C W

Why should any airline give some of the best seats in coach away free just because somebody chose to have a baby and is flying with it without even paying for a ticket for it?

Being a parent gives you responsibilities, not rights.

Pay the fee for yourself and be very grateful they gave you one for free already.

nli007

Amen.

Stranger

You sure KLM isn't even more stingy than AC? :-)

SullyofDoha

You want the bulkhead seat? Pay for the bulkhead seat, like the rest of us!

28isGreat

AC won't work confirm bassinet until time of departure. It's practically the opposite of seat selection. How on Earth is someone supposed to make such a booking to guarantee you won't get split up? Nor does the "travelling with children" web page say anything about "one adult 'free', others must pay premium seat fee". Or that bassinet-facing seats are "premium".

I don't blame customers for being confused! You want customers to fork over more cash? Better be clearer about it in advance.

Edit: ok sounds like reservations agent was clear. But web page sucks. *sigh*

YEG_SE4Life

In my mind, the point is that, when op purchased a ticket that did not include seat assignment, he made a decision that he did not require a seat with his wife. When the couple made arrangements for the bassinet, A.C. decided one of the parents should sit with the bassinet, because it is necessary. It is not necessary to seat both parents there, especially when they demonstrated, at time of purchase, that it wasn't important. In most aspects of life, if something is important to me, I pay for It. If the cost makes it not worth while, I am the one who balances and lives with the decision.

mikk13

There seems to be an assumption that I did not pay for the seat. There is also the assumption that I booked the ticket via the AC web page- actually it was booked via expedia.

In fact I actually booked three seats for this flight with the expectation that it may not be possible to have a bassinet- as stated on their webpage.

Do you actually suggest that some one flying with a LAP infant should pay more than you- esp when they only use one seat. You have one seat- they have one seat. You pay less.

What gives you the right to pay less for your seat because you chose not to have children?

This policy is about money gouging families. That is my issue with it. Make it clear on the web page and then all is fair.

canopus27

In the OP's defence, he doesn't say if he purchased Tango or not; he could well have purchased Flex, which clearly states that seat selection is included. The problem is that AC has decided that the only row where you can place a bassinet, also happens to be a premium row which they charge a surcharge for. Thus, if a family don't particularly care about premium seats, but they do want to sit together (and they paid for Flex to get that) ... nowhere on the AC website does it state that a bassinet can only located in a premium row and an additional premium charge will then apply for other family members.

So I do have some sympathy.

The Lev

I don't see how the OP is to be "blamed" here. I don't blame the OP for wanting to sit beside his wife and I don't blame him for wanting to not pay for the privilege. If everyone on FT got blamed for wanting something for nothing, this would be a pretty ghastly place. Nor do I blame AC for charging a second parent for the use of a second premium seat (kudos for making the first one "free") or for not having things explained in excruciating detail on Expedia's web site where the OP made his booking.

Although AC does not charge for use of a bassinet, I would actually have no problem with them offering the parent the option of keeping their infant on their lap overnight for free (ugh) or paying the $100 per person premium seat fee that would allow for the use of a bassinet. I suspect the reason they don't charge is there would be hell to pay via social media and the CBC if a customer ever paid the premium fee for use of a bassinet and then due to equipment swap, IT glitch or over-entitled SE convincing an unsuspecting Concierge to do a switcheroo that "paid for" bassinet seat suddenly disappeared.

From time to time we get people here who didn't want to pay extra for seat selection to assure that they sit together complaining when families are split up. It's pretty much the same thing. If you want to ensure you sit together, the reality of 21st century air travel is you suck it up and pay the extra fee.

Welltended3

Free lap children seems generous enough, even before giving up premium space for free to let the parent put the kid off-lap. Buy the kid a seat and fly safer.

ACflyerDE

I guess it's ok on a short 1h hop but on any flight longer than that, I couldn't agree more - buy the kid a seat.

rankourabu

And hopefully you've learned your lesson, and it will be the last.

RangerNS

For my seat? Nothing. I can assure you that Air Canada has never once asked me about things I'm not doing outside of my relationship with them. For the seat (or bassinet) of my non-existent child? You paid $100 for it! You do understand that using a service would require spending money...

But:

Ok. That is much easier. Air Canada doesn't make any effort to group people on the same ticket, be it families or unrelated adults, except for very specific companion type situations. One companion.. If you want to choose your seats: pay the higher fair, pay for that line-item privilege (or have status).

YEG_SE4Life

And, if I made a wrong assumption, then I agree with you.

canopus27

Stop being so damn agreeable! That's not how the internet works