The thing is there were so many people playing musical chairs that it seems they could have had enough seats to assign people together to begin with. But that couple who ended up sitting next me – who were also separated from their party because they too did not designate seats – were back behind us in the check-in line, so obviously those two seats were available at the moment my wife and I checked in. My wife could easily have been assigned to sit next to me.
I don’t know what goes wrong with flights in the US, whether it’s that you are all whiners or that people are super selfish…
From what I have experienced travelling from Singapore and New Zealand is:
- Carry on is checked at the checkin, the entrace to the controlled area and then again it the gate - too big and it gets sent below
- Everybody puts their carryon above their own seat - no space and you talk to the trolley dolly
who then sorts it out for you
I seriously can’t imagine what you have to put up with from the stories I see here…
Wow, talk about generalizations based on ignorance. As if all situations fall into a formula for resolving. There are ages where it’s appropriate and there are ages where it is not. Those ages are dependent on the child themselves. Faulting families for not letting their young child or special needs child sit alone, where they are unable to comprehend and understand scenarios and, at the same time, trusting a stranger to handle all situations, is absolutely unreasonable. When a child reaches an age of complete awareness and the ability to rationalize a solution, then sure. However, I’d doubt that age to be anywhere under the age of 8 or 9, and may never be for some special needs kids.
The airlines have a bad attitude regarding groups, for whatever reason. They are effectively saying that as long as you are in the building they can have your young child roam around with a stranger they’ve never met before. I would be completely aghast when this happens to a 2yo or a 3yo who may not even be potty trained and can’t talk for themselves! That’s just ridiculous.
To leave a 4 or 5 or 6 year old alone and give them “toys or snacks” and leave em be, that’s just a recipe for disaster. Do some people even know what 4 or 5 or 6 year olds are capable of doing when given some tools and the freedom to do whatever they want, or rather the damage they may cause when left alone? So, rather than suffer some minor inconvenience by moving seats, some people would rather drug a child, or let some strangers look over your children.
If my child is at the age of innocence, and is unable to comprehend true malice when faced with it, they have no business being separated from the responsible party. If I were to find out, that my young child was left alone and then molested by the person sitting next to them, there would be hell to pay, and unnecessary trauma on the child. Yes, that is a slim chance, but you would never tell your 4yo to walk home alone from daycare, simply because they are simply unable to comprehend the true scenario without misinterpretation. They think everyone they interact with is without malice and true intentioned in nature. They are inquisitive and trusting, at that age.
I’ve been separated by over 10 rows from my 4yo on at least 3 flights this year alone, each over 5.5 hours long. It’s completely insane, in my book…but the airlines don’t care. My 4yo can add and subtract, but no way are they able to manage themselves in an emergency. Isn’t that why they don’t allow children to take certain seats? Emergencies…it’s contradictions upon contradictions.
Faulting families is the wrong place to put the blame.
Yes, I’m upset. This is now the 4th flight this year being separated from my 4yo, as I just got off the phone with JetBlue, and they refuse to do anything for me. We’ll see as I get to the gate, but it’s been this way with multiple airlines.
One of my co workers ( I didn’t like him- he always looked at every angle to make sure he could get an advantage) was flying to the UK. It is a bloody long flight.
His idea was to book himself and his wife into first class and then book his 3 kids (about 15 or 16 or something similar) into economy.
That way he and his wife had all the advantages and didn’t have to put up with his brats.