[PHXFlyer]

Delta has seats which it will not assign, and as a matter of fact telephone agents cannot assign, until the day of departure. There are also a number of seats which are reserved for elite members which are made available to anyone when the 24 hour online check-in window opens. Because of the fact that you are Australian nationals originating in Australia I'm not sure if online check-in will be an option for you but at exactly 24 hours before the flight it can't hurt to try. Otherwise do as others have said and arrive at the airport extra early. Those seat blocks for airport assignment are done so with this very scenario in mind.

Sometimes travel agencies and resellers who sell large blocks of seats aren't even allowed to submit seat requests until the entire block is sold and the passenger list is finalized. This may be what happened with Expedia.au since they do have access to some of these "bulk" fares and perhaps you bought one of these unknowingly. If you shopped around and Expedia was selling tickets for less than what was available for the same flights directly through Delta it was probably a bulk fare. Expedia's explanation of why the seat assignments were not transmitted to Delta was therefore flawed. It may not have been an error but that the seat requests for the entire block they sold were transmitted at the same time and you and your daughter were separated at that point. Expedia could have done a better job of explaining that to you however when you talk to a call center you don't know who you are talking to or where.

Finally just this advice. In your original post you talked of booking your tickets and seats. Actually you book your tickets but seats assignments are a request and not guaranteed. Most of the time they do not change but there are situations, such as aircraft substitutions, when they do. It's a good idea, especially if you book far in advance, to check your reservation online periodically to ensure that your flight times and/or seat assignments haven't changed. I'm traveling next week on a three-segment itinerary booked about 5 months ago. United substituted the aircraft on the first of the three segments and there is no longer a first-class cabin. The flight is just under an hour so it's really not a huge deal that I'm no longer in first class but when the change happened I was randomly assigned a new seat which was a window which was not my preference so I was able to change my seat to an aisle before all of the other aisle seats were assigned. Remember in the end you a buying a seat from point A to point B but not a specific seat on the aircraft that get you there.

[PHXFlyer]

I've done a bit of research for you and on the 777LR, the aircraft they use from SYD-LAX, Delta seems to block 41 ABC, 41 GHJ, 42 DEF, and all of rows 56 and 57 from pre-assignment. That accounts for a total of 23 seats which will be available at the airport on a first-come first-served basis. Actually row 56 and 57 may be ideal for you traveling with your child since it's a 2-3-2 configuration rather than the normal 3-3-3 because of the narrowing of the aircraft towards the tail.

Something just occurred to me as well. Are you just taking the flight from Sydney to Los Angeles or are you continuing on to Atlanta? There may indeed be two seats together that can be pre-assigned just not the same seats for both legs of the flight. If this is indeed the case it can't hurt to call Delta again and ask them if they can give you separate seat assignments from SYD-LAX and then LAX-ATL. You'll have t deplane to go through customs and immigration at LAX anyway so changing seats won't be a hassle at all.

[jimworcs]

Ok, here we go:

First, if I buy a Sony TV from Best Buy and it breaks down, I can certainly look to Best Buy to fix it. However, I can also go to Sony.. and guess what? They will stand behind their product. I know that, because I have done it. Do you get the analogy Delta? Regardless of what any of the posters on here say, Expedia (as with any Travel Agent) us acting on behalf of Delta. That is what the word agent means. Delta need to stand behind their service, no matter who the agent was. If an insurance agent mishandles a claim, do you really think the insurance company can just say sorry not our fault? It is a ridiculous argument.

Instead of trying to help, this is the type of reply a Delta customer receives:

Delta Airlines get back to her and say that it is a first in, first come basis.

I feel the customer service is appalling, I actually had one customer service officer shouting at me today

The airplane could be completely full, which means in order to change your seat, potentially several others would need to be changed as well. Why should they be forced to change seats because Expedia didn't follow thru with their side of the deal and book the proper seats?

What is wrong with you people? Have you lost touch with basic human decency? The child is 4 YEARS OLD!!! It makes no difference who made the mistake. The customer has asked both Expedia and Delta to sort this out. Neither has stepped up to the plate. In the end, it is Delta who are providing the service and are the only people who can provide a solution. Instead, they have left a mother dreading what is to come, anxious and upset. To what purpose? There is a callous disregard which comes from the arrogance of a massive monolith airline which is protected from the consequences of their appalling customer service and financial mis-management.

Justme to answer your breathtaking question of why should other customers should be forced to change seats… the answers are

This customer is 4 years old. She is vulnerable and her needs should take priority over others, just as the needs of a disabled customer might be prioritized, or your fatcat management team. She also needs a parent during the flight for emotional support and because it is wrong and immoral for Delta to force other customers to sit next to her and become her de-facto carers. Because the customer you sit this 4 year old girl next to could be a paedophile. Because, in the event of an emergency decompression, it is wrong to ask strangers to take responsibility for the safety of someone else’s child. Because in the event of an emergency evacuation, there are at least two potential dangers. First, the mother would impede the egress of others trying to find her child and second, place strangers in the position of having to take responsibility for a child. Because the strangers would not be able to help the child to go to the toilet, ensure that she doesn’t eat something which she is allergic too, offer comfort and reassurance on a long journey, wipe her nose and her tears because she is being forcibly separated from her mother.

Ok, so now the answers come.. well of course, we won’t actually do it, we will help her at the airport. Except that Delta have not offered that reassurance, they have pointedly refused to do so. Even Justme has indicated that they would not “force other customers to change seats”.

It is really is scandalous. It could so easily have been resolved with a bit of care… even if they couldn’t give the customer actual booked seats. Just to help you out Justme, here is my

Guide to good customer service, 101

Consider it my gift to you:

Mrs. Fuhrmann, we are so sorry that Expedia have let you down this way. Unfortunately, all our seats for advance booking have now been reserved, and we are unable to book two seats at this stage for you. However, Delta would never separate you from your 4 year old child on such a long flight. In fact, we set aside a number of seats which cannot be reserved for precisely this kind of situation. These seats are allocated at the airport. I will put a note on your reservation explaining the problem, and we will ensure that you are seated together. Please arrive at the airport early to give the agents time to make the arrangements. Thank you for choosing Delta and we are sorry you have had this difficulty. I hope that has put your mind at rest.

Instead, she got a “why should we” attitude.. it’s not our fault, it’s there fault… and at one point was shouted at. Even though I have low expectations of Delta, it takes my breath away!!