HookemHorns

+1. When I briefly lost DL status, I found that less than half the seats were available to me. I would gladly have paid for a "premium" seat next to each crappy middle seat, but DL doesn't monetize at the time of booking. It drove my family travel to WN for the rest of the year (ironic, in light of the "moo" commercials).

hazelrah

I have a feeling that all it will take is a bad quarter or two and Delta will monetize coach seat assignments.

ag30075

It is really stressful traveling with kids, especially with Delta. I think it's terrible that Delta is following this profit only and insane strategy - I hope something happens (even a regulatory something). My story - booked a flight ATL-MCO (2 months in advanced) for May 24th departure, selected one window and one middle seat - for husband and 6 year old and another window and middle seat for me and 8 year old, towards the front - row 25 or so. 48 hours before the flight Delta switched my seat selection to window, middle, aisle, aisle about 10 rows behind my original selection. 24 hours before flight -when I received the it's time to check-in email - they changed my seats again:
22F, 24A, 25C, 33F - scattered in the plane. I was furious! I called customer service and talked to agent and sup - they said there is nothing they could do as they need to increase revenue. Arrived at the airport to check in and when my 6 year old asked if we were seating together and I said no, he started crying (how fun my Disney trip started thanks to Delta). At check in I paid $9 for an aisle seat close to me for my 6 year old so he can stop crying - so we ended up 24A, 24C, 25C and 22F. How is this better than what I have originally reserved? I had originally reserved 2 premium seats and 2 middle seats and I was happy about it and now Delta ended up giving me 4 premium seats - and I was not happy as my kids were not sitting by me bothering other passengers somewhere else. I am sure the passengers by my kids were not so thrilled either and we took 2 premium seats (aisles) that we did not want (2 middle seats for the kids work for us).
How can this make sense? how is it sane to think that kids are better of flying with strangers?
This is the second time that Delta does this to my family vacation. I am thinking that someone should step up for families - is it too unreasonable to want to flight with your kid by your side? what a terrible service we are receiving by this industry!
In the flight back they changed my seats too! again I booked window, middle row 24 and window middle row 32. Ended up window, middle, aisle, aisle row 32 - not so bad for me but is this really better for Delta (again 3 premium seats for me versus the 2 I requested)...
Flying again in July - booked 2 months prior - I am already stressed out about the sitting. This one is an International flight and the customer service rep told me that they will likely change my seats because I booked so early - it really does not make any sense to me. I booked early because I want to select seats that work for us - and Delta tells me that booking so early increases the chances of my seats being change...
any advice on my upcoming trip and the nightmare with the seating?
Terrible!

houserulz77

Your seat changes on the ATL-MCO flight were likely due to a change in the type of 757 used - it happens.

As for your upcoming INTL flight, the seats are unlikely to be reassigned. How ever if you provide the aircraft type (date and flight if you feel comfortable doing so), you can likely get better information.

sbagdon

Oh, c'mon, that's almost a perfect example of "who talks first". Point to the two rows of aisle/window and empty-middle, and say "if one of you four doesn't move to the middle of the other row, two of you are sitting with a 5yo in the middle seat".

Besides, if noone moves, just stand there until someone does. They can't close the door until everyone's sitting, correct?

Yet all of that is dependent on your willingness to not take that flight.

stan1162

Not all 100% of the passengers on a Delta flight are nice people, some, even, might be scary seated next to a child.

Will it take is one accusation of "inappropriate behavior" with a child sitting next to a stranger with no parent next to them to have them rethink this?

Even if one is willing to pay the additional fee for to be seated together, there will be occasions where there are no available seats together...No?

Is it REALLY over 5 as being considered as able to fly "unaccompanied"???

flyingfran

My daughter, son-in-law and 6 year-old grandson fly into Orlando several times a year to visit us. They do not have status and are never assigned seats together. My daughter just gets on the plane and puts my grandson in the center seat where he has been assigned. She just smiles at the passengers on either side and explains that Delta could not seat her next to her son. Passengers are never excited about having a six-year-old child as a seat companion.

Our grandson has never flown without a parent next to him. Someone always elects to take daughter's middle seat rather than flying across the country with a six-year-child. On her flight last week she put grandson in center seat and said to the adjoining passengers that grandson was quite cranky and she was glad that Delta did not require her to sit next to him. Both passengers gave their seats to daughter and son-in-law.

I do agree, however, that Delta could do more to help families sit together. Occasionally a gate agent will do that for my daughter, but only about 50% of the time.

jamesteroh

As a PM, I would have an issue being asked to change an aisle seat to a middle seat. One of the perks of having status is access to a better seat. Unless I SDC, I almost always have a Exit row (or now the EC has been rolled out I may chose those seats as well) so I don't have that worry if I am in an exit row at least seeing children can't sit there and if I am in EC, seeing there is a charge for those seats if you don't have status, I shouldn't have a p roblem there either.

Delta does need to do a better job of sitting families together. Maybe what they should do is have the last couple rows of a plane blocked out and only bookable for people flying with younger children. It would help ti insure parents and their kids sit together and wouldn't PO many frequent flyers since the back of the plane isn't that desirable of seating.

jamesteroh

Something that might help as welel would be if the FA's offered the PAX a couple dree drinks if they switch seats.

I have been on southwest flights before where they had late connects and only middle seats were open and the FA's had luck getting passengers to switch to a middle seat in exchange for drink coupouns. One time they got two people to move and I can't remember if it was in exchange for free dirnks the entire flight or a book of four drink coupons. If I wasn't a frequent flyer, and flew once or twice a year, four free drinks or unlimited drinks on a chicago to vegas flight may be enough to encourage me to switch to a middle seat

Delta should just block out the last few rows from being booked and only allow them to be booked by people travelling with young children. It would save them a lot of hassle from trying to sit kids and a parent together and wouldn't tick off their loyal customers since those aren't desirable seats anyway and it would make deplanning a lot faster having the small kids in the back as well.

Orange County Commuter

No, but they can haul you off the flight by force LOL!

Now I agree if Delta moves a family that was originally seated together then Delta should fix the mess.

If however, family said "we don't want to pay for seat assignements" then... all bets are off.
(and as for ag30075's post... I have read it three times. Not a clue what seats they have and what they want...)

gooselee

+1 - I really like this idea. And if these seats don't fill with families, then that'll be where the E-fares sit, which seems appropriate for the lowest fare class. I can even see the case for reserving the back three or four (or more) rows for this purpose on the leisure heavy routes like those to MCO.

houserulz77

So your family flies in to visit; this suggests planned travel. There is no reason why you cannot select seats when booking in advance. Instead, your family's preferred method is to take whatever seats the computer spits out, and then guilt customers into moving around; perhaps even customers that actually selected seats in advance. Further, it's always funny to me how people asking others to move do so in a way that requires someone else moving to a middle seat.

SJC ORD LDR

That might work.

However, the reality is that airlines are going to treat customers who are either frequent fliers or people who pay more than a T fare better than those who fly once or twice a year on a T or E fare from now on.

MSPeconomist

I like the idea, but I think a lot of the people traveling with kids don't just want to sit together, they also want to sit together in prime seats near the front, etc.

gooselee

Let them eat cake!