lakers6902

Hello, I'm hoping for some advice on this bassinet debacle I have going on. FYI mods, this was posted in the KE section however I figured this may be better suited in the DL forum. Please remove if I'm wrong.

I booked, through DL, the following route: San-LAX-ICN. The ICN leg is operated by KE. During booking I confirmed through DL that once my child is born, I'd be able to add them as an infant and have a bassinet seat. Fast forward to today, DL is saying they cannot assign bassinet seats and can only attach a request on my ticket. I contacted KE to confirm the request was added but was told it won't matter because they can't give bassinet seats if I'm on a code share reservation. The rep said the only way I could have a bassinet seat is by either canceling the reservation and rebooking through KE, or flying on DL metal only.

Anyone have a similar experience or advice on how to handle this? I'd really hate being stuck without a bassinet with a 2 month old

JTE458

What the heck is a bassinet seat? Never knew about this.

Billy Mumphrey

It seems like KE's policy is that you can only reserve the bassinet seats at booking if you book directly with KE (or at least have KE flight codes). I would HUCA to make sure that's correct, as it seems a bit unfair to hold those seats for only passengers with lap infants that book directly with KE. I don't think DL will be able to help in this instance. It might be worth trying to escalate to a KE supervisor to see if they can make an exception for you. If that still doesn't work, I'd go back to Delta and explain that your current predicament is based on bad information given by the Delta agent at booking, and I'd push hard to ask for a reroute onto Delta metal (e.g., via SEA) to ensure a bassinet seat.

The bassinets are great for infants, but not all infants will sleep in them. My older daughter would scream bloody murder inside the bassinet and ended up only sleeping on mom's lap at that age. Our younger daughter fell asleep right away in a bassinet and spent almost the whole flight in there. But it's definitely worth trying to get the bassinet seats so you have the option (and worst case, you have extra leg room and a handy place to hold baby gear).

Mr. Tickets

Do you have seat assignments on the flights? I know that some code share booking classes on Korean do not allow for seat assignments. That could be a portion of the problem. If that
is the case, I don't think you have a chance at confirming the bassinet in advance. If you have a booking class that provides you with a seat assignment, then I can't see how they are unable
to confirm the bassinet.

lakers6902

Bassinets are a small bed used for newborns/small infants. Some bulkhead seats allow the ability to connect a bassinet to the wall for an infant to sleep in. Assuming the baby sleeps, it's much better than carrying the little one for a trans-pacific flight. It must be requested in advance though because it's the airline supplying the bassinet and anything else needed for the bed.

flyerCO

Last time I booked a bassinet seat, KE warned me I could be reseated if person requested a bassinet and no other seats available. It did end up happening last minute. (They keep them onboard all their aircraft, no hoping its there) They moved me up a cabin due to issue. (Despite having no need to)

lakers6902

Final update, got the seats no thanks to DL. For any future flyers seeking a bassinet, my advice is to book directly through the airline. My reasoning for not is because I figured if any delays arise DL would have a bigger route network to get me to my final destination. Below is a summary of what happened:

As suggested, I HUCA via phone and chat several times. Several KE reps said they couldn't help and it was DL's responsibility to confirm a seat. One rep went so far as saying it was impossible for a code share reservation to reserve a bassinet.

Speaking with several DL reps, they said they could confirm sears but not a bassinet seat or bassinet. They said they could add a request into my ticket requesting a bassinet but it would not be confirmed, and I would have to ask during check in.

Finally today I called KE and explained to the rep that DL was refusing to confirm a bassinet seat and said per policy, I was told it must be requested at check in. The KE rep said this was a lie and a bassinet must be confirmed several days in advance, and can not be requested at check in. He checked with his supervisor to confirm this and they were both confused why DL was refusing to help. He offered to call DL himself and placed me on hold. Eventually he came back to say he would take care of it and would call me back if there was any issues.

About an hour later I checked my reservation and saw I now had bassinet seats confirmed. I'll be sure to send an appreciation email to KE regarding this rep because this is a huge burden off my back; and an email to DL about their blatant lies. I know an email won't mean much but I find it frustrating during booking I was told one thing, but now am told something else.

flyerCO

DL isnt lying. They can only request, even for a basic seat assignment. They can not confirm anything. I'm not sure how KE did it, but it was definitely something only KE could do.

In2ishn

You are obviously childfree, as am I. Bassinet seats are bulkhead seats, generally on long-haul flights, where a bassinet for an infant can be attached. Avoid them and those rows like the plague. If you have such a seat and someone needs a bassinet you may be reseated. If you are are next to one, well, small infants are generally quiet but large ones may not be. They can’t help it. I still avoid them.

GagaPilot

Glad to hear it all worked out. Sounds like more issues with the DL-KE JV/Codeshare. I encourage everyone to mention these type issues when completing online surveys.