yyznomad

bolding mine...

So a "full price" tango fare... Love the misleading statement... Yeah I get that the "full fare" is what they purchased minus the add-ons, but don't fool others into thinking that Tango is "full". At least explain this, cbc.

mkjr

What if the child is disabled? Does AC have a legal obligation to sit a disabled child next to at least one parent if the disability requires full time attention and assistance.

GrayAnderson

Notwithstanding the specific fact pattern (which seems to be down to a error on the part of a travel agent), I think any airline ought to do their best to seat a parent with a child regardless of any nuanced conditions with the fare. Setting aside anxiety issues, I think we can all imagine a rambunctious four-year-old refusing to comply with FA instructions, buckle their seatbelt, etc., without a parent there (and if the FA didn't notice whose kid it was and the parents are eight rows away, I can see hilarity ensuing...I think we can all see a less-than-desirable parent responding to the kid being out-of-control halfway through with words to the effect of "I'd be happy to control Junior if you weren't going to charge me $50 to do so").

I see this as less of an issue with, say, a 10-11 year old but I think there should be a point where the system automatically allocates seats together (e.g. even if you don't select seats until check-in, the system advance-assigns you seats together...even if it's the back row in the middle of a widebody you'll be guaranteed a "together" assignment).

shaner82

It's amazing to me that many frequent flyers insist on always wearing shoes in case of an emergency situation, but many are also advocating that it's okay to separate a child from his/her parents unless the parents pay the seat selection fee for themselves and the child.

This is ridiculous. A minor should automatically be seated beside at least one parent. It should be law. The online booking system should also prevent the parent from upgrading to a more expensive seat unless the parent also pays for the upgrade for the minor. The system should force them to stay in the area they originally booked in, with the child beside them.

What happens if a parent is at the very back of a large plane and the child is at the front? Who is going to make sure the child stays put until the parent can get up there while disembarking? Who is going to ensure the child doesn't get off by him/herself while the parent is stuck on the plane for another 10 minutes?

A child should always be beside a parent and it should be law. Just another reason not to fly Air Canada. I've avoided them my whole life and will continue to do so.

smallmj

I'd say that seat selection fees should be waived for families travelling with children 12 and under if they are booked under the same transaction. Westjet did this for me a few years ago, though it was on a codeshare booked through Air France if that makes any difference.

YQMYMM

It is not the law and a Tango fare is highly discounted and the terms are disclosed up front - no baggage allowance, no BOB food, no seat selection, no changes, no refunds. If anyone wants a full fare experience, pay for a full fare.

That being said, there is plenty of opportunity to be seated together without paying for a higher fare class or advance seat selection. OLCI at T-24 will normally allow for seats together. Calmly and rationally explaining the situation to a check-in agent or a GA will also normally garner some sympathy and best efforts and as a last ditch, SD/FAs will make every effort on-board to move pax around.

These one-sided sensationalist articles by the media are misleading to the public. AC isn't a bloody charity, they give you what you pay for. Don't whine about no-frills Tango fares - you always have to option to buy a higher fare!!!

ACYYZ/SD

Yes we do, and frankly I can't think of a situation over the years where we haven't worked it out. Do we really need to legislate yet something else?? Granted getting a family of 5 or more seats together may be challenging, but I have always ensured that a child is seated with at least one of the parents.

smallmj

BTW, I paid Tango fares for my upcoming family trip and was given free seat selection automatically. Was this because I was flying with kids or because it is TATL?

ffsim

This makes sense.

This doesn't.

I'm all for limiting legislation to where it's absolutely needed, but honestly, why is this your problem? Why is it up to you to work it out? You shouldn't have to deal with it onboard, and you shouldn't have to inconvenience* other pax to do the common sense thing and make sure a child is seated with his / her parent.

The airline's system should be able to spit out a boarding pass for a child which is directly adjacent to one of the parents without any intervention from the check-in agent, gate agent, flight attendant or service director. If the airlines are not willing to implement this sort of automated logic, then they should be forced to by front-line employees, paying passengers, the press, the government or any combination of the above.

*Other pax are being inconvenienced whether or not they're happy to oblige the request to change seats.

jasdou

Yes, seat selection is free for international itineraries, even on a Tango fare. It's only on Tango fares for flights within Canada or between Canada and the U.S. that seat selection is not free.

ffsim

Seat selection is complimentary on all non-Canada and non-US itineraries regardless of fare paid.

Sopwith

I tend to agree. However, it's even more ridiculous to charge other pax a fee for advance seat selection and then expect them to move to accommodate others who have not paid. This is the central issue. Either you pay to select a seat and get the seat you selected, or you don't pay and risk not getting what you want.

BC Ferries allows passengers to reserve (vehicle) space on the major routes, but only 40% of the space is available for reservation. (i.e. they reserve 60% of the space for people without reservations ) Is this a potential solution? Once xx% of seats are selected in advance, it becomes a free-for-all (per BA and others) at check-in? What if the families with kids don't check in until the airport and only singles are available?

Guava

If you really want to go by that standard, AC may as well stop carrying drinkable water on board since water is heavy and not carrying water will significantly improve the bottom line via reduced fuel cost. As you said, there is nothing in law that mandates AC to use common sense or be customer friendly.

I must say, such argument is absurd and a very poor excuse. And from a legalistic view point, even if something is not specifically mandated by law, it doesn't mean it's necessarily legal or the right thing to do. This means if a case like this ends up in Court, the judge is free to rule against AC and impose whatever remedy he/she deem reasonable. After all, the law specifically allows the Court to issue their ruling regardless whether something is specifically legislated or not. Want to see a sample argument? How about the emotional distress inflicted on a minor child with special needs for being separated from his/her parent? Do you honestly believe AC will have a leg to stand on in such a scenario by hiding behind some catch all T&C?

Guava

A reasonable argument except the care of a minor child (defined as kids younger than 12) must take precedence provided that the child's ticket was booked with the parent's under a same reservation. The system should be made to recognize not to separate a child from his/her parent under any circumstances and no one is going to purposely fly a child just so that they can get a preferred seating for free.

Agreed, the SD and other FAs are already very busy in preparation for the take off, it makes no sense to further burden them with the responsibility of playing music chair on board when this is something that should be handled by reservation services.

yulred

On the one hand, the consensus is that people are extremely cost-sensitive and won't pay for frills (hence Tango fares and Rouge).

On the other hand, we're expected to believe that so many people are now paying for advance seat selection that some of these folk will be impacted.

Something isnt adding up. Why not just hike prices by the same amount as the seat selection fee (noting, of course, the immense real cost to the airline)?