I'd suggest looking for potential offers in the app or on the Delta website to select a seat in advance, and seeing if that price is worth it to you. In the future if traveling in this big group and are thinking bout cost, I might suggest splitting into 2 groups: 1 parent + the 2 youngest with regular main cabin tickets (so that you can select a whole row in advance), and the others in a basic economy group of tickets (that way if someone has to sit as a single, it'd be one of the older kids).
I wonder if it's possible to split up the current reservation into 2 PNRs, so that you can buy up to main cabin for at least part of the group.
Originally Posted by
AviationFreak
[...]
And, for what it's worth, previous posters should consider the manner in which they posted the next time something goes wrong for them. You might consider, for example, how often rules are bent and exceptions made by Delta (and probably life) for you in the past - and while you're asking for punitive 'sticking to the rule' for the OP, you have often been the beneficiary of someone who has looked the other way.
I always find it funny how there are some threads where (often higher medallion) folks celebrate how they book BE tickets, yet still get C+ or more premium seats, which is technically not provided by a BE fare rules, but there's always a very "strict" interpretation when it comes to less frequent fliers.