jhayes_1780

I did read it one more time... I don't even see where LH is mentioned in the OP?

Rick371

Sorry if my initial post wasn't clear. Gate agent was the one who came onboard and asked us to move, not the Flight Attendant.

Once two seats were available I thought I'd be able ok to keep my seat. Then Gate agent comes back with the breastfeeding line, and says I have to move, no choice.

I can't remember if Gate agent was in United or Lufthansa garb. I think United.

Flight Attendant witnessing all this said after the fact I didn't have to move. Drinks on them. Seat in front of me was max-reclined the entire flight, so no chance for laptop.

twtrvl

Hmmm....

That worked so well for this family, that I wonder how many times they've used it before.
(There is an older child....)

Kacee

Did anyone check to see if there was really an infant

iluv2fly

Exactly! It could have been a 30 lb hunk of cheese.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3955468057

kevinsac

I am a strong advocate of mothers who breastfeed .... and especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I always am in favor of "second base." The right to breatfeed never should be restricted.

And I generally think it is offensive when someone tells a breastfeeding mom she has to go into a lav. I certainly do not like eating in a lav, especially on a plane.

But in this case, the mother was offered a seat. It's her own nervousness that caused the issue. She could have fed in the assigned seat. The alternative was the bathroom -- that would have been her choice.

I might have offered to take a walk during while the kid was nursing. But I would not have given up the seat for E- the entire flight.

fastair

What if the flight was 100% full? Would she still have been too uncomfortable to have someone else in a seat nearby? If it's a natural thing done in public without restrictions, then there isn't a restriction as to who can be near. Sure, privacy may be desired, but not required at the expense of others.

Often1

Two different issues:

1. Pax can be moved for any reason (or no reason at all). That ends the question of whether there is a "right" to force OP to move. If he lost E+, all he is entitled to is a refund of the E+ fee.

2. Anybody who books a bassinet seat runs the risk of being bumped for a child requiring one.

3. But, that is not this case. There were two open seats and the bassinet issue is not what required the move, it was the breast feeding.

4. The breast feeding is a poor reason to require a passenger to move. If the mother was uncomfortable (and one can understand why), she can certainly do this in the lav or wherever else the crew might designate.

My view: UA was entitled to require OP to move, but they blew it as a policy matter.

AndySAV

I would not have moved backwards but happily forwards, in fact that actually happened to me many years ago from ORD to NRT but it was done at the gate before boarding. Is refusing to move when asked or instructed failure to follow the instructions of the flight crew? They would have had to divert and throw me off to get me to give up a seat I have paid for.

Kacee

Yes.

mortenfan

In this case no flight crew asked nobody to move.

Often1

Not applicable because the GA apparently dealt with this himself, had the GA gone to a member of the Flight Crew and a FC directed OP to move and had he not, he could have ordered off the aircraft by the Captain and left him to be dealt with by German authorities. In theory -- although unlikely -- because this ocurred aboard a US-flagged carrier, albeit on the ground in Germany -- OP could also have faced criminal or civil charges upon return to the US.

The risk in pushing this with the GA is that the Captain's response is that he simply doesn't want the passenger on his aircraft. No violation, but you are stuck sitting at a gate at FRA with a refund.

JK-SFO

I saw this happen leaving Frankfurt a while back (I was in the A/B side of the bulkhead just behind Business). This was handled the same way by the contracted ground staff (who I think were LH). Their tone and attitude was "This is for a family with a baby, and you have to move now." However - only two seats had to be taken and then the bassinet was set up in front of them. Nothing about breast feeding that day. I highly doubt it would have happened this way if the flight was starting in one of United's US hubs.

JK-SFO

mahasamatman

And, since nobody else has bothered,

Welcome to FT, Rick371!

Live4Upgrade

Simple. Refuse to move unless new seat is equal or better quality than originally assigned seat. In all cases, force that a new boarding pass is issued -- to create the paper trail.

You can always ask that they "inconvenience another customer".

Once my butt is in the seat, it's mine unless a better seat is offered.