Transport Minister urges airlines to stop separating parents, children

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Feb 21, 2020, 8:47 pm

#421

global happy traveller

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiordland

Then this all should be a non-issue. System should just pre-assign seats.

Are people deliberately picking seats away from their children? I don't get why this is an issue.

I don’t know why it’s such a big issue. My experience is that both the system and staff are pretty good with making sure an adult is seated with a child. Gets more difficult if the flight is full and most seats are selected but gate/onboard staff is pretty good with making accommodation decisions.

Feb 21, 2020, 10:28 pm

#422

Sopwith

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It’s an issue for people who have paid for advance seat selection when they are asked/required to move to a inferior seat to accommodate people who haven’t paid for advance seat selection.

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Feb 22, 2020, 9:48 am

#423

Stranger

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Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiancow

Because they go to AC.com (or a TA, or ... however people book tickets?) and book 4 adults in Basic/Standard instead of 2 adults and 2 children.

Or the TA books children as adults. Otherwise they presumably would not be able to book chldren on their own PNR. In which case they presumably must enter an incorrect age.

In any event, in none of these cases is the airline to blame.

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Feb 22, 2020, 10:49 am

#424

Fiordland

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sopwith

It’s an issue for people who have paid for advance seat selection when they are asked/required to move to a inferior seat to accommodate people who haven’t paid for advance seat selection.

There is another way of looking at it. The people "who haven't paid for advanced seat selection" were eligible for free seat selection per the fare rules.

Feb 22, 2020, 10:54 am

#425

Adam Smith

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiordland

There is another way of looking at it. The people "who haven't paid for advanced seat selection" were eligible for free seat selection per the fare rules.

Yet they failed to take advantage of it. And would likely have been assigned seats near the back, not in a place where people paying for them would have been.

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Feb 22, 2020, 10:56 am

#426

canadiancow

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiordland

There is another way of looking at it. The people "who haven't paid for advanced seat selection" were eligible for free seat selection per the fare rules.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Smith

Yet they failed to take advantage of it. And would likely have been assigned seats near the back, not in a place where people paying for them would have been.

I should get to kick people out of their seats because I'm eligible for free preferred seat selection on all fares.

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Feb 22, 2020, 11:48 am

#427

Sopwith

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiordland

There is another way of looking at it. The people "who haven't paid for advanced seat selection" were eligible for free seat selection per the fare rules.

I have no issue with families getting free seat selection, but you get to select from what’s available at the time. I have a big issue with the notion that they can bump someone else who paid for seat selection.

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Feb 22, 2020, 11:50 am

#428

global happy traveller

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sopwith

It’s an issue for people who have paid for advance seat selection when they are asked/required to move to a inferior seat to accommodate people who haven’t paid for advance seat selection.

If you got moved then your entitled to your refund for advance seat selection. Besides your assuming everyone has paid for seat selection, which may not be the case.

Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiancow

I should get to kick people out of their seats because I'm eligible for free preferred seat selection on all fares.

with your status, you could have kicked people off the plane as far as i'm concerned

im surprised that you guys arn't debating how standby and bottom feeder ticket holders with GTE gets to be seated in Preferred seats that were unsold

Honestly I have a very very simple way of dealing with this.....

"hi here is little joe/jane that is X years old and will be your seatmate today. They'll have special needs, cannot sit stil, still being toilet trained but i'll occasionally come and check out on them. Meanwhile..... enjoy your ride

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Feb 22, 2020, 11:57 am

#429

Adam Smith

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Quote:

Originally Posted by global happy traveller

If you got moved then your entitled to your refund for advance seat selection. Besides your assuming everyone has paid for seat selection, which may not be the case.

A refund is not necessarily an adequate remedy when the problem could be avoided in the first place. And whether one has paid a seat selection fee, got it using status, or purchased a fare that entitles one to select a particular seat for free, the vast majority of people have paid for those seats. Other than.....

Quote:

im surprised that you guys arn't debating how standby and bottom feeder ticket holders with GTE gets to be seated in Preferred seats that were unsold

It's already well known that many here take a dim view of that practice

Quote:

Honestly I have a very very simple way of dealing with this.....

"hi here is little joe/jane that is X years old and will be your seatmate today. They'll have special needs, cannot sit stil, still being toilet trained but i'll occasionally come and check out on them. Meanwhile..... enjoy your ride

Actually, the simple way is to bump whoever is in 32B up to 15E so that a child and parent can have 32AB, rather bumping 15D back to 32B so that the parent/child can have 15DE.

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Feb 22, 2020, 2:33 pm

#430

Fiordland

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sopwith

From a practical perspective that is not the way it is should work. Small kids should be supervised by their parents. As a paying passenger I would be someone annoyed if I was now being recruited to be a babysitter, especially if I was being ask to do it for free.

Your then have the issue that the airline has to inconvenience someone to achieve that goal. If this is identified before boarding starts a logical solution would be to bump that person up to the next cabin.

Feb 22, 2020, 3:26 pm

#431

global happy traveller

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i recall AC and UA computer systems separating us before..... but no one seemed to want to sit next to GHT Jr and offered to exchange seats with me...... Was hoping for an on board baby sitter.....

Then again you are also talking to the person that always hoped for overbooked flights and misconnect etc...., but only been offered once in all my years of traveling.

Back to the original channel - I am under the impression that there's enough seats that people dont wanna pay for to play seat chess......

I recall some of you at the YYZ MIniDO were pretty good babysitters for GHT Jr......

Feb 22, 2020, 8:20 pm

#432

Sopwith

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When I am King the rules will be as follows:

Children 12 and under shall be seated next to at least one parent or guardian.
Families will be entitled to free advance seat selection.
If at the time of seat selection there are insufficient seats available to comply with Clause 1 the passengers shall have the option of (a) proceeding without seat selection subject to Clause 4; or (b) rebooking on another flight.
If at the time of boarding there are insufficient seats available to comply with Clause 1 it shall be deemed an oversell/IDB situation and dealt with according to the applicable rules.
Subject to Clause 4, any person who requests another passenger who has been granted advance seat selection to relocate pursuant to Clause 1 shall be summarily beheaded.
Any seat made available pursuant to Clause 5 may be assigned pursuant to Clause 1.

Feb 22, 2020, 8:28 pm

#433

24left

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sopwith

When I am King the rules will be as follows:

Children 12 and under shall be seated next to at least one parent or guardian.
Families will be entitled to free advance seat selection.
If at the time of seat selection there are insufficient seats available to comply with Clause 1 the passengers shall have the option of (a) proceeding without seat selection subject to Clause 4; or (b) rebooking on another flight.
If at the time of boarding there are insufficient seats available to comply with Clause 1 it shall be deemed an oversell/IDB situation and dealt with according to the applicable rules.
Subject to Clause 4, any person who requests another passenger who has been granted advance seat selection to relocate pursuant to Clause 1 shall be summarily beheaded.
Any seat made available pursuant to Clause 5 may be assigned pursuant to Clause 1.

@Sopwith

"When I am King the rules will be as follows:"

Perfect post for an update to your thread The AC Contract Translated into Plain English

Feb 25, 2020, 12:10 am

#434

GrayAnderson

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Quote:

Originally Posted by fin 645

Firstly, I am not blaming the airlines in general nor AC in particular. I am merely trying to point out that passengers may not have any control over the situation. I can only wish that your bookings had to be made in similar circumstances and maybe then finding out how useful (read useless) taking "issue with the party that booked them and made them know there was an issue." will be. I'll admit that I have no idea if the TA is breaking rules except that it's been done this way for ages and AC has never objected nor taken the TA (AMEX) to task.

And what happened when we brought the issue to the attention of an MP? A litany of comments from the MP about the idiocy of government booking procedures. Actually if there is any bright side to this, it's that it usually takes so long to get an approval to book that it's often last minute and only higher end fares are left, and they may in fact provide free seat assignments. What that all costs the taxpayers never seems to matter.

I think I could put blame at the airline's feet for this, actually. It sounds like they are permitting reservations that should "trip" as UM tickets to book (DoB is required for most or all bookings if I'm not sorely mistaken, unless that's "just" a US thing, but WestJet requires DoB when I go to book as well). Those military tickets and TA tickets should be kicking back an error or tripping a UM tag.