Originally Posted by
RichardMEL
hmm I can see a bit of a storm brewing here between ptravel and downunder_girl... and I think it's avoidable...
Not at all. Downunder Girl has been civil and respectful, and I hope I have been as well. As she said in her most recent post, we'll simply have to agree to disagree. We don't all have to agree about everything on FT, and it's nice that we can all get along anyway. ^
It seems to me that both of you agree on most salient points, but there's disagreement on the key points of travelling with younger children and "what if the seat swap won't happen"
For my opinion on this I think that even though I have no children of my own, I can definitely see why a parent would treat the situation differently if it was their child involvolved. An adult pair, such as a married couple or colleagues, can look after eachother even if they can't sit together - no big deal. A child is a dependent on its parent/s and I don't think anyone would want to leave their child in a seat not next to them.
And I don't, for one moment, question that in the least. Younger children need to sit with their parents for everyone's benefit -- the children, the parents and the other passengers.
I think Ptravel's question is legitimate enough - what if you *can't* swap with anyone (full plane, unwilling passengers, F/A no help etc)... it is interesting and I don't think ANYONE can answer this one with a flat out answer - all circumstances are different. One person's 7 year old child may be able to sit OK by themselves(next to a stranger) while the next one's couldm't and/or the parents might or might not feel comfortable with the situation regardless of the child's age.
That's the point. Earlier in this thread, I mentioned misconnects and equipment changes as examples of situations that would be out of a parent's control (I also indicated I was more willing to accommodate a parent in such a circumstance). However, another poster also mentioned not being able to get seats together at booking. That's a situation that is readily avoidable by the parent -- simply book another flight. There is an assumption, however, (and a presumption) that the parent will be able to engineer a seat switch, and it is that presumption to which I object. I don't know any other class of passenger that would make such an assumption (other than the seat poachers whom, we all agree, are selfish boors who merit no consideration whatsoever).
I think it is generally understood that more experienced travellers, specially when flying with family or friends, will organise as much as they can seating and other stuff. Others only fly very infrequently and may not think of these things until it's too late... and of those people some feel an entitlement such as the people in the OP's post... but most I've found are pretty willing to either try and sort something out politely, or accept it.
I don't know the situation outside the U.S., but at least here, our domestic airlines' competitive race to the bottom has resulted in far more Kettles and Gomers flying than ever before. It's not just the entitlement-demanding parents (that's
not you, Downunder Girl
), it's the seat poachers, the duffel-bag-the-size-of-Cleveland totters, the smelly-cheese-sandwich bringers, the put-my-dirty-and-smelly-feet-on-your-armrest people, the chatter boxes, the DVD-player-without-headphone listeners, etc. all of whom have, in combination with an increasingly disinterested airline management, made the process of flying unnecessarily unpleasant. As I've said in other threads, my attitude about flying comes down to, "Leave me the h*ll alone" (and I, in turn, covenant to leave you the h*ll alone, too). Entitlement-demanding is problematic (and there are some people, for example high-status fliers, F-ticket buyers, etc. who are entitled and should have the right to demand), and parental entitlement-demanding (again, not you Downunder Girl) is an unfortunately common species. However, I'm an equal-opportunity curmudgeon -- I won't swap for a lesser seat for anyone, unless there is a reason that I find compelling. An injured pax, an elderly couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary OR a family separated by a misconnect or irreg. op. are all reasons that
I would find sufficiently compelling that I
would consider the swap. Most anything else? "Leave me the h*ll alone!"