United allowing families to sit together for free

[MarBee]

I'm not a fan because it's assigning a basic economy ticket a window or aisle seat at booking. If I'm traveling for my day job we don't usually get to book our flight until 6 weeks out. There are times that means I have to pay for a "preferred" seat in order to not be in a middle. I think the better solution would be to limit basic economy to 12+.

This will help you to have less middles to be assigned. Kids will be seated next to their parents taking up the middle seat

 

[bfost87]

Someone please explain to me, why should people travelling without kids get more perks/benefits than those who are travelling with young kids (on top of not travelling with young kids)?

You're travelling with adults/older kids/teens, who don't need to be seated with parents/family, so you can book Basic Economy, saving money? But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets by others on here, and in turn, pay more so they can sit with their kids?

The lack of common sense on this forum sometimes is crazy.

 

[Marrila]

Someone please explain to me, why should people travelling without kids get more perks/benefits than those who are travelling with young kids (on top of not travelling with young kids)?

You're travelling with adults/older kids/teens, who don't need to be seated with parents/family, so you can book Basic Economy, saving money? But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets by others on here, and in turn, pay more so they can sit with their kids?

The lack of common sense on this forum sometimes is crazy.

Common sense huh? Basic economy has always been for people who do not care where they sit, and are fine being separated from a friend or family member. The seats are assigned day of travel.
It remains to be seen how well the new program will work with BE passengers with under 12's. If the seats aren't available, united has promised to book the families on later flights.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets

Well it's not very common sense to book a fare category where you know you don't get xyz (seat assignment, overhead bin space, carry on, etc). We have different definitions of common sense I think.

 

[ubarpants]

I pay extra for "main cabin" as I think most airlines call the non-basic economy tickets now, and I don't even have kids; I just prefer to sit with my traveling party without having to stress over being available right when check-in opens to pick a seat. I would think that it's common sense that anyone who wants or needs a guarantee of being seated with their family would book a ticket that provides that service. Sometimes we pay for things that we don't think should be an extra charge, and it stinks, but it's also just how these things work.

The reason that airline seats keep shrinking and services keep being unbundled from the base fare is that consumers have repeatedly shown an inclination to book the cheapest possible price, regardless of what it doesn't include. If consumers were, as a whole, willing to pay more for bigger seats and free seat selection, we'd see entire planes made up of premium economy and business class (and yes, I'm aware that SQ does do such a thing!). Ideally, we'd all total up the total price including any checked luggage we need and any seat assignments we need, and then choose our flights, but in reality, a lot of people don't have time, don't want to spend the time, or just don't fly often enough to understand the nuances. I am curious to see how this goes with United.

 

[lowlight]

Sometimes we pay for things that we don't think should be an extra charge, and it stinks, but it's also just how these things work.

Not anymore, at least with this aspect and at least with United. If it comes down to them or another carrier I'm going to choose them now, it's easily a several hundred dollar difference in round trip tickets.

 

[HashberryOTG]

Someone please explain to me, why should people travelling without kids get more perks/benefits than those who are travelling with young kids (on top of not travelling with young kids)?

You're travelling with adults/older kids/teens, who don't need to be seated with parents/family, so you can book Basic Economy, saving money? But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets by others on here, and in turn, pay more so they can sit with their kids?

The lack of common sense on this forum sometimes is crazy.

To counter this... why am I being punished by having to pay extra to sit with my family when someone with kids gets it for free? We both had the choice to book the fare with the offerings we needed or wanted. How come a family with children is exempt from that?

If I need a car seat for my uber I'm paying for a larger vehicle. That's something I accept to get what I need for my family. I don't book the cheapest then expect an accommodation for free.

I guess my perspective is I make the choices I need to account for my life, whether it's my anxiety, my children or my 'insert whatever here'. There isn't an entitlement to the lowest price on anything if that doesn't fulfill my needs.

I absolutely understand that parents need to be with their children. I agree and would want the same. I guess I'm not really understanding how this turned into this situation. If I book the fare that doesn't let me pick my seat, why would I expect otherwise?

 

[EACarlson]

This will help you to have less middles to be assigned. Kids will be seated next to their parents taking up the middle seat

No, it's going to have many more of the "non-preferred" windows and aisles assigned. Currently no BE passengers have seat assignments until check in, with this all BE passengers under 12 and one other person will have seats assigned at booking. Means more likely I'll have to pay out of pocket to not sit in a middle seat on a business trip. While already being more profitable than the BE passengers.

Someone please explain to me, why should people travelling without kids get more perks/benefits than those who are travelling with young kids (on top of not travelling with young kids)?

You're travelling with adults/older kids/teens, who don't need to be seated with parents/family, so you can book Basic Economy, saving money? But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets by others on here, and in turn, pay more so they can sit with their kids?

The lack of common sense on this forum sometimes is crazy.

I'll bite. People travelling without kids are not getting more perks/benefits than those travelling with young kids, unless they have earned those perks/benefits through flying the airline. Families have the same opportunity to purchase tickets with seat assignments as those flying solo. This is giving those with kids under 12 a big perk/benefit that those without kids don't get. Seat assignment at booking on a BE ticket and a guarantee to sit together. The only part of this I am actually in favor of is that if the only seats together include a "preferred" seat, you aren't charged. If this whole announcement was that on Main Cabin tickets that wouldn't be charged I'd be ok.
Yes, that was the entire point of Basic Economy when Delta introduced it into the US marketplace.
If you don't care where you sit or whom you sit next you, you can save at that time it was 15% compared to Main Cabin. Paying more is part of being a parent. I don't expect things to cost less because I have two kids, I expect them to cost more.
Completely agree the lack of common sense on this forum is sometimes crazy, but we'll differ on who is missing that common sense.

 

[sam_gordon]

Someone please explain to me, why should people travelling without kids get more perks/benefits than those who are travelling with young kids (on top of not travelling with young kids)?

You're travelling with adults/older kids/teens, who don't need to be seated with parents/family, so you can book Basic Economy, saving money? But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets by others on here, and in turn, pay more so they can sit with their kids?

The lack of common sense on this forum sometimes is crazy.

As mentioned, what if one of your traveling party is a nervous flier? Having them sit with a companion is definitely desired, possibly even as much as a child with a parent. THEY have to pay to sit together. So why shouldn't a child/parent?

Another analogy... is it not fair that a single parent needs to purchase a sedan (leaving out those locations with good public transportation)? They can get a 2 seat sports car if they need to transport kids.

Staying with the airlines... those who can pack well enough to keep everything in a carryon doesn't have to pay for checked luggage, and doesn't have to wait for checked luggage at the destination. I guess that's "not fair" to those who need to utilize checked luggage (and have to pay more)?

I have NEVER booked Basic Economy. I want to select where I sit and I want to board earlier. That's whether I'm traveling by myself or with my family (my kids are well past 12). The savings isn't worth it to me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with United's plans depending on how it works out.

 

[StarSeven7]

I've flown with 2 Canadian airlines that offer free family seating for kids under 12. With Westjet, we could select our seats right at the time of booking for free. With Air Transat, they automatically assign seats together for your family, but you don't get to select where in the plane they are, in order to choose your seats you have to pay. I think both of these are fair. I think the "fairness" issue comes up with families having to pay for seats because its not really a choice. If I fly with only my husband, we like to sit together but it isn't necessary that we sit together so I wouldn't feel the need to pay extra for seat selection. When we fly with our kids, it's a necessity so it's no longer an option for us to not sit together. I find it strange that you can't leave your kid at home alone for 30 minutes but for some reason you can leave them sitting alone on a hours-long flight? I don't think sitting by your kids is an option so airlines should be automatically seating kids together with their parents. I personally appreciate airlines that offer family seating for free but if they don't, they could at least offer a small "family seating" fee instead of making everyone pay for individual seats. For my family, we don't care at all where we sit, we just want to be guaranteed to sit together. I think for families that are similar, paying so much extra $$$ can be frustrating.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I find it strange that you can't leave your kid at home alone for 30 minutes but for some reason you can leave them sitting alone on a hours-long flight?

Eh minors flying alone happens all the time although with age limits and often for a fee. Believe it or not kids do fly alone. Being separated on a plane would be the lesser of the two when considering the other.

 

[tom1944]

So we will be flying with a toddler for the first time in August. I would rather avoid any issues so I can and should still pay for specific seats- am I correct?

 

[focusondisney]

You're travelling with adults/older kids/teens, who don't need to be seated with parents/family, so you can book Basic Economy, saving money? But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets by others on here, and in turn, pay more so they can sit with their kids?

I mostly fly SW & JB. I book business select on SW so I am one of the first on the plane. I have never & will never book basic economy on any airline. Because I care where I sit & who I sit with when I fly. So I PAY to make sure my needs are taken care of. If I’m traveling I make sure I have the money to pay for what I need or I don’t travel. Not everyone is looking to just save money. When my kids were 3 or 4, I didn’t have money to fly anywhere. So we went on driving trips because that’s what we could afford.


As others have pointed out, those BE seats were intended for people who didn’t care where they sat or who they sat with. If that doesn’t describe you & your travel companions, DON’T buy those tickets. Pretty simple really.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Think of it this way.

I believe Main Cabin is considered “standard” fare.

You’re not paying more to sit with your kid. You’re just not getting a discount.

 

[lowlight]

Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with United's plans depending on how it works out.

You have literally argued for dozens of pages in two threads half a year apart about this. Your definition of fine with it is different than mine, I guess.

 

[Mle8308]

Well it's not very common sense to book a fare category where you know you don't get xyz (seat assignment, overhead bin space, carry on, etc). We have different definitions of common sense I think.

It makes perfect sense for some. I rarely book the economy fare, but I have when I am paying for it, travelling alone, and on a shorter flight. Sometimes I book last minute and the only seats available to choose are bad seats, so I might as well book the cheaper fare and get the same seat as I would have chosen, at a lot less. I know what I'm booking and I don't care where I sit and am okay with having a seat assigned only 24 hours prior. You know what you are getting when you book that class of a ticket and should not have the expectation of sitting together or anywhere other than in a middle seat. If a family chooses to buy the cheapest ticket with those stated restrictions, they should not expect to be seated with each other or for others to move to accommodate them.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It makes perfect sense for some. I rarely book the economy fare, but I have when I am paying for it, travelling alone, and on a shorter flight. Sometimes I book last minute and the only seats available to choose are bad seats, so I might as well book the cheaper fare and get the same seat as I would have chosen, at a lot less. I know what I'm booking and I don't care where I sit and am okay with having a seat assigned only 24 hours prior. You know what you are getting when you book that class of a ticket and should not have the expectation of sitting together or anywhere other than in a middle seat. If a family chooses to buy the cheapest ticket with those stated restrictions, they should not expect to be seated with each other or for others to move to accommodate them.

I think you may have missed the conversation that was going on.

To recap the poster said
"But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets" Well yes because that product did not have the ability to guarantee you sit next to each other and in fact usually was very explicit in telling you families will be separated. (You and I agree on our viewpoint about the product and expectations )

I didn't say that the product wasn't a product worth having. I said it doesn't make much sense to knowingly book a product that doesn't come with xyz and that was in relation to the poster discussing sitting next to kids and being told not to purchase Basic Economy and they didn't like that.

Because Basic Economy (until now depending on the airline) did not come with certain things including seat assignment as in the product was designed with that as part of that it wouldn't make much sense to book that when you know that. What ended up becoming the downfall of Basic Economy and the like is people booking these categories then getting upset when they weren't getting what they wanted. The poster brought up the forum's lack of common sense which is why I mentioned it doesn't make much sense part.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Totally agree about families (with kids under 12) not being allowed to book Basic Economy. How is it fair that they get to save twice by booking the cheapest airfare and getting seats together for free. Airlines are not non-profit. Profits lost by giving away free seat selection will, no doubt, be recouped by raising prices on tickets as well as all their upgrades.
I think a fair compromise would be everyone over 12 pays for advanced seat selection but kids under 12 get free seats beside the adults they are travelling with as I can understand why no parent would want them sitting beside a stranger.

 

[easyas123]

I may be looking at this in a overly simplistic way, but to my way of thinking this getting out of hand. How about people with small children that they want/need to sit with book flights with seats together? The particular flight or airline you want doesn't have that available? Pick a different flight or airline and/or different method of travel.

When our boys were kids and we booked flights, if I couldn't get a flight that at least put one adult with one kid then I looked for a different flight

 

[Mle8308]

I think you may have missed the conversation that was going on.

To recap the poster said
"But those who are travelling with 3 years olds, 4 year olds, etc - are being told not to book those Basic Economy tickets" Well yes because that product did not have the ability to guarantee you sit next to each other and in fact usually was very explicit in telling you families will be separated. (You and I agree on our viewpoint about the product and expectations )

I didn't say that the product wasn't a product worth having. I said it doesn't make much sense to knowingly book a product that doesn't come with xyz and that was in relation to the poster discussing sitting next to kids and being told not to purchase Basic Economy and they didn't like that.

Because Basic Economy (until now depending on the airline) did not come with certain things including seat assignment as in the product was designed with that as part of that it wouldn't make much sense to book that when you know that. What ended up becoming the downfall of Basic Economy and the like is people booking these categories then getting upset when they weren't getting what they wanted. The poster brought up the forum's lack of common sense which is why I mentioned it doesn't make much sense part.

Gotcha! You are right! I read through some postings too quickly - ooops.