Passenger Claims Delta Forced Him to Pay to Sit Next to His 4-Year-Old
Joe Cortez May 13, 2015
After online seat selection displayed no seats together on a Delta flight, gate agents told the family a change would cost $88.
One father is taking his complaints with Delta Air Lines to the public after claiming he was forced to pay $88 to sit with his daughter during a flight. Yahoo! News reports Frank Strong is rallying for policy change after a computer assigned seats for the family 11 rows apart.
The situation began when Strong booked the Delta flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), with a connection through Atlanta. During the booking process, the Delta online system showed no open seats together on the aircraft. Therefore, Strong decided to wait to select seats until they arrived at the airport with the hopes that two adjacent seats would become available.
When checking in at the airport for their flight, the automated system assigned both Strong and his daughter seats, but not next to each other. Instead, the computer assigned his daughter a seat 11 rows back. When Strong asked the gate agents for assistance, they gave him two options: try to request two seats together at the gate, or pay $88 at the counter to guarantee two seats together. Although Strong paid the seat changing fee, he claims there were many empty seats on the flight.
“This never should have happened in the first place,” Strong wrote on his personal blog about his experience. “No parent holds a higher responsibility — or more deeply visceral instinct — than keeping their child or children safe. That’s hard to accomplish 11 rows away when the fasten seat belt sign is glowing.”
As a result, Strong is asking airlines to reconsider their seating policies for families. Strong claims that the situation was perpetuated by fees without regard for the best interests of the family.
A spokesperson for Delta told Yahoo! News the airline is investigating the claims. “We strive to ensure that every customer has a great experience with Delta,” the airline spokesperson said in a statement.
[Photo: Delta Air Lines]
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Well, I do think DOT needs to force the airlines into a policy like CAA has. OTOH, dad in this case set up the lawsuit.... his tweet: Dear @Delta Why do you think it's okay to put a toddler and parent in separate seats? We've been through this before. #CSR #customer Happened before, he decided 'time to make it a case'. Good for him, most certainly his right AND the most effective way to force change.
A minor child should sit next to a parent or another adult who promise to take care of the child. No one can expect a another adult to do that. Antother passenger should not have to move if they dont want to. Also they might be travelling with somebody .They might be old, sick and etc. This happen to me years ago when my youngest son was 5. We got seated rows away. He ended up next to an old couple in their 70 + -. They got asked to take care of him. The air personal asked not me. The couple got irritated and my son scared. They were all strangers to each other. I dont blame them at all. The flight could not take off since (that was I was told) an adult have to take care of him. Without one they were not allowed to take off. The story ended with that me and my son got special seats from the personal. My husband at the time sat some where else on the plane.
Delta - Still Driving Every Loyal Traveler Away.
It is also wrong to expect other passengers to sit next to an unaccompanied 4 year old child.
This situation highlights what ought to be the policy: 1. Basic economy fares should not be sold to parties that include children under the minimum unaccompanied minor age. 2. For regular economy fares, right at booking the system should automatically assign seats together for groups with passengers of any age. If this is not possible given the seats already assigned on the flight, the system should alert the passengers ahead of time during the booking process so they can make an informed decision and thus absorb the liability of having to sit away from their children. I say this bearing in mind that in 99.9% of cases, seat changes and/or friendly seatmates will prevent this situation from mattering.