An American Airlines passenger found that a chld took the aisle seat he says he paid extra for, and had words with the family over it – but a flight attendant seems to have come down on the family’s side.
Osaac Summer took a redeye American Airlines flight. A young girl was in his aisle seat so, her family said, he’d need to take a nearby window seat. That way the family wouldn’t be separated.
@lalawright2 Respectfully they should’ve asked him if it was coo first cause he did pay for that seat.
He… was not amused, declaring “I don’t care about your daughter” and told the family, “Stay in your lane and in your seat!” It could have been handled more diplomatically, but it was his assigned seat right?
Except that he says a flight attendant told him the family was entitled to the seat, “She got on the plane before you” and told him “you are being the bad guy.” He says he was even threatened with ejection from the flight over it.
Afraid the flight was going to be delayed, another passenger offered the man their aisle seat. And a flight attendant apologized to… the family, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Your daughter is really beautiful.”
That is not how this works! That is not how any of this works!
Live and Let’s Fly says that he doesn’t “think families should be permitted to buy basic economy tickets” since they don’t come with free seat assignments, and those are “necessary for families with young children; therefore, basic economy class tickets should not be sold to families traveling with children who cannot be separated.”
I don’t think that’s the right take here.
- Basic economy fares are literally intended by the airlines for price-sensitive leisure travelers (and families are often among the most price-sensitive). Airlines are trying to segment those customers from business travelers who will spend more money.
- In fact, families buying basic economy are entitled to be seated together on American Airlines!
American was actually the first to commit to family seating in its customer service plan. That’s a commitment which is enforceable by the Department of Transportation.
- They will “guarantee children 14 and under will be seated adjacent to an accompanying adult at no additional cost, including Basic Economy fares” provided that passengers are all booked on the same reservation (otherwise they won’t know to seat everyone together) and adjacent seats are actually available to assign when buying the tickets.
- Basic economy passengers are instructed to “skip choosing seats for the entire reservation” to have them assigned.
Of course it is important to check when buying tickets for a flight, traveling with small children, that there are actually seats open beside each other! It’s important to make sure the seats do get assigned, if relying on the airline to handle it for you. And it’s important to garden your reservation and make sure nothing changes between the time you book and when it’s time to travel.
Sometimes you’re stuck with a last minute flight change. Maybe your original flight cancelled and you got rebooked, or your first flight is delayed and you need to have your connection rebooked, or there’s a change to a smaller aircraft. That can put you on a plane without seats by your kids – and that needs to be solved.
Gate agents are rushed, and often it is agent singular rather than plural (a domestic flight less than 80% full is only going to have one agent to take care of all the duties involved in getting a flight out on time). So they may not be as helpful as you’d like, although still try to enlist their assistance. Then ask a flight attendant for help.
Most of the time other passengers aren’t going to want to sit next to your unsupervised children! Just consider offering the better seat that your family has in trade (an aisle, or at least a window), rather than the worse seat (like a middle). And if there are two parents, consider than in a pinch one parent can sit with a single child you may not all have to be seated together.
While I understand families wanting to stay together, I am also tired of entitled parents assuming they can get whatever they want at the expense of others. The guarantee should be that at least one parent will be seated with a child. If there are two children, then each child will be seated with a parent. There should be no guarantee that two parents will be seated with a single child. I hope AA at least compensated him for the seat he paid for.
I enjoy when Gary goes after his competition like this. Like, watch out, Matt, Gary’s onto you!
And I fully expect some commenter to ‘wish for the good ole days’ when folks smacked their children. Y’all, that ain’t right. You just traumatize an entire generation. Like, doncha know those kids grow up and might be responsible for your care when you’re older… think ahead.
It seems that if a passenger has paid extra for his seat, that the airline should be required to find him an equivalent (or better) seat. If that’s not possible, then the airline should automatically refund the surcharge that the passenger paid for his specific seat.
I also believe that an entire family is not entitled to be seated together. Rather, the rule should be that every child is entitled to have at least one family adult seated next to him/her.
It seems there is a paradox here. AA guarantees family co-seating with basic, and deliberately relies on the gate to sort it out, which runs in to direct conflict with other adjacent pax who have paid for their seat assignment, specifically aisles which are the only seats where larger or claustrophobic pax have any chance of mental survival in torture tubes. Families pre-board which prevents the pax that paid for the seat from claiming it, and therefore subjects them to the post-9/11 flight crew national security complex, the only remedy for which is to suffer that flight, deplane, or have your aadvantage account black-flagged should you contest your right to consume the product you paid for. Commercial Air Travel in the United States is personal combat, everyone for themselves.
Moral of the story: never fly in the back. Ever. Never fly on a day where you have to be at your destination. Ever. If you get downgraded or lose access to the product you paid for, walk off the plane. Take pictures of the seats and people involved during the argument. Ship your luggage by ups or fedex so you only have a roll-aboard and can walk off the plane. Don’t leave the secured area until you have reported what happened to a uniformed employee whose name and id number you document, and take their picture without them knowing you have done so. Then attempt to get them to rebook you. You de-escalated the airline’s violation of their own Contract of Carriage. It’s only fair that you be Re-Accomodated without physical violence or injury. If you are not Re-Accomodated peacefully, post the circumstances to the Xitter/Social team for that airline then call reservations. Again, you de-escalated. You are the hero that needs help.
What ticks me and many others off is the man picked that seat and paid for it. Unless the airline’s contract of carriage says that the airline reserves the right to toss him out of his seat to accommodate someone else who did NOT PICK AND PAY FOR THAT SEAT! The passenger who wanted that seat…should have bought and paid for THAT SEAT FIRST. One day, someone is going to sue the brains out of the airline and, hopefully, WIN!
@Hagbard Celine — That’s a whole lotta ‘never flying.’ How about, set low expectations? Like, plan for the worst, hope for the best; build in time, if you need it; have back-up plans in place; yes, read the fine print, get travelers insurance that actually covers likely scenarios (not the nonsense, 50% of your Trip affected AIG scam, or the over 72 hours delay required, which is absurd, and rarely happens as you’re usually a day or two late even when a catastrophe happens). Finally, as much as we should, nobody reads the Contract of Carriage; it’s an adhesion contract (take it or leave, no meaningful negotiation, etc.) We all try our best, some try harder than others. Good luck out there.
Name the waitress. She needs firing.
@Fred — Ah, the ole ‘burn the witch’ reaction. Timeless!
Whenever my wife and I fly together I am always asked if I can switch seats. This is despite my wife sitting next to me. I quickly tell the flight attendant and appropriate that I am sitting next to my wife. Is their a seat for her where you ask that I sit? I want her next to me. This shuts them up really fast.
American DOES NOT guarantee the entire family will be seated together. I would have demanded that the gate agent come onboard. He paid for an aisle seat and he should get an aisle seat and if it was towards the front of coach (more expensive) he should have been given a front aisle coach seat.
Typical parents today that think the world should accommodate them. Want your family to sit together? Pay for seats. Or just take a trip in your car where sitting together as a family will never be an issue. Like people did back in the 1970s.
@Rahul Iyer — You must seem very different from your wife. Like, big age difference? It seems others presume you are each traveling separately by appearance alone. Or, they just think you’re an easy mark, a pushover. Glad to hear that you don’t let them take advantage. Stick with wifey!
@George Romey — Since you mentioned the 70s, it kinda feels like we’re re-living the late 70s, early 80s, like by global and domestic politics/economics, and somewhat ‘culture.’ A major difference, though, you don’t see too many ‘families’ with 10 children these days. ‘In this economy’… sheesh!
Why didn’t the man say to the mother,
“How much cash do you have? I’ll sell you the seat for $200.”
What’s the problem with AA secretly assigning BE seats to families at the time of reservation? They don’t have to tell the pax that they’ve been pre-assigned, so they can get still get the BE thrill at check-in, but it would remove this drama for the GAs/FAs, families and displaced innocents.
If anyone should have been asked to walk off the plane for a later flight, it should have been the family, not the dude that paid for his aisle seat. Yes it may not be the best look and I would feel badly for the child but that mistake is on the airline. Thankfully a good Samaritan resolved this issue. Not the flight attendant.
@Maryland — I’m with you on wishing for more ‘good Samaritans’ and wish that more folks would recall the message of that story: “True neighborly love extends to everyone, even those considered outsiders or enemies.” Meanwhile, there are far too many hyper-vocal, self-proclaimed ‘Christians’ out there preaching the exact opposite, daily (Fear the stranger/immigrant! Exile your neighbors!)
This guy should have had his entire seat charge refunded. The flight attendant should be fired and never allowed to ever work in the industry.
This is despicable behavior on the airline’s part.
It’s real easy folks: your butt should match the number on your ticket. Is it that hard?
The law should be if you paid extra for a seat and do not get to use it for any reason, you should be refunded 10x what you paid. This would ensure airlines provide you what you paid for.
@Billy Bob — So true. Also, when the speed limit is 55, but you go 58, you’re now ‘an illegal.’ As Jim Carrey’s character in the 1997 film ‘Liar Liar’ says: “QUIT BREAKING THE LAW…”
Not just on airplanes, but everywhere, people who choose to have children expect their choices to be subsidized by everyone else.
Not understanding the concept of “rules” or “procedures” and just deciding every situation based on a circular argument about who “deserves” things more is the signature trait of stupid women. And this AA flight attendant sounds like a stupid woman, but I repeat myself.
I think in many cases these days, people don’t push back hard enough in the right way. If you do it in the right way, respectfully, you can easily win in these circumstances.
My response here:
“According to my boarding pass, I am assigned Seat XXC. I suggest we get the Captain involved in this discussion or I can walk to the front of the aircraft myself and has him if you don’t feel that is what we should do here.”
I win. End of case. Captain sides with me.
PS. And if, in that case, I am removed from the flight, I get a check for about $500k from American.
@Goforride — Yet… why do the tech-broligarchs (and the ‘supremacists’) seem so concerned about ‘population decline’ in the West? (They mean, white folks not having enough white babies…)
Listen, I’m with George Carlin on this… ‘the planet is fine, the people are…” So, as long as they’re not hurting themselves or others, let people live and love who and how they wanna live and love. Have kids. Don’t. Whatever.
That said, for all our sakes, it sure would be nice if we actually had a social safety net, like, a strong ‘floor,’ because they say it often ‘takes a village.’ Yet, these days, I’m not seeing too many ‘villages’ supporting the kids… Recall the proverb about the ‘child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.’ Yeah, we may wanna ‘do better’ so that doesn’t happen. Or not, whatever. Few seem to care anymore anyway.
AA is obviously wrong here.
@Mike — Do you honestly believe in the ‘heat of the moment’ that you’d be able to fully articulate that entire ‘legalese’ message to your ‘opponent’ on that flight? Nah. Not a chance. Good luck, though. Also, how bold of you to presume that the captain *wants* to get involved. You distract them from their pre-flight, you’ll all get thrown off that flight. ‘Let god sort ’em out.’
Only in America. Why does it seem our US airlines play these games?
This nonsense would not fly on any of the big Asian airlines. Your butt will be in the seat that matches your ticket at takeoff.
As a kid that flew in the 1970s before you paid for a seat airlines basically guaranteed what AA guarantees today. Each child(ren) would be seated next to a parent but the entire family maybe not together. Even back in the 70s Eastern had discounted fares (presumably allowed by the CBA) for example families. We usually were split between parents and never did my parents but up a fuss.
@Dirk Disco — Speaking of (East) Asian airlines, isn’t it incredible that Singapore can board a fully-loaded a350, 777, etc. in like under 15 minutes? Clearly, there is little-to-no arguing over seats. Like, SQ usually doesn’t even start boarding its wide-body aircraft until 30 minutes prior to departure; oh, and security is done at the gate (SIN). Wow, just wow. Yeah, that’s a different dimension of ‘efficiency.’ I presume it’s part culture, but also, people have to ‘want’ it. Maybe someday in the USA we could have that (and high speed rail, too, psh), but I wouldn’t hold our breath.
@George Romey — Well, it was the era of ‘latchkey kids,’ after all. I do recall TWA splitting my family up in St. Louis on more than one occasion. They practically boarded us like a game of Tetris. Fun times. Maybe the key difference is that back then we didn’t have smartphones to record these incidents, or the internet to instantaneously share our thoughts with strangers around the world. Hmm.
Musical Chicago: “When you’re good to Mama. Mama’s good to you.” Personally, I try to be extra extra extra nice to stewardesses or stewards. They have the power.
What was the sex of the flight attendant and why would the FA say the daughter was “really beautiful?” That seems more than strange. Meanwhile, back to the original argument. The passenger was totally within his rights to ask for the assigned seat he paid for. What if it was a family of 6 or 8? Would all the passengers who came after they were seated have to give up their seats so the group could sit together?
The man paid for the seat and presumably boarded when he was supposed to. The seat should have been his. Period. If AA had wanted/needed “him” to switch, they should have offered compensation ahead of time – along with asking.
FWIW, Delta did similar with us – removing my adult son from a seat so a daughter could sit next to her mother. They promised extra points – and ended up giving us nothing. They also changed our seats without cause on a different flight – taking away two windows on an overnight flight (keeping one) and giving us a middle and center seats instead. I will no longer fly Delta at all, even questionable whether I would as a “last resort.”
The more I hear about issues with US airlines, the more I’m glad I can usually choose a foreign option, esp for long flights. Domestically it’s difficult though
Have a very hard time believing any story that quotes a FA as having said “but she got on first”. Just draws doubt on the entire story. Seems like a clickbait story created to cause outrage.
@Other — Yes! The ‘golden rule’ may be said many different ways but its message is the core of nearly all faiths.
@David — Clickbait?? At VFTW?! No… never…. And if you believe that, I’ve gots a deal for ya on an extended warranty for your motor vehicle…
@1990 – I suspect main reason why SQ can load a widebody in 15 mins is because Asians are more efficient than Americans.
Everytime I deplane in the US I am amazed at the “me first” attitude I see from my fellow passengers are. When it is my turn to step into the isle, if I have an overhead luggage, I look “behind me” and if there are passengers who are ready to go, I wave them by until there is a pause caused by another passenger who has to get access the overhead. I then get my stuff. Usually this means I get off the plane 15 seconds later but it makes the entire process much smoother.
Easy solution, just grab another aisle seat and tell the rightful passsenger that the flight attendants are not honoring seat assignments today.
@Mike:
I would’ve asked for the purser first. Most flight attendants know if one askes for the purser rather than the captain they kind of know their way around – much, much more than the average flier.
@1990: While of course its impossible to be prepared for all events, there are some such as these which can be prepared for.
As I mentioned above, asking for the purser rather than the captain might go a long way. Explain the situation properly, eloquently and most important, respectfully without raising one’s voice.
Finally, taking a few deep breaths helps out A LOT!
Of COURSE “she got on first.” People with children always get to board before everyone else, so how can that be considered a metric for who’s entitled to a seat? The best and only metric? WHO PAID TO SIT IN THAT SEAT.
@Disgruntled American — Yeah, that’s about right. Well, thank you for at least still ‘trying.’
@Jacobin777 — I’m with you; again, at least that would be ‘trying.’ We could all do better.
If you can’t afford children then DON’T HAVE THEM!
If you want to be seated together, pay for seat assignments. It’s as simple as that.
Signed, a parent who flies with their children
I am sick and tired of ALL AIRLINES hustling and figuring ways to squeeze the most $$ out of every passenger, reducing seat sizes to squeeze in more seats etc. Secondly the ‘power’ flight attendants and even gate agents to toss anyone. Third the failure of the Government to intervene with a set absolutely no BS rules on passenger treatment (Civil Rights?????) Set a standard rule of conduct for both passenger and airlines. Fourth the arbitrary carry on baggage size. Too many airlines apply the size differently. Finally I’m lucky I fly in the highest class available but note I’m still frightened of the power of gates agents and flight crews to screw with you.
@Rick — Sounds fair and reasonable. *only in ‘blue’ states (for now)
The apology to the family is what really burns. Unnecessary and inconsiderate to the “paying” upgrade guest.
I had an overnight flight from Newark, NJ to Dublin, Ireland, and months beforehand, I booked aisle seat 22J in the 3rd row of Premium Economy. Premium Economy had 4 rows.
I thought I boarded fairly early. But when I got to my seat, a woman was kneeling on my seat (like it was hers) and facing the row behind her (#23) to talk to the flight attendant standing next to the 4th and last row. This was just after Covid. I wasn’t a happy camper.
When I explained that it was my seat, I discovered that she was in cahoots with the attendant. Her seat was 23J (not 22J), but her daughter had the window seat next to me, 22K, could I please switch. And the attendant backed her up. I caved, but I regretted it immediately. I never even asked why her daughter couldn’t move from 22K to 23K – my bad.
On the flight, every time the cart came from Economy to Premium Economy, it rammed my seat. I was woken up repeatedly. And at mealtime, anything that I would’ve had to eat had run out for my row.
So I vowed – never again. And decided that the next time I’d put the onus on the flight attendant, who shouldn’t be taking sides nor putting another passenger in a defensive position.
I am a member of the WFBF (want first, buy first) club. I’m big and as economy seats have shrunk, I just stopped buying economy.
Now that doesn’t mean I won’t end up there during irregular ops, but I won’t be there if I have any say in the matter.
I am also particular about where I sit, and not having to play the upgrade game means I can usually pick the type of seat I like (aisle, not bulkhead). Or if it’s a 1×2 regional jet, I like a seat on the 1 side.
I try to be understanding that people may well have been split up by irrops, but that is best handled by taking assigned seats and then negotiating with nearby people, offering the best of your scattered seats rather than the worst. It seems today that people will squat in the seat and expect me to take a far worse seat. Given the airlines decided to monetize seating choices, the airlines needs to deal with this and not put passengers on the spot. If my boarding pass says 2D (or 17C), I’m sitting in 2D (or 17C) and you can go sit in whatever number your boarding pass says.
I also thought I was an oddball in that I will not block the whole plane trying to get my bag out. If I’m in row 2 and I can get my bags sorted out while they are moving the jetbridge into place, great. If not, I will usually get my underseat bag, move into row 1 or 3 so the window passenger in my row can get out, and then when there is a gap, I’ll fuss with my overhead bag. So I’m 20th off the plane instead of 4th, not really much difference. I can walk fast and beat the people I let off early anyway. 🙂
@makfan — WFBF! @Gene will be so happy to hear of this! Those ‘1’ seats on the 1-2 configured regional jets (CRJ/ERJ) are indeed ‘fun.’ Keep up the ‘fast walking’…it’s healthy!
Again the mentality of I should get Frontier pricing but PanAm like service. How about we require airlines to charge fares that cover the cost of operation for that seat? Do you really think you’d get a $49 fare to Orlando?
Somebody needs to explain to the stupid Waitress that she works for AA, not Southwest. (i.e. the SWA we have now — not the one starting Jan 27, 2026). It doesn’t matter that the girl got on first.
There are some missing information. Specifically:
1) The pax was 6’2″ and paid $300.00 for the aisle seat. HE PAID EXTRA MONEY SO HE WOULD NOT BE UNCOMFORTABLE. That is why he did not want to trade to a window seat.
2) The two entitled parents were sitting in the window/middle. So they decide to have their child steal the aisle seat so all three could sit together. It should have been that one entitled parent and the child sat in aisle/middle. The other entitled parent sat in the third seat which was located elsewhere. The child ends up still sitting next to one of the entitled parents.
—–> For the record, that is AA policy and procedure. That a child under 15 will sit next to at least one adult. NOT NECESSARILY BOTH ADULTS.
3) Omaar Summer posted a video to give his side of the story. In his video he clarifies that he would have been fine with a seat swap if they’d just asked. See video link below — him saying that is at 0:25.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT_DI7u-Uv8
—–> I have watched YouTube videos and seen articles on several travel blogs regarding seat swaps. It is clearly a contentious topic. Frequent travelers say two things:
* They say they are only going to swap for an equal or better seat. Not aisle near the front for middle in the back.
* One comment almost all of them say —> “If you steal my seat instead of asking if we can swap, it’s an automatic no.” (See #3 above — he would have been willing to switch if they had asked, not stolen his seat.)
—–> The fact that frequent fliers have HUGE issues with seat stealing speaks volumes about how airline etiquette SHOULD BE.
I agree, he could have handled it a little better, but he wasn’t wrong in what he was expecting. If I pay to select a seat, I have every right to expect that seat. This isn’t Southwest’s ‘sit where you want’ (for now) .
I bet if he sat in a first-class seat, the FA wouldn’t have told the passenger who paid for that one, “Well, he got on first”.
Why don’t the two parents move back in the plane and allow two passengers to move up? This way they could all be together.
Gary – What is the passenger’s recourse in this type of situation where the FA is wrong? I generally have no problem switching seats if it’s an equivalent or better seat and if I’m not already settled. But if I arrive & you’re sitting in my seat without asking – we have a problem. I’m nice but assertive.
Do airlines have actual policies or does each crew just wing it?
@XYZ — How ’bout start by not referring to the crew as ‘stupid waitress.’ Even if you feel strongly that someone was in the wrong here, you ‘show you cards’ by disparaging flight attendants, generally, making the rest of what you have to say irrelevant. Oh, and please do enjoy that delicious spit in your food and drink. You must wonder why you get sick often, don’t you…
@george romey:
7777! jackpot
Every fare is a multiple of the airline’s CASM from the prior reporting quarter + a multiple for the number of miles for that route – they can charge less for longer routes but they are not allowed to lose money on any seat sold to anyone at any time.
Removing geographic distortion from product pricing starts a chain reaction that moves the industry back towards sanity – it becomes impossible to go bankrupt!
and what do we call that 1990?
REGULATION
@Hagbard Celine — I get it. If you see most of my comments on here, other than the silly ones, I’m usually advocating in-favor of workers and consumers, and less-concerned about maximizing profits for the capital class. Generally, yes, that usually means more regulations and protections for those workers and consumers. Some detest that approach because they are either currently benefitting from the status quo, or have been convinced by others/propaganda to defraud their fellow passengers and the workers, most of whom are doing their best and just trying to get by. As I am sure you do too, I care deeply about the industry and all those affected by it.
I can understand that for safety reasons, young kids need to be seated near *a* parent, and folks should be (1) made aware when confirming every reservation that their seats are subject to change slightly if a situation with a young kid arises.
However, the safety issue only requires that *one* parent be sitting next to the child. If the parents didn’t book the seats correctly, and they’re relying on the this kind of seat-swapping to fix the problem…the two adults sitting next to each other without a stranger in between shouldn’t be a required component of the solution. They’re adults. They can sit separately and trade who sits next to the kid halfway through the flight.
@1990 — you are completely correct. My comment is completely uncalled for. I got a little bit fired up because I didn’t like the way the FAs treated him. Specifically:
* Telling him that the child was entitled to the seat because, “She got on first” is against policy and procedure.
* Telling him that he is a bad guy and threatening with ejection was unfair on the part of the FA.
* Another flight attendant came by, knelt in front of the family and said, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Your daughter is really beautiful. Thank you for flying with us.”
That explains my behavior but it does not excuse my behavior. And like you say, it can detract from the other stuff that I said.
I can’t put vocal inflection into written word, so please know that I am saying next is a “conversational tone” and not in a “confrontational tone.” I almost invariably bring chocolate or gift cards (Starbucks, Dunkin). In addition, if I have time, I write a note saying how I know it can be difficult to be in a customer facing job and you get people expressing frustration about things you have no control over. (Like weather, mechanical delays, etc.) It makes their day which makes my day.
I let my emotions get a little bit ahead of me, but again that does not excuse what I said. It’s just that it’s not fair to people who plan ahead to be punished. In fact, the link below talks about an FA named Mitra Amirzadeh. The article uses several inflammatory words such as “revenge,” “rude passengers” and “refuse to swap seats.” I take exception to the wording because I feel some of it is excessive. (And yet my previous post was at exactly the same level.)
* I don’t think passengers who say, “I’ prefer to remain in my assigned seat” are being rude.
* I don’t think it’s fair to say that they “refuse to swap seats” if they politely decline.
* And… the word “revenge” is probably over the top also. However, the picture of her holding a bunch of children’s stuff with her smirk suggests that she is not the nicest person in Customer Service.
https://brightside.me/articles/flight-attendant-reveals-how-she-punishes-passengers-who-refuse-to-swap-seats-829176/
I seldom fly anymore. After a few nightmare flights years ago on AA. I am older and frequently in pain in cramped conditions. If I can’t occasionally move my left leg to briefly straighten it., it is likely to set off a spasm that will have me screaming in pain.
I’m not talking leaving it in the aisle, just flexing it for a count of 2 if there’s no traffic.
If I paid $300 I would be tempted to try to file a theft charge. Nasty, but so is effectively stealing $300 for goods not received.
The FA was wrong. A little common sense would have moved one of the parents and allowed the customer to have the seat he paid for.
@bkkbob — Do you mean actual ‘common sense,’ (as in, a sound judgment in practical matters); or, rather, like, the recent rightwing attempt to highjack the phrase (as in, to justify their beliefs without explaining their reasoning, often in furtherance of bigotry or political advantage)?
Just don’t fly American Airlines.
@1990 — Nah, this one was in fact a stupid waitress.
@1990 — No one brought up politics except you. The definition of common sense in this case was clearly explained. I’m sorry this triggered you. I hope you find peace.
This could have been so easily resolved…move the father and that’s that. Who wouldn’t be pissed in a similar situation?
@1990 looks like you may have a little chip on your shoulder (just a little) and a dash of victim mentality….
Those that travel, will all agree, especially when traveling AA that the waitress comment was actually nice compared to what we all have regularly experienced…. That being said, could it have been phrased a little nicer .. probably…. But it is what it is..
Next, your attack (yes, I am using the word ATTACK) on bkkbob – was entirely uncalled for and immature (IMO)….
Please, while your crowd often resorts to name calling and slandering…. This is not a forum for that…
Have an awesome day — happy travels
I am surprised if this really happened. If it did, you do have to obey the flight crew, they have so much power over if you if you don’t. However, in that case make your point as clearly as you can, recording, and file a complaint with the airline including FA’s name and I would bet you’ll get a fairly nice flight credit reward. The terms usually say you are not guaranteed a seat, but they do want to do what they can to give you want you booked. However, there are some tricks to politely escalate.
1) Explain you need an aisle and ask them to find you another.
2) If they can’t, state you will need to disembark the plane before you do you need confirmation they can get you another aisle without much delay. This is a particularly powerful threat if you have checked bags and make it shortly before door close, as they will need to delay the flight to extract your bag. The reality is, when this is presented to the purser, you are simply a passenger with a boarding pass and somebody is sitting in your seat, so you need to get off the plane, and 99% the purser is going to solve that for you unless the flight is full. Say, “Unfortunately, I reserved the aisle because I don’t fit in the window and it’s not fair to those around me.” At least if you are big enough to say that.
Sadly, today, first class will be filled with upgrades well before door close, so you won’t be able to get one of those, but often those people upgraded will have had an aisle.
Family should have arranged this before they boarded. FA should be fired.
FA should have had family exit the plane and work with an agent and let the agent find a volunteer.
Families don’t usually pay to sit together like they should if they need to. The Father should have sat elsewhere and let Mother sit with the Girl.
AA charges non-elites for seats exit those way in the back or middle seats.
Also interested in recourse. We’ve seen it worse, paying F passenger downgraded to Y.
Assume one doesn’t have to be home ASAP.
I know airline employees have seniority and hold on to it passionately.
I never knew positive-space general flying public had seniority rankings during the boarding window.
The more you know.
If an airline charges you more for a specific seat, they need to produce it. No one should try to make you the bad guy for wanting what you have already bought. Otherwise the airline is stealing from you.
Enough of this BS. You get the seat you pay for. I would’ve gone ballistic on these d-bags.
The real lesson here is American Airlines is the worst Airline in the US the staff is extremely rude planes are dirty, and they just generally do not care. But it does come out of Texas so you expect something awful. It’s an airline I refuse to ever fly on again
I have had a fair number of times where I found another person in my assigned seat. It is one of the major reasons that I try to board at the beginning of my boarding group these days. Most of the time it is given as due to confusion about the seat number. A few times I have had to have a flight attendant get the other person to their correct seat. I have had a seat number that was duplicated on someone else’s ticket several times. I have already been in my seat those times and refused to move. The flight attendants in each case have moved the other person elsewhere. I have had others try to swap with me for a much worse seat. No thank you. Almost all of the times I can recall it was a woman trying to commandeer my seat.
I hate when people use their children as entitlements. But more blame on the airline for not anticipating this problem. How about having their reservation system detect this issue and solve it without human involvement?
@J G — Everything is politics. People, money, power, culture. Folks who say ‘no politics’ are like the parents in ‘Don’t Look Up’ (they just want to ‘jobs’ the meteor will bring…)
@CzechJunk — Thanks for taking the time to respond.
My comment on ‘common sense’ is apt; that phrase has been commandeered recently, and not in an accurate or authentic way. Clearly, you took offense, so that means it’s ‘saying something’ to call it out.
As for the crews, I travel plenty on AA metal (so far 11 times this year), though I do credit a lot of partner airlines to my AAdvantage account (thanks for the Platinum Pro, Qatar and JAL). I’ve found that the flight attendants at American are really not that different than most other airlines; they are professionals, primarily there for our safety, then our comfort, trying their best to do their jobs, not deserving of your spite at all. When traveling in First with AA, I usually get a PDB more than half the time, which is better than United, sometimes.
Finally, since I see your name choice (Czech); I was recently in Prague, and enjoyed my time there (flew Delta, though). Anyway, feel free to come around VFTW anytime. For debate, banter, or no reason at all… so far, it seems Gary is a gracious host who encourages free expression and does not micromanage. Of course, it is his website, so he can do as he wishes.
Well we can all agree on 1 thing, XYZ is a FUC$ing IDIOT, so are most passengers.
@1990 The FA was also indeed a maroon of a waitress. What she did was wrong and then continued to hurl veiled insult at the passenger by apologizing to that family and complimenting the daughter was uncalled for.
Hope the guy sue her and AA.
United Airlines does the same thing…don’t believe that this is just an AA policy.. Had my seat changed from aisle to middle seat on a 6hr flight home minutes before boarding to accommodate to a family. These policies are retarded….if a family can’t plan ahead or afford seats to sit together in the first place, just stay home and fill up the kiddie pool in the backyard and throw some hot dogs on the grill.
@Tim ja — not sure why you think I’m an idiot. If it’s because of the “stupid Waitress” comment, I already posted a second comment as a retraction. All my other comments are naming logical and cogent reasons why he should not have been expected to change seats.
@PayYourWay — This is a hill I’ll die on: Flight crews are not mere waitresses. Ever. You’re just being hateful, and it’s the internet, so you can get away with it. In real life, if you treat others that way, at worst, you’ll get removed from your flight, at best, maybe some spit in your drink. While you can be disappointed in this particular flight attendant for their acts or omissions, you shouldn’t denigrate the entire profession.
Both are wrong
The sad thing here is I bet the parents sat the little girl in that seat to purposely put another human in an awkward position to ask for what they paid for. The FA would have had no issue moving a parent had they sat there. Using your children to steal from someone else while this poor guy gets painted as villain to a clueless and unprofessional flight crew.
Thanks for sharing this story. I’m not a frequent flyer as a matter of fact I despise air travel a fly only when it’s absolutely necessary because of all restrictions, loss of freedom and having to share a confined space with other travelers. i appreciate knowing how AA treat their guests and will not be booking with them if the need to fly becomes imminent.
This puts Osaac in an untenable Catch-22. If he agrees to give up his seat AA will shaft him on a refund. If he doesn’t give up the seat, the FA b*** will force him to deplane and make up a story about Osaac being disruptive etc. Which may also result in him being shafted on the refund not to mention not reaching his destination on time. AA will back the crew every time because it doesn’t want union problems. And the problem is further exacerbated by the airline rules which state that seat assignments are not guaranteed.
I am not how I would play this hand. I guess you tell the FA you paid $100 for the seat and ask her to provide a refund on the spot. If they refuse and eject you then take video where you calmly explain that you are being ejected from the airplane because another passenger stole your seat. But for sure you are screwed.
Of course this is why I always board as early as possible. If you don’t have elite status buy-up to a seat that includes early boarding or simply pay the AF for the airline credit card. Most of the people who pull this scam are not elites though I suppose some will abuse family boarding. That’s why we will miss WN, the family boarding was after #60.