Originally Posted by
Stranger
Well, in effect the father did when he not not request seat assignments when booking.
If out of ignorance he might have an excuse.
If knowingly because he would not pay for seat assignments, surely he brought this upon himself, no?
This is all a consequence of the race to the bottom and unbundling. Web sites that look for absolute cheapest and people who will purchase based on ridiculous fare differences. With the result than if an airline does not unbundle it ends up losing.
Can we really blame the airlines?
I agree somewhat. But the airline KNOWS there is a child too young to be unaccompanied on the booking. So if they don't want to provide complimentary seating together for at least one parent with the infant child - fine. But they should assess a mandatory "accompanied child fee" on the booking and then ensure that the seats are assigned together. A parent might reasonably choose to have, say, a 12 year old sit by themselves to save the $15. That's fine. But a 3 year old needs to be seated with a parent.
Clearly, having a 3 year old sit by themselves is not acceptable. The airline should put a procedure in place such that this is not possible, regardless of the passenger's decisions. Whether the airline wants to charge for this service or not is up to them, but they should put in place a clear policy with automated enforcement at time of booking, not just push the problem onto GAs who end arguing with cheapo parents.