Airplane seating question

[Ravenman]

@Dangerosa

We fly to Orlando to go to Disney a lot. That “basically zero” happens on almost every trip.

@LSLGuy

This. Orlando is a truly special case where all bets are off for non-handicapped kids. The good news is AFAIK there are no other destinations in the US with anywhere near that big a too-many-kids problem.

I stand corrected on the “basically zero” remark – I guess I should have said it is unusual (or maybe extraordinary?) to split a family of two on flight.

[RickG]

@jtur88

Just telll the airline in advance that there is a special-needs passenger, and accommodations will be made at checkin. In fact, if you get to the checkin counter fairly early, before a majority of the seats are assigned, the airline will be sure to comply. Airlines are very accommodating about things like that, even at times overly solicitous.

I’m blind, I use a white cane, and I’ve flown about 25 sections in the past year or so. Airlines see me coming, they have special personnel to handle passengers with special needs, even goofy little cut-rate airlines in the third world.

Fellow white-cane user here. My experience is similar. Many major airlines even have the ability to indicate special needs when booking online, so there’s no need to call. When I flew overseas with my daughter on British Airways last year, indicating I was blind while booking got us a waiver of the early seat selection charge, which would have been something like $400 for the two of us, IIRC.

Even on Southwest, our go-to airline for domestic flights, the agent at check-in will always give me pre-boarding (that’s their policy for special needs passengers), so I go on the plane even before the folks who pay for A boarding and can pretty much have my pick of seats. I get to bring one family member with me as a guide/helper if I’m not traveling alone. Other airlines have been similarly accommodating with pre-boarding.

[Dangerosa]

@Ravenman

I stand corrected on the “basically zero” remark – I guess I should have said it is unusual (or maybe extraordinary?) to split a family of two on flight.

No problem. I just wouldn’t want anyone to get the impression that it never happens - and next week book their first trip with their three kids under five to Disney World, buying the cheapest possible fare for a Saturday morning and counting on open seating, gate agents, and the kindness of strangers. Even then, it often works and a plane filled with “someone else’s mom and her kids” isn’t the worst place to have your kid seated next to a stranger.

As LSLGuy said, its a problem fairly unique to flights in and out of MCO, but then again, that’s where a lot of people fly with kids :).

[iamthewalrus_3]

@Ravenman

First, the odds of an airline splitting up a mother and a child – even a child without a disability – are basically zero. Even on a crowded flight, flight attendants will ask someone to switch seats, and someone always does… and if nobody would, they would make someone move.

Yeah, this. I think your friend is worrying about something that’s just not going to happen.

I’ve never even had a problem sitting next to someone even when I didn’t book a ticket with them. If they can’t change it at the gate, just go on the plane and ask. There are plenty of individual travelers who don’t care which window seat they sit in.

If you somehow both get booked into aisle seats, that can be trickier, since convincing someone to move from a window/aisle into a middle seat is a harder sell. I have always (well, the one time it happened) been successful with offering to buy the person a drink for their trouble.

[BeeGee]

Southwest and Delta both have pre-boarding policies on their websites that tell you how to ensure you get seats together in a proper area. Definitely get to the airport early.

[Sunny_Daze]

@Ravenman

First, the odds of an airline splitting up a mother and a child – even a child without a disability – are basically zero. Even on a crowded flight, flight attendants will ask someone to switch seats, and someone always does… and if nobody would, they would make someone move.

Parents and children absolutely do get split up. I travel by air a fair amount, including with my children, and it has happened to us. This is why my earlier advice was to talk to someone and make certain that the tickets were linked. This was a lesson I learned the hard way. As LSLGuy says below, also mention “handicapped child” and “adult caregiver”.

@LSLGuy

The magic words are “handicapped child” and “adult caregiver”. Use those when you book by phone and you’re going to get the best protection available. Which may not be foolproof, but is as good as it gets. Ask the agent to annotate your booking that way.

There are dedicated computer codes for all those things and we see them on the special passenger list we get for every single flight. Along with armed, prisoner, deaf, blind, child, unaccompanied child, No English, specific other language, special meals, member of large group, wheelchair, aisle chair, oxygen needed, etc. Etc. Etc. All this info is provided to the gate agents, the flight attendants, and even the pilots(!). At least at my mainstream carrier. Provided you tell the airline about it ahead of time.

Likewise when you get to the gate, speak to the agent and use the same magic words.

And don’t book on the cheapest half-assed airline you’ve never heard of. Despite the bleatings of some know-nothings, there is a difference, and it’s most pronounced at the very low end.

I don’t think the OP’s friend will have to pay more.

She should book as early as she can.

The suggestion of a class to practice with her son is a good one. If she can’t practice, she should take him to the airport on a trial run. My son is autistic. Feel free to PM for more details on how to get through the travel experience. I’d be glad to share what’s worked for us.

[TBG]

People are saying it shouldn’t be a problem, and that’s good, but really, even if she were to be separated, I can’t see someone that would rather sit by her low functioning autistic son rather than switch seats with her. Even if he’s not prone to tantrums, most people aren’t going to want to risk being in that position in case this is the one time he has one.