Can you lie about children on airline ticket?
 

I bought airline tickets in February for August for a group of six. Two of the passengers were children and I was told the only availability on the plane was the last row, middle isle. We were not looking to sit on the same aisle, only pair off relatively close to one another. I have a sneaking suspicion that they rolled out the red carpet (sarcasm) for us here because we have two kids with us. The plane is still selling seats on flight and I hardly believe that 7 months before take off they only had back row availability. I made several calls in and was told to wait closer to date. It has been my experience that if your seats are not printed on your ticket there is little change an agent will insure any seats confirmed over phone once you get on plane. This is a ten-hour flight. The kids are 8 and 10 and very well behaved I find this kind of treatment pretty unacceptable. I was thinking next time I should just lie on the ticket. Anyone ever get around this kind of treatment before?

Please remember that the airline doesn't know the behavior of your children. Even though the flight isn't sold out, this may be the best place for your family on a 10-hour flight. "Pretty unacceptable" sounds like a rash judgment. <BR> <BR>Tell a lie? No -- unless that's the example you prefer to set. <BR>

I am not asking a moral question here. I want to know if it is illegal to not identify children on a ticket on an domestic flight. And 8-10 is old enough in any family to sit beyond the back row, middle aisle.

The airlines are joining a lot of the anti-kid people you see on this and other forums, I'm convinced. Add this to the fact FACT that they routinely reserve the first several rows in front of the wing for the Privileged Class until the very last minute, and you're up a creek if you are traveling on discount coach tickets with kids. <BR> <BR>More times than I can count, I've witnessed families split up and total lack of cooperation by airlines to help a family with seating -- most recently United with a mother and a 4 yr. old, whom they seated 10 rows and two seats away from each other, with plenty of advanced notice. In this case, instead of agents doing a little juggling on check-in, or having the agent go to the mother's and child's various seat-row mates and ask ONE of them to help by switching seats, etc. etc., they barked at the woman and told her to work it out herself. When she left the plane in tears to go back to the gate agents, and THEN they waited until everyone was seated on board and THEN ask for some COUPLE to be very, very compassionate and ring in to offer help "out of the exceptional goodness of their hearts." What an idiotic solution. It delayed things, made people resent mom and kid, and upset two bystander passengers when only one might have needed to switch seats. <BR> <BR>What's really stupid is that they were still taking stand-bys and last-minute business check-ins when I checked in -- the seats were there -- they just wanted to protect their relationship with those silver and gold people. <BR> <BR>I'm truly sick of it (and my kid's been on his own for years).

I agree--I'm fed up with the anti-kid sentiment on the airlines. I'll be the first to admit many parents today have no parenting skills whatsoever and their kids run amouk. That ruins it for the rest of us. Many a time our family has been separated on flights--we've learned to take matters into our own hands and ask people to switch seats ourselves. Usually the prospect of babysitting one of our children for the entire flight is enough to make them switch (and our kids are also of the well-behaved variety). Katherine, I would complain and go as high up in the airline as you can go...until people start complaining and LOUDLY, nothing will change. Good luck and please let us know what happens.

Katherine is complaining that she was seated together with the children, while the people responding are complaining about not being seated together. Seems no one is every happy! Am I missing something????

You are making an assumption about seating availability without considering a couple of important facts. <BR> <BR>First, all airlines overbook. The no show rate can run pretty high on certain flights. Airlines overbook under the assumption that X% of reservations won't show up or will changes flights based upon past history. (It is not uncommon for business travelers to change itineraries at the last minute.) <BR> <BR>Secondly, if you are travelling on a route that is used frequently for business or into/out-of a hub city, chances are that many frequent fliers will be on the plane. Airlines generally hold seats in certain sections for their best customers. <BR> <BR>In terms of your first question, as long as you don't mispresent their age in order to get a better deal on ticket price, it is your decision on how truthful you want to be. I don't think you are breaking the law, just being dishonest.

To Bad all Over, <BR>I'm one of those frequent fliers (or "priviledged class" as you call us.) <BR>I don't think it is unfair that airlines kep seats in reserve for their best customers. If I'm paying a full fare ticket (some examples NY to Boston $790 round-trip, NY to Seattle $1,800+) why shouldn't I expect at least an aisle seat? I've also flown over 50,000 miles on Continental in the last 6 months. I'm not entitled to a little special treatment now and then? <BR> <BR>Think about it this way, if they didn't charge the business traveler such a high fare, then you wouldn't get that great deal on your vacation trip. Somebody has to pay to support the demand of the infrequent flier for great service and low-prices. If I'm subsidizing your travel, at least let me have some perks. <BR> <BR>

This is exactly how I feel Phil. I felt that if I am paying standard adult coach fare I should not be religated to last middle row seven months before take off. Again as long as we were coupled through out the plane that is all I was looking for.

This is a tourist destination we are flying to. And it is a poorly traveled route. I suspect the airline will cancel the flight next year. My my it seems like so many people have such detailed info about this yet they are not in the industry, just regular fliers. Interesting. I have flown around the world for years and I don't have all this detail.

Seven months does not make a huge availability assumption, Phil. I know exactly what you are saying Katherine. I echo the former posts, complain, complain, complain. I would write your congressmen. There has been a discussion of a passenger rights bill before the legislature for some time. Why should you get second class treatment because you have kids?

Katherine, <BR>Although it has been awhile, I did work in the airline industry for about 3 years while in college. <BR> <BR>I empathize with you on the problems getting the seating that you want. However, the best solution to your problem is to avoid an airline that does this you the next time you fly. Book your seats at the time you make your resevation and hopefully you can avoid the problem. <BR>

Phil this is what happened when I tried to book seats at the time of purchase. This happened on Continental Airlines. I like the airline and have never had a problem when flying alone.

Thanks everyone I appreciate your stories pro or con. I know what it means to be sitting near an unminded child. I just have never had a bad experience next to a kid older than 5. <BR>Still curious about new stories so keep em coming.

I am not sure I understand. did you book directly with the airline and they gave you these seats over the phone? Even after you requested not sitting together, but coupled? This doesn't help your situation, but I recently booked tickets, including an infant, online and was able to pick my own seats. At least that way you can see the availability yourself.

Just as you are "tired" of the airlines catering to their elite passengers, I'm tired of parents thinking that they have an "entitlement" to the best seats, the FAs paying attention to their kids (babysitting), etc. Your kids may be great and well behaved (at least in your mind), but I travel constantly and am amazed and astounded as to the behavior or children and their parents (children having "meltdowns" because they didn't get upgraded, children screaming and crying for five hours while the parents AND The nanny sit there with their headsets on doing nothing, etc.). As far as the seats, call back and keep calling back. Many seats are blocked out and are not released until the day of departure or are "airport controlled." This is normal practice on many airlines. I'm an elite on United and this has happened to me several times. Just get to the airport early and get a better seat! I'm waiting for the day when the airlines start having an ADULTS only flight! BTW, no flaming - I like kids, I'm just tired of all of these parents going on and on about how they deserve special treatment because they have children.

Kim that is exactly what happened. I did try to book on line but A, with continental you can only request aisle/window . This all does not matter because the system was not working that day so I called in. I also called in before beginning booking because I anticipated a run around from online bookings. I wanted to be careful. Sure enough the web gave me a higher price than what I could get over the phone. this I was told meant that the system was not working. I don't think this is the normal case but I advise to double check. I also made three subsequent phone calls to phone reservations to see if all operators had same seating chart, they did. They kept telling me to fix seats closer to date. The problem is once you wait until closer to date roles around the line becomes we are filled to capacity you are lucky to have a confirmed seat. I have been through this before. I just think it is total BS and as an earlier poster said there will no doubt be a line of stand bys who will be pushed forward after I check in. I have had airlines tell me you have seat 13K and it will not be printed on ticket even though I requested this noing a path of their bs. The airline will insure that I have this seat right up until I am confirming flight (2 days before departure). I go to the check in counter and they have no record. Yes I always deal directly with airline but I am not sure that is the right way to go.

Please tell me your children don't whine as much as you do! <BR> <BR>Get a printout of the ticket with your seat assignments shown. Then take them with you on your day of departure. There should be a "record." Also, I'd strongly suggest you leave the "attitude" at home - then you really will have problems with the CSRs at the airport and won't get seats together.

That sounds so terrible. I have to book a flight for September. I can remember being on a flight where my daughter was separated from me and she was only 5 at the time. I can only wonder how she behaved on the flight I was not there. I usually travel with my husband so I there are pretty much always two seats together. My husband usually sits by himself if we cannot get all seats together.

To all of you who are now on the anti-Katherine bandwagon, remember this: she's talking about a TEN HOUR flight. Katherine sounds like a reasonable person to me--what Mom wouldn't want her kids paired up on that long of flight and what kind of an airline wouldn't at least try and accomodate a family paying for six tickets (sorry business travelers, I could care less if you fly every day of the week and have enough frequent flyer miles to fly to the moon--a paid fare is a paid fare)? My husband flies a lot and has ended up holding someone else's infant (on two different occasions) while the mother went to check on another child who had to sit alone. My husband loves kids and knows what it's like to fly with them so he offered to switch seats once he knew the situation. Too bad the airlines don't have such a generous attitude...