I'm glad the mother and kids were able to sit together in the end.

It was stupid of United to sell a ticket that would inevitably cause problems on board however.

:) Fair point. "Fine print" was the OP's phrase.

It seems like it wouldn't be that difficult for the airlines to add an affirmative check off to any purchase of multiple BE tickets saying "I recognize that...." and state the restrictions. After all, AA at least requires one to check a box agreeing to the terms and conditions of the ticket when purchasing it on site -- how much harder would it be to state what the key T&Cs are? It would seem likely to reduce the surprise many BE purchasers (seem to) feel at the airport.

Apart from that, though I would join those on the side of common decency. Once upon a time, I had young kids (admittedly in the pre BE days). Try as we might, sometimes there was no way to get seats together -- a family emergency, holiday tix even when booked months in advance and so on. Other people were always kind and moved around to help us get together. So I get that I owe that to the universe today and am almost always willing to move to help a family. Have I sometimes ended up stuck in a less desirable seat than I paid for and had a less comfortable flight as a result? Yes, of course. But sometimes it worth it, even if the person who you're helping out might be somewhat to blame for the situation in the first place. Just my two cents.

what you guys are failing to understand, is that no matter what UA puts in it's T/C's young children should NOT be seated apart from their parents, no matter what. imagine a different scenario. parents who dont care. now their crying 2 year old is sitting in a middle seat next to two random strangers and crying and trying to climb out of her seat. whos going to keep her in her seat? whos going to make sure her seat belt is on? is it the passengers next to her responsibility? the FA? the parents dont care; they got their headphones on and watching a movie. hey, its in the rules, right?

UA already does that. You must affirmatively check that "Basic Economy Fits my Travel." That's right under a list of the fare's restrictions, in large font, the very first of which is the warning that you do not get to "Sit with Your Group or Family." I really don't think they could make it any clearer.

I'm no fan of BE fares, but people need to take responsibility for their decisions. Particularly the ones that are motivated by the desire to save a small amount of money.

If I were United I would see this as a customer service issue as opposed to one of law or regulation.

The Airlines do this. UA adds a ton of friction and big pop-ups when buying BE.

(1) People will click through anything and not read it.

(2) People buy tickets not directly from the airline (e.g. on Expedia), and those OTAs don't do as good of a job.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...592188a28e.png

Would she have liked it? No, of course not. But would she have purchased it without thinking twice? Yes, absolutely. This wasn't some attempt to game the airline or inconvenience someone else. This was sheer ignorance. And from what I can tell a very easily avoidable situation that should have been considered alongside BE fares.

I never said the flight attendant moved the gentleman. I believe they asked him directly and he, being a decent person, agreed. The real question is why the gate agent didn't move him (or anyone) elsewhere?

I think you're conflating two discrete services.

1. Seat selection i.e. a paid for service that allows you to pick where you and your party sit on the plane.

2. Auto seat allocation of a party either together or apart.

I would accept service one as being paid for but expect some common sense from the airline with regards service two.

UA didn't sell the ticket, Expedia did based on the OP.

Take responsibility for your own actions and this won't happen to you.

same applies.

Not everything is the responsibility of the consumer. The vendor has an obligation to be transparent. I don't think that happened in this case.

I've been the decent one and moved to help a mom and kids, but really, is it my job to get screwed for lack of planning on someone else's part? Your family member is at fault, assuming family trumps all, and I say that as I travel with my wife and kids. We plan for everything, not just airplanes, but hotels as well, heck even the car rental. Should I give up my large SUV rental that I reserved for the poor woman that booked a sub compact rental?