year in advance, it was their own fault, suddenly the check in manager appeared (well I was holding up the queue!) and allocated those seats to us. On another flight from Heathrow to LA on Air New Zealand, an error was made resulting in 3 of us seated together, and one 9 rows behind. No problem, the agent said he would meet us at the gate and get it sorted, which he did. I'm sure it'll be ok, actually, most airlines have policies about minors not being allowed to sit with strangers, on 'safety' grounds. Have a great holiday.:)

[dsrdsrdsr]

A friend of mine was given a free upgrade to first class because he was travelling alone and there was a child travelling alone sat next to him.

[CeleBrat]

We experienced this as well, when we were returning from Barcelona several years ago and due to airline delays (our flight out of Barcelona was 4 hours late) we missed our connection in NY. So, after overnighting in NY, and finally getting a flight the next morning, i was astounded when they put my son in the middle of the plane, and my daughter and I in the first row after 1st class.

 

Like others mentioned, the gate agent was very "meh" about it, and said she couldn't do anything about it as the plane as full. Fortunately, my parents and brother/wife were also with us (DH had flown the day before), so we were able to work out a trade separating my parent to ensure that my son was attended to.

 

The whole thing was really frustrating, and just seemed unsafe that they would condone a small child to sit by theirself on the plane. And, what would all the "kids are too loud and shouldn't be allowed on planes" people would say to an unsupervised child?

 

Crazy!

 

CeleBrat

[boulders]

I travel with my 3 kids by myself frequently. The oldest is now old enough to sit by himself, but I've had many flights where I've had to trade with other passengers. I've never had a problem. Just make sure that the trade you are offering is better than the seat they have. I've given up many aisle seats for a middle. Our most recent flight was to HI. Originally my oldest was supposed to fly with us, but his plans changed. So the two seats that I had next to the window was now reduced to one. In the center was a group of 5 seats. I had two of them, in the same row as the one across the aisle. The one across the aisle though, was about 4 feet back. I was able to juggle a person 3 seats away from us, and the people in the center next to us so that my 6 year old was sitting next to us, a solo flyer had an aisle seat closer to a window and two adults who had been in the middle of a 5 seat row, now had an aisle seat. Just be flexible and creative.

[sandvinsd]

If there is ever a problem with getting someone to trade seats, just bring up a barf bag to where your child is sitting and say to his seat mates to make sure he can find it as he often gets sick on plane rides. :)

 

That should help!

 

:D

[Daisyloo]

if there is ever a problem with getting someone to trade seats, just bring up a barf bag to where your child is sitting and say to his seat mates to make sure he can find it as he often gets sick on plane rides. :)

 

that should help!

 

:d

 

 

lol

[circuitrider]

If there is ever a problem with getting someone to trade seats, just bring up a barf bag to where your child is sitting and say to his seat mates to make sure he can find it as he often gets sick on plane rides. :)

 

That should help!

 

:D

 

I'll have to use that one if we ever find ourselves in that situation! And there would be an element of truth in it (I can't just outright lie).

[beachchick]

I guess we have been lucky too. I have always booked our seats together; however we were once caught in a snowstorm making a connection. Every plane was full' date=' people were taking whatever seats were available. Initially my youngest, who was 3 yrs old at the time, was booked in an emergency exit ( with his car seat :)), and all of us were randomly scattered about the plane. The gate agent managed to sit a parent with each child, and no one was inn the emergency row by the time it was all said and done.

In making the requests, patience and politeness go a long way. I saw other people demand what I had asked for, and they were refused.[/quote']

 

They would have had to move your 3 y/o out of the exit row, regardless. All passengers seated in exit rows must be capable of assisting if there is an emergency landing. Sure, some adults who really aren't able to unlatch the door, discard it, and help others off the plane might lie and say they are, but a young child clearly is not able to help.

 

You're so right that attitude is important, not just for flights. I get what I want often because I am pleasant, usually patient, and make sure that the person I'm asking knows I appreciate the help.

 

A friend of mine was given a free upgrade to first class because he was travelling alone and there was a child travelling alone sat next to him.

 

Children traveling alone are booked a specific way and are taken care of by airline personnel. Our daughter flew that way many times when she was younger. When they're younger than 12, as I recall, they have a tag they have to wear and are escorted from parent/adult to parent/adult. It's different from splitting up families with young children.

 

 

 

Thanks to all who mentioned about upgrades. Even though I flew often in years pasts and sometimes for business (always economy, darn it), I was not upgraded. My hubby received upgrades, but only from business to first (not from economy) on business flights.

 

beachchick

[angelndscz]

I receive upgrades on almost every flight, but I fly every 5-6 months, and almost always includes an international flight. I am a member of Delta and United, so the free upgrades often comes from the membership level. I rarely sit in coach anymore, it is usually a premium plus or better seat.

 

I don't think you have any reason to worry. How long is the flight? They are usually very good about moving children to be seated with their parents. I had this issue once where they did not assign my daughter and I seats together. When I checked in, I simply told them they needed to find a way for us to sit together and they did.

[B_Mc]

We were on a flight in 2009 when they wouldn't pull away from the gate until someone agreed to swap seats. We sat for a good 10 mins, DH and I oblivious to what was happening because we had our noses stuck in our books. We volunteered to split up and ended up getting a credit for one of our ticket prices!

 

As many pp's have said, few people want to sit with an unattended child and many people are sympathetic and kind....someone will take mercy on you!

[WTMhs]

When you board the plane, someone will switch seats with you.....no one wants a 5 year old sitting beside them without a parent there, too. No worries AT ALL!

 

Every flight I've been on someone has switched. One flight a couple moved to two different spots so mom and kid could sit together. There are softies-for-kids on every flight.

 

Can your kid blow bubble gum?? ;)