There are many ways to get on an earlier flight. Same day standby. If there’s a seat available, some airlines will allow you on it for free, some charge extra. Paying the additional cost for a flight change. On an oversold flight, they may have gladly allowed him to go earlier, even paid him $$ or ticket voucher to give up his seat. There is no way they are going to purchase an expensive, last minute one way ticket to Hawaii when the kid already has a paid for ticket. If they’re that wealthy, they would have just purchased a seat for the toddler.
I don’t know about the technicalities of when the name on the seat disappears, however, they probably have the ability to see who was originally scheduled for the seat.
As far as the parents leaving the seat in the older son’s name…they can’t change the name on the ticket to their younger son’s name. They can’t do anything about it. The name on the purchased ticket is the only name that can be there. If you have a different person that you want a ticket for, you have to purchase a completely separate ticket. And I think they hadn’t purchased a ticket for the toddler either way. They just got lucky that the crew on the way over either didn’t notice the car seat, or more likely decided not to say anything about it, because there were extra seats.
I realize that I’m making these assumptions based upon what I read instead of viewing the video. When I get home tonight, I’ll watch the video, and maybe it will look different than how it reads. But it reads like the family is doing what many people seem to do. Scam the system and then instead of complying when called on it, taking a stand that they are entitled and have been wronged.
They were going home from Hawaii and the infant did have a seat on the way over – the video confirms that. My point is that they did not appear to transfer Mason’s ticket to another flight so the seat was paid for. The transfer online happens instantaneously so they can use that seat or have more flexibility with seat assignment.
The only question is how did Mason get on the earlier flight and did that in any way affect his ticket on the later fight that they wanted to use for the infant. The father claims his earlier flight did not affect the ticket on the later flight.
And the article referenced in post #1 said the bathrooms on 737s are going to be smaller. Those bathrooms are so small as it is. I can see heavier passengers getting wedged in there. I’m 5’7" and 150 lbs and I can barely maneuver in the tiny restrooms.
Okay, I watched much of that video, and it’s what I thought. The guy is trying to scam, and he’s a bit of a jerk, too.
He acknowledged the child was a “lap baby”, which means they did not pay for a seat for that child. The fact that they were allowed to utilize a seat on the flight over is irrelevant, they just got away with it.
It is also irrelevant that he paid for an empty seat for another child. That kid is a no show, his seat is gone. He could have bought 50 seats for cobrat’s cousins, and if they didn’t show, he still wouldn’t be entitled to give his lap baby a seat. They probably would have allowed it, however.
If tou don’t purchase a ticket with your name on it, you are not entitled to a seat. End of story. On an oversold flight, if someone doesn’t show, they will put another passenger in that seat. Your lap baby has to sit in your lap.
I think the employees were not assertive and clear enough, giving this guy an opening to argue his case, when he was dead wrong.
How was he trying to scam them if he had never gotten reimbursed for the ticket and was simply going to use it for another family member? He paid for the seat. He should have told them what he was doing ahead of time but the name change is something easily fixed – a technicality they were seizing on. It was another family member – why not just do the name adjustment and be done with it?
You cannot “transfer” the ticket in the name of one person to a different person, family member or not. Try to call the airline more than 24 hr after purchasing it and ask to “transfer.” If this was allowable, Mr. B could buy a first class ticket using his status and then transfer it to me so I could fly in comfort while he is staying at home.
If the guy paid for the seat, he might be entitled to a partial refund (minus any cancellation fees) but he cannot simply “transfer” it to anyone else. That is what is stated in all fare rules I’ve seen: tickets are not transferable, and no name changes are allowed.
They don’t do name adjustments on tickets. Maybe that is something they did decades ago, but I can’t imagine any airline that does it. It’s just like if your husband bought an airline ticket and decided not to use it, you can’t just show up in his place, expecting to use it. And you can’t call ahead of time to get this done. The ticket is attached to the person. If they don’t use it, they eithe lose the ticket or get future credit, but only for themself. It is 100% non-transferable to another person.
The guy sounded like a frequent flyer. He knew better.
Airlines can do anything they want @busdriver11 – as we have seen from all the fiascos lately. Transferring a ticket" brother to infant brother" is certainly within their realm of “doable.” They didn’t want to do it and instead threw the whole family off the flight. A family with a 1 and 2 year old, necessitating an overnight stay and another flight the next day. Another PR nightmare that they will pay for in negative press.
But to say this guy was trying to scam them when he paid for the seat is just not correct.
Airline could have done it as a courtesy, but it absolutely did not have to do so. Moreover, I suspect that giving a seat to a pax who is not named on the ticket may be a violation of some rule, and the employees may be fired for doing so.
HarvestMoon, individual people can’t change an entire airline industry policy. It’s likely to even be FAA regulation that each individual with a seat requires a ticket. I doubt this is going to be a fiasco for Delta among frequent flyers, since they can see through this,and it shows an overbearing man trying to intimidate people into getting his way.
I suspect many people will be using the airlines fear of coming across in a bad light to take advantage. However, with everyone ready with their cellphone, they should just assume they are being recorded and treat people with respect. And that’s usually a good thing.
I see I can’t talk you into a change of opinion, so we’ll just have to disagree on this one.
Yes, as a courtesy it certainly could have been done especially with an infant. I think given the circumstances it should have been done. But yeah we disagree and that’s fine – no big deal.
The guy paid for five seats, one on one flight, four on another. I think it’s reasonable that he should be allowed to use those seats. I’m sure if someone had explained to him that by purchasing a seat on an earlier flight for the teen he would be forfeiting the use of that seat on the later flight he wouldn’t have bothered to send the 18 year old on an earlier flight.
I don’t see any “scam” going on here and I think the airline could have been more understanding. Why should the airline get paid twice for the same seat?
And to threaten the parents and the children with jail – that is just over the top. Can you imagine someone saying that to you within ear shot of your children??
3scoutmom, after all that exhaustive explanation about not being entitled to someone else’s seat when the ticket is not in your name, even if they’re a no show…I honestly don’t have the energy to explain it again.
And sure, it could have been a courtesy to allow the child who did not have a paid for ticket into the seat, however, not a courtesy to the passenger who did not get a seat on that flight because of it.
I imagine what will start happening is the loudest, most obnoxious person will end up getting their way. Airlines don’t want bad publicity, so they’ll back down. That doesn’t bode well for us middle age women, as we are the least likely to make a fuss. I’d better start practicing.
Yes, my tickets provide my full name, first name middle name all run together with no spacing, then a space and my last name. You have no choice if you want to use global entry.
Delta wanted to give the seat to a “stand by” passenger according to recent reports. So, who should get the “courtesy”-- a family who originally paid for the seat in the name of their older son traveling with 2 infants or a stand by passenger? My vote goes to the family.
They would have had to re-book the ticket for the stand by passenger so why not just do it for the infant?
