mtofell

Can I assume that when the airline assigns seats to me that my two kids (twins - 9yrs.) will be in the same row and next to me? I'm looking specifically at Delta and Alaska that have the bare bones saver fare where you board last and get no seat assignment until check-in. When traveling alone I usually just pay the extra $30 to avoid a middle seat but am thinking traveling with 2 kids we'd fill a row perfectly (737 or A320). I'll likely call the airline once I book to be sure but am just curious if anyone has experience with this?

gobluetwo

Nope, no guarantees at all. Whatever is left is what you end up with. You can make a proactive request, but seats are initially assigned automatically. It would take an agent to override those assignments or a fought attendant to handle it on board.

Stgermainparis

DL assigned seats to me, my 10 year old, and spouse in different rows on a basic economy ticket. I asked a passenger to trade with me and they did, but I think if I’d had a middle seat they wouldn’t have. I’m sure the airline would try to accommodate you if the flights are not full, but I don’t think they have to.

aquamarinesteph

If sitting with your children is a priority for you, your safest bet is to book the seats together when you make the reservation. There is no guarantee that you'll be seated anywhere near your kids with Basic Economy, and you'll be at the mercy of others to try and get seats together.

MSPeconomist

Do you mean basic economy tickets (paid in money) or "saver"/low level award tickets (paid with miles)?

LondonElite

Basic economy tickets do not come with any sitting-together guarantees. You might, or might not, sit next to your children. If it is important to you (will they be ok apart?) you should probably pay for seats.

MSPeconomist

I suspect that airlines and other passengers are likely to feel that 9 or 10 year olds are able to sit a few rows away from mommy and daddy for a couple hours.

mtofell

Thanks everyone - they'd be fine apart from each other or me but I actually would feel bad for the poor soul one of my twins ends up next to... LOL. The kid never stops talking

If there's any question I'll just buy the regular fares. I'm thinking there has to be some policy in place though. I mean, if they'll allow you to designate a child as say 3 when booking and sell you a separate "saver fare" ticket, I can't imagine they would separate that child from their parent and put him/her next to a stranger? If it were this easy to have strangers watch my kids while flying I wish I would have figured it out years ago!

projectmaximus

Ha I do the opposite. When traveling alone I'll take whatever including the risk of a middle...but traveling with the family then 95% of the time I will pay the fees to reserve. Only a couple times was I willing to risk getting separated, and those were on flights I expected to have plenty of empty seats and thankfully it worked out each time.

This is often discussed in travel articles/blogs. The airlines have no obligation to seat you together, which they usually very clearly explain in the booking process. If this is a necessity, you should pay to ensure this or be prepared to be at the mercy of strangers.

Cledaybuck

Some airlines will seat you together. DL, however, is not one of them. I though you could still select seats at the back of the plane on AS’s version of Basic economy?

kop84

I believe DL will do their best to seat kids under 5 with a parent. Once they are 5 and technically eligible for the unaccompanied minor program (they aren't in the program, just would hypothetically be eligible) they might try more or less depending on the agent you get.

Anecdotally a few year ago when I was flying with my wife and then 9 y/o daughter, I had a window seat towards the front, and my wife a window in row 23 and my daughter a middle in row 22. I went back to ask the window in row 22 if she would like to trade with me for the more forward window seat. She declined as her stuff was already in the overhead and there wasn't going to be any room for it further up. No problem. My daughter then HAPPILY took my forward window seat and I took her middle...

As soon as this was done, a couple with an infant (couldn't have been more than 3 months old) sat down in row 21. The look on the woman's face who declined the trade was amazing. Just the epic mistake she made washed over her. Now this baby was perfect the whole flight and I forgot she was even there, but it was still very funny in the moment.

Gig103

Not all fares work for all passengers; if you require guaranteed seating together, book main cabin, and consider it just part of raising your children. You being allowed seats together on a Basic fare is like me asking the IRS why I don't get a child tax credit.

Remember that if you "chance it" and the gate agent decides to be nice to you, it's a good chance the person displaced paid main cabin rates specifically to select a seat, and that's not fair to them.

noah

I've recently been seated next to young children (5) whose parents bought basic economy tickets and, despite their attempts, were unable to get seats together and were irate that I would not switch my window to their middle so they could sit with their kid. Moral of the story -- if you want to sit together, don't buy Basic Economy fares. Especially when flights are crowded, often it is just the middle seats left.

mtofell

Thanks again everyone - just to clarify, the seat schematic I looked at showed the entirety of the 6 rearmost rows being "saver fares" so I was hoping to just get one of those rows but understand there are no guarantees. I'm not expecting any special treatment or for people to be moved from their pre-selected/paid for seats. Definitely not expecting people to change their tax filing/deductions as one post mentioned. Thanks again for all the thoughtful posts..... I think some of the rest of you need to get out of the airports and breath some fresh clean air a bit more often.

MSPeconomist

HUH? I've never heard of DL setting aside entire rows like this for "saver fares." In fact, as I suggested earlier, DL doesn't have saver fares, whether or not in reference to award tickets.

Could you be confusing DL with some other airline?