Originally Posted by
Ragnarok
It says it right there. A red X next to Sit with your group or family.
You are looking at the United site, while the booking in question was made through Expedia, which is much less clear. Someone already posted how it looks on that site; even a seasoned flier might not notice it.
And yes, I can predict the "it's their fault for using Expedia" argument, but ultimately it's the airline that is responsible, and shouldn't sell tickets through Expedia if they don't want passengers to use it.
Originally Posted by
Ragnarok
Even outside of the air travel, no seat assignment means you could be sitting away from your group.
Buses; subway, train, ferry, open seating movie theater; there is simply no excuse!
Not at all. On other public transportation and performance venues, no seat assignment means you go in and sit wherever you want (in your designated section). Airlines are the only place where "no seat assignment" means "you will have a seat assignment, but not of your choosing".
Originally Posted by
dilanesp
I think this is right.
There are children involved. Rules are different in that situation.
Well the rules aren't different, but the way they are implemented is different. If this had involved two adults who wanted to sit together, it's likely that they would have been told "tough luck". But since a child was involved, and UA does not want the potential liability or bad publicity of separating a child from the parent, this was resolved to the family's satisfaction.