No, I don't have kids or experience with them - therefore I don't believe it's right to "force" others to change seats (that they have likely put a bit of thought into selecting) simply because they have kids.

I understand that it was a last minute flight, but perhaps the family could have taken another last minute flight, one with more seats available. I'm sorry, but your choice to have children should NOT affect me.

On Southwest, there's a process known as "Unite the Couple" where they select the window and aisle seat. If you can guess they are a couple, you take the middle seat and call their bluff, forcing one into the middle.
(search for the term on the Southwest board and there are loads of threads about it - unite the couple success, failure, un-unite the couple, ect)

Of course, they could be utterly content to sit apart

May I suggest you travel by private jet to your private island, then?

If you have paid extra for an advance seat assignment or a particular type of seat, I'm sure you could write to customer service and get a refund.

(I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming you're joking, but I don't actually know if you're serious or not.)

Fortunately, what you believe has no bearing on this issue. Airlines rightly don't allow very young children to sit by themselves, and also don't guarantee seat reservations (thus allowing them to make such changes as necessary).

Astonishing attitude considering you're the one who wants to inconvenience others to suit yourself. Perhaps you should ensure you can sit as close to your kids as you like by traveling private. That would make much more sense than demanding others treat you like the center of the universe.

Why should the person that you're inconveniencing be further inconvenienced by having to waste time writing in to customer service? At the least, you could refund treble their seat reservation fee in cash.

May I suggest the ones who are causing the inconvenience (ie the unprepared last-minute travellers) be the ones to go to the extra trouble and expense of traveling by private jet rather than the person who is doing everything right.

Let me preface this by saying I am NOT saying that this was craezie's circumstance.

But what about this situation:

1) 2 adults with 2 young children book a flight
2) only way to get seats together is to pay for preferred seats
3) they decide not to pay, even though they are available because
4) they know the airline will move people to accomodate them
5) so when they get to the flight, that's what happens
6) even though it means people who reserved or paid for preferred seats get moved
7) even though the family could have booked seats together, at a cost, and not inconvenienced anyone.

Now I am not saying this happens a lot (or even at all) but it is certainly conceivable.

as an aside, airlines do block seats to conform with regs but sometimes demand > capacity.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this amidst the posturing: Certain flights frequently do not allow seat selection in advance and parties connecting with small children (or adults requiring care) may be inadvertently split, requiring someone to move.

IRROPs happen too: glitches in the reservations system, delayed/canceled flights, etc. There are many reasons people traveling together could be split up through no fault of their own and it's not reasonable to separate small children from their parents or the disabled from their caregivers.

My husband and I almost always choose two aisle seats on short flights. Under 4 hours or so. We both like the comfort and flexibility of getting up without crawling over someone and I don't want to sit in the middle. We don't engage in loud conversation across the aisle and use the time to catch up on reading newspapers or in my case to enjoy music. On longer flights or when we are in a premium cabin I compromise and sit in the window seat He is left handed and with a separate glass or scotch and soda it just works out better for all concerned. Whatever works.

This is the best thing I have heard all day. I want to try this the next time I fly Southwest.

Makes you wonder if the airlines will ever launch adults-only flights (for an additional fee, of course).

I'm not bothered on a short haul, especially on BA because there is no middle seat passenger in CE.

However, I prefer my husband to be next to me on a longer flight if the seats are in pairs. That's only because if he's sitting there, no-one else can, not because I feel the need for him to be sitting close to me. I would avoid having a stranger sit next to me if I can.

Again on BA long haul I am not too bothered - CW divider up, goodbye neighbour!

Wow, I didn't realize I would ignite such a firestorm. I took it as a given that most people would understand that a 2 and 4 year old would absolutely NEED to sit together, but apparently not. I assure you that the result was entirely the screw-up of the airline and not at all the result of some kind of entitlement attitude or desire to get out of paying fees on our part. We actually phoned in the reservation for bereavement fares, the one and only time I have made reservations by phone. I am guessing that some lack on the part of the agent caused the screw up that allowed preschoolers to be seated alone in the first place.

Either way, I am slightly shocked at how hostile some people can be about children. Yes they are inconvenient, can be unruly, and even downright unpleasant at times. But we were all children once before, and someone sacrificed to get us where we are today. I just wish that everyone could have a little more tolerance and compassion for others, especially the very young and old.