Nuggety

Flying from Kona direct to SFO on Aug. 11. Traveling with 2 adults, a 2 year old and a 7 mo. baby. All 4 have their own seats and we had booked a row of 3 and one seat elsewhere, with the idea of Mom sitting with the kids. Just checked our flight to see our seats have been taken and there are only 3 loose middle seats on the plane.

Agent on phone says they will "probably work it out" at check in. I feel like we are doomed to be bumped with 2 little kids and nowhere to go. Also, I expect they are going to steal our infant's seat and try to make him a lap baby, which will be very hard with a 2 year old as well (which is why we paid $600 for a seat!)

Is there any way to navigate this or find a solution without going to the airport and praying?

GoSh4rks

Additional seats will open up at check in. United always blocks off seats. Check-in online and select new seats exactly 24.0 hours before your flight.

RandomBaritone

It's almost inconceivable that your family will be bumped from the flight. I'd say there's a less than 1-in-10,000 chance. UA wouldn't risk the PR nightmare, and they've gone out of their way to reduce IDB situations since April.

That doesn't happen unless the parent neglects to check the infant in and scan all BPs at boarding. UA doesn't look for infants with paid tickets to steal back seats from. You simply need to ensure that boarding passes for all members of your family are scanned when you board the plane.

As for sitting together, fear not: if for some reason you can't select seats at check-in 24 hours before take-off as recommended above, mention your predicament to the GA. If you get lucky and get a good one, it might be solved before you even board. If you have to sort it out on the plane, you'll have no problem finding passengers willing to trade as long as you offer equal seats and ask very, very nicely.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

No reason to panic. Gate agent will work it out.

Kacee

If you're on UA643, not sure what's going on. There are plenty of economy seats for sale, but the seat map is completely blanked out. I tend to agree with the earlier comments that (a) you're not gong to get bumped, and (b) they will find you seats at the gate.

In the meantime, I would keep watching the seat map online, because it may open back up.

SunLover

Contact United on social media. Explain the situation. Ask for assigned seats together. Follow up if they don't get back to you. Stay ahead of the situation.

Your traveling party is not self loading cargo. Don't let United treat you as such.


SL

zombietooth

IME, the FAs do a pretty good job working-out seat swaps to keep young children with their parents. I also believe that most flyers are considerate and will help you out if possible.

Good Luck.

pharmawalk

Think proactive rather than reactive. What could you do to ensure you get your assigned seats?

zoned_post_meridiem

Airlines can't seat toddlers away from parents. You might get the 3-1 configuration, or a 2-2, but each kid will be seated next to a parent. The gate agent will shift other flyers around, and will likely have new boarding passes already printed for you.

If the baby flies in a car seat, make sure it has the FAA sticker. They've been checking that more frequently lately.

TravelingNomads

Be there extra early to talk with the GA's as soon as they arrive. Be in line slightly before they arrive if you need to. You should be ok. Even if they don't settle it, you can mention the situation to other passengers nicely and you may be surprised how many people will be willing to give up their seats to assist. Many of us are parents and will understand. Plus, everyone on there would rather see the parent sitting next to their young child than being the stranger sitting next to him/her expected to supervise.

Tizzette

You may need to be proactive to keep your baby's seat. Our experience was that airline staff assume infants are lap babies. Our baby was not going to be assigned a seat without some argument and checking that we did indeed pay for him to have a seat. We were advised to avoid that kind of confusion next time by entering his age as over 2 years old when buying the ticket.

fastair

Terrible advice! No need to incorrectly input child's age. Just check the infant in, I'd he/she has a ticket, he'll be assigned a seat. Scan all boarding passes, and all the seats will show as occupied. Basicly, check everyone in, scan every boarding pass, no problems. Entering false DoB only does a single thing, and that is to provide false data to the weight and balance systems. Incorrect Wright data is no solution. Well, 2 things. It also provides false data to the "secure flight" requirement about the identity of the traveler. Neither of these things are acceptable

CIT85

LIH airport is a real zoo. Last time we flew out of LIH, all security lines were very long. This is one airport I would definitely want to arrive very early.

Doc Savage

They're flying to KOA.

Tizzette

If all had gone smoothly just as you describe, I would not be reporting that for us it did not. It was airline staff who advised to avoid the problem in the future by clicking the box for over 2 years old when buying the baby's ticket. That way there's no assumption just because it is an infant under 2, it is a lap baby. Later in the purchasing process where you fill in passenger's names and particulars, you do enter the baby's correct date of birth.