Flight cancelled, rebooked, then flight uncancelled and we cannot get a seat

[SirDuff]

Have you actually read previous posts? People who refuse to swap until left with a screaming child, people who fake an invalid status, and (not above but I witnessed recently) - people who buy early boarding for one person in a group who boards and throws a briefcase on one seat, a jacket on another and a carry-on on a third to save seats for the rest of the group. I'll take my passive-aggressive!

I have read the posts. I've also flown over 100K miles this year (and moved a couple of times - not asked very often). I agree that someone travelers try to take any advantage that they can and/or are unwillingly to help others in any scenario), but I put the passive-aggressive parents (or grandparents) on that same list.

You keep your passive-aggressive and I'll keep my seat.

ETA - none of your examples are actually applicable in your story anyway, as you were flying an airline with assigned seats.

 

[hrhdhd]

People who legit need early boarding I have no problem with. Because most of them will have to wait for the skycaps anyway to disembark. But the people who try and game the system really irk me.

And someone who needs early boarding should get one companion to board with. I have seen groups of 10 and 12 board with one person in a wheelchair. That's no bueno.

 

[Rob1872]

I wonder if we'll hear from OP whether they made the cruise.....

I think we've gone so far off topic that the OP will be scared away........................

 

[Dug720]

And someone who needs early boarding should get one companion to board with. I have seen groups of 10 and 12 board with one person in a wheelchair. That's no bueno.

Especially when you get on and that “party of 10 or 12” has spread themselves all over the plane. Saw that happen before too. ONE person was sitting with the one in the wheelchair and the rest had scattered all over.

It’s like how it used to be at WDW where an entire extended family would board with a wheelchair or scooter and cut drastically the number of people who could get on the bus. My
last few trips I have seen them limiting the number of people allowed to board with the person depending on the situation. Which is only fair.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

It happened to us and I believe it was United. We had assigned seats. I checked in 24hours prior to departure. All was good until we got to the Airport. They told us that our tickets were cancelled from Denver to New Jersey to Stockholm, Sweden. They put us on the same plane to New Jersey and told us to work with them there. I told the Flight Attendant on that flight about the cancelled ticket and he indeed saw it. Somehow he was able to contact the airport in flight in New Jersey and they worked it all out. We had our seat all the way to Stockholm but it sure did spoil all the excitement.

 

[Lisa F]

The family boarding for sure rubs some people the wrong way when they end up with a B. You are getting a better Boarding position than those who check in at 24hrs and that's what it was for. But if you have bad experiences with things like too many "miracle" preboarders or too many Family Boarders I'm sure it can sour the experience. And yeah Orlando is a problem child but I feel that way about the airport itself lol.

EBCI isn't on mobile boarding passes. It will show up on paper boarding passes. I personally rarely use paper boarding passes and almost always use mobile. Over the last 2 years I've seen more and more people just using their phones.

It's not "checked in early" it's "paid extra."

I do think small kids should be allowed to board with a parent and be seated with a parent but not before people who paid extra for priority are seated and not with a party of 12.

 

[jscunningham699]

Airlines have had to adjust to Boeing's problems with their planes this summer, so there's been a lot of shuffling flights. Sure hope they get things resolved soon.

Delta does not fly the Boeing MAX8 or MAX9 aircraft that has been grounded, so that shouldn't have any affect on their flight schedule. Unfortunately, airlines are constantly changing and updationg their flight schedules.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It's not "checked in early" it's "paid extra."

I'm not certain where you're going with this honestly or I'm just confused on your wording

I do think small kids should be allowed to board with a parent and be seated with a parent but not before people who paid extra for priority are seated and not with a party of 12.

I don't think I said something that would denote that I wouldn't agree with what you're saying

 

[bumbershoot]

I know they can charge extra for seat assignments, but who doesn't want a seat assignment for a transatlantic flight The price can't be that much.

And yet it can be. I’m flying delta to Sweden soon. I initially bought Main seats, but could have saved hundreds by booking the no-seating-assignment seats. On one ticket. I ended up going entirely the other direction and upgraded after a few days, but I was weighing my options and noticed the cheapest prices.

That should be the airline's responsibility to switch people around to make sure families with children can sit together. Especially with young children. 11 years old is a bit of a grey area, I think. If your son behaved like a mature 11 year old, the gate & flight crew probably thought let's not get into the uncomfortable hassle to ask people to change seats (which I think they should anyway with underaged children, so always notify them). Also depends of course on the flight time. A 2 hour domestic flight is not the same as a 6 hour transatlantic.

11 is grey? I disagree. 11 is fine, IMO.

And I don’t think it’s the airline’s responsibility unless the airline itself caused it.

Southwest will not make people move for children. They offer family boarding between A and B groups for those with children I believe under 8. Older then that they can sit alone. I k ow I would not give up my window or aisle for some one who didnt pay to board earlier.

It’s not up to 8, that’s for sure.

That's the downside of low cost carriers.

In no way is SW a low cost carrier anymore, in my experience.

Even if you do not want to change because you have paid for a specific seat (which you totally are entitled to do so), would you want to sit next to a child whose parents are sitting somewhere else?

I see no reason why I wouldn’t.

But I also see no reason to assume the child will misbehave.

It's actually 6 years old for family boarding on SW. Lufthansa allows family boarding for up to like 16 or 18 years old. In fact, they are pretty militant about insisting the families board first. They pulled us out of the crowd with our son going to Germany once. We thought family boarding was only for little kids, like th US carriers do. Lufthansa was actually pretty nice. I don't expect anyone to accommodate us if we aren't willing to pay extra/ensure that we can sit together. We got caught off guard on that flight, because it was so crowded. Our previous flights for MCO on SW weren't that crowded. We have since started paying for A boarding group, just for peace of mind, when we all travel together. If I fly domestically by myself, I could care less.

There is nothing I can find on the Lufthansa site indicating this. There are some very old posts that seem to be discussing this experience, but without anything official i think it might be outdated or a YMMV situation.

I agree that most people aren't jerks.

Not changing your seat doesn’t mean you’re a jerk.

DH and I sit in aisle seats across from each other, or, because we're both on the same plane, in aisle seats away from each other. Better than either of us sitting in a center seat. Yuk.

That’s what me and my son do now. It’s awesome.

I now travel with grandchildren and plan to use the same line if I need to.

Ugh.

I would very likely take you very seriously, and have the FA come over and help you guys find a flight for once the child was better. After all, puking on a plane isn’t healthy for anyone.

You wanna lie? Take the consequences.

And good gravy, for a 9 year old? My son was 8 and sat apart from me and did just fine.

I did try, by asking, to get closer, but there were solid reasons why we couldn’t get next to each other (like extreme flying anxiety), and it was all fine.

Ended up making flying even easier, because we both knew how mature, self-reliant, and awesome he could be. I’m glad for that knowledge!!

People who refuse to swap until left with a screaming child

One story of that.

people who buy early boarding for one person in a group who boards and throws a briefcase on one seat, a jacket on another and a carry-on on a third to save seats for the rest of the group.

So sit down. SW doesn’t get involved in seat saving. Just sit.

Anything is better than telling a plane full of people that you’ve boarded with a sick child.

Especially when you get on and that “party of 10 or 12” has spread themselves all over the plane. Saw that happen before too. ONE person was sitting with the one in the wheelchair and the rest had scattered all over.

But isn’t that actually better for everyone than if they clump? If I were one of that party I’m sure I would direct us all to scatter, so as to lessen the impact our group had made.

It’s like how it used to be at WDW where an entire extended family would board with a wheelchair or scooter and cut drastically the number of people who could get on the bus.

Nothing like starting a family vacation morning by having to split into two or three groups!


Edited several times for all the typos.

 

[Dug720]

Nothing like starting a family vacation morning by having to split into two or three groups!

But then busses were going out less than full because families in the front of the line would not get on and would not let solos, couples, or groups who were more than willing to stand on.

I did actually see one bus once before they started limiting the people who could board that filled with TWO people in scooters and their entourages. Filled as in all seats AND all standing room. THAT was excessive. If your group is that large, you should rent your own bus for the week IMHO.

 

[MomOTwins]

It's not "checked in early" it's "paid extra."

I do think small kids should be allowed to board with a parent and be seated with a parent but not before people who paid extra for priority are seated and not with a party of 12.

Southwest does limit the adult-to-child ratio: only two family members may board per eligible kid during family boarding. When we fly with grandparents, they are on their own. Which works fine for us; all I care about is that our kids are not unattended.

 

[princessmommyx3]

11 is grey? I disagree. 11 is fine, IMO.

And good gravy, for a 9 year old? My son was 8 and sat apart from me and did just fine.

What if there was an emergency during the flight, like severe turbulence, loss of cabin pressure, or an emergency landing? I'm willing to bet this is probably what most parents are concerned about when insisting that they sit next to their child.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

What if there was an emergency during the flight, like severe turbulence, loss of cabin pressure, or an emergency landing? I'm willing to bet this is probably what most parents are concerned about when insisting that they sit next to their child.

The adult is to put their mask on first. I think the other adult would take care of things. People are pretty great in those situations in my experience.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The adult is to put their mask on first. I think the other adult would take care of things. People are pretty great in those situations in my experience.

I'm thinking you're most likely correct, BUT, would you, in an aircraft emergency, want to be sitting with your oxygen mask on 6 rows away from your child who is sitting next to strangers want to trust that they "did the right thing"?

 

[Lisa F]

I'm thinking you're most likely correct, BUT, would you, in an aircraft emergency, want to be sitting with your oxygen mask on 6 rows away from your child who is sitting next to strangers want to trust that they "did the right thing"?

yeah no way
but ALSO this is why I pay for early bird.

Having kids costs money, no way around it.

This cruise is costing me north of $5000 for the two of us, I am not going to fret over $100 so I can sit next to my kid on the plane.

 

[smmco]

What if there was an emergency during the flight, like severe turbulence, loss of cabin pressure, or an emergency landing? I'm willing to bet this is probably what most parents are concerned about when insisting that they sit next to their child.

It's a one in a million chance something like this would happen. Your kids are safer on a plane then they are in your car. My kids sat by strangers many times starting at age 5 or so. The only thing I worried about was them possibly irritating the person next to them, spilling their water, kicking the seat in front of them etc.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It's a one in a million chance something like this would happen. Your kids are safer on a plane then they are in your car. My kids sat by strangers many times starting at age 5 or so. The only thing I worried about was them possibly irritating the person next to them, spilling their water, kicking the seat in front of them etc.

Yes, there's that. I'm the one responsible for my child's behavior. I want to be able to correct any "incorrect" behaviors as soon as they start. Not be told about it later.

Yes, I've been in front of many "little darlings" who've felt that kicking the seat, slamming the tray table closed/open, hanging off the top of the seat in front of them was the way to go while the plane was in flight.

 

[Dug720]

Yes, I've been in front of many "little darlings" who've felt that kicking the seat, slamming the tray table closed/open, hanging off the top of the seat in front of them was the way to go while the plane was in flight

I had one of those once. I guess my “teacher look” worked because they stopped as soon as I gave it. And the adults with the dear were either sleeping or pretending to, so I know they did not prompt the behavior change.

 

[smmco]

Yes, there's that. I'm the one responsible for my child's behavior. I want to be able to correct any "incorrect" behaviors as soon as they start. Not be told about it later.

Yes, I've been in front of many "little darlings" who've felt that kicking the seat, slamming the tray table closed/open, hanging off the top of the seat in front of them was the way to go while the plane was in flight.

I hate the term "little darlings" it's very derogatory. I've sat in front of adults that kicked my seat continuously during my flight. I've sat next to drunk adults and adults that farted non-stop. Bad flying etiquette isn't exclusive to kids.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I hate the term "little darlings" it's very derogatory. I've sat in front of adults that kicked my seat continuously during my flight. I've sat next to drunk adults and adults that farted non-stop. Bad flying etiquette isn't exclusive to kids.

That's why I put it in quotes. They're not that darling. But they are little.

Yes, there have been a few adults behind me on airplanes that had no clue that bumping into or grabbing onto the seat in front of them was disturbing to others.