[pattyinny]

First, I must start by saying that when I booked my flight over 6 months ago for myself and 2 children ages 3 and 6, I was never given the opportunity to select my seats, by paying for this option or otherwise. I was told that seat assignment would be done at check-in. Now, I arrive an hour and a half before my flight this morning only to find out that my children are seated 4 rows BEHIND me! How could anyone possibly think seating a 3 and 6 year old 4 rows behind their mother would be acceptible? When I told the person behind the kiosk that I needed to change my seats, she told me they would need to be changed by the gate agent. Luckily the gate agent was able to seat us all together but why put a traveler through such aggravation? I don't care how much money I saved, I will NEVER fly Airtran again. Oh, and they lost my luggage! I'm still waiting to find out where it is and if I will ever see it again.

[mars6423]

its not exactly acceptable but with low cost airlines (airtran) if they dont do seat assignments than it is basically first come first serves, so if the flight was full and everyone else was checked in before you than you would have to take whatever seats are left

is it a good system for families? no but it is what it is

its the same way with alot of budget airlines, thats a drawback from lower ticket pricies, with the major airlines you get to choose your seats or are at least booked together which is included in the higher price

i am sorry that you were aggravated and families with children should never be seperated for any reason

[jimworcs]

This practise is one further example of airlines putting profit before common sense. The policy will spectacularly backfire one of these days. There are numerous reasons why this policy is wrong:

1. First, it is morally wrong to separate children from their mother in such circumstances.

2. In an emergency evacuation this situation would cause a parent to be focussed on trying to find their children, potentially impeding the exit of other passengers and endangering others.

3. In a decompression, (which is rare, but happens sufficiently frequently that it is a serious consideration), the parent is responsible for ensuring that the child's oxygen mask is fitted. This should not be passed on to a stranger.

4. There is no-one to supervise the children which could cause discomfort to other passengers.

5. The children could be seated next to a paedophile and be sexually abused by another passengera.

The only reason this has started to happen is because airlines want to charge for the priviledge of "choosing your seat". If parents are exempt from this, it drives a coach and horses through their charging model. Ryanair in Europe have been very aggressive about this and insist that parents who want to be guaranteed to sit next to their children should pay. The cynic in me says that airlines are now so immoral their calculation is that they will make more money on charging for the seats than the compensation due when a passenger sexually abuses a child who has been forcibly separated from the protection of the parent.

[Jetliner]

The reason the seats left were scattered is because of people checking in online. That can be done up to 24 hours ahead. And as such, this is not something that would be unique to AirTran. But at the same time, keep it in mind in the future as an option.

Since you were not given a seating option ahead of time, I'm guessing you must have booked through an online agency or a regular travel agent. The airline's own site will always give you the option of choosing seats.

Ultimately they are not going to let you sit apart from the kids. The reason they have you check at the gate is because they have to page other passengers to switch seats with and give them their new seat assignments as well.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Jetliner

Since you were not given a seating option ahead of time, I'm guessing you must have booked through an online agency or a regular travel agent. The airline's own site will always give you the option of choosing seats.

I'm pretty sure that regardless of where the tickets were purchased that online check in would have been an option.

[The_Judge]

Another answer may be that it was too far out when you initially purchased the tickets to get a seat number assignment. NWA's system, at the time I worked, would only allow seats to be assigned 89 days out from the flight. 90+days you could request seats and that request would sit in a queue and then it would be generically requested automatically at the 89th day. If it was not requested when booked, then yes, you would only get them upon check-in.

[jimworcs]

Ultimately they are not going to let you sit apart from the kids.

I wouldn't bet your boots on that Jetliner.. here is a posting from an earlier thread

A Steward named Elliot was actually griping at a 3 year to put on a set belt and told his parents he'd turn the plane around and go back to the gate. Next row, he told my wife to move her seat forward, however the seat was broken. He then told her he was going to move her to another seat leaving my 2 small children alone

[Jetliner]

Originally Posted by The_Judge

Another answer may be that it was too far out when you initially purchased the tickets to get a seat number assignment. NWA's system, at the time I worked, would only allow seats to be assigned 89 days out from the flight. 90+days you could request seats and that request would sit in a queue and then it would be generically requested automatically at the 89th day. If it was not requested when booked, then yes, you would only get them upon check-in.

I'm not sure, but regardless, online checkin is still an option 24 hours ahead, and even if there is a time limit, you can still go back and pick them the day that the limit is up (89 days out).

Regardless, the OP said he was told that seats would be done at the time of checkin - this is not the case, unless he booked other than directly through AirTran.

[airhead]

This is a good example of what happens when you let free markets do what they will to make a profit or just survive. I don't really blame airlines for that too much. (Most) passengers aren't willing to pay the extra few bucks to have service that will prevent this. The demand (for a smarter flight map) is low so the supply is low. It works for most other things, such as stereos, but airlines are not the typical product one buys at a retail outlet.

Now if an airline has figured out how to be child passenger map friendly and yet retain optimal demand for premium seats, that will be profit not to mention a marvel. I am open to any ideas for improvement that will not come at a cost.

[airhead]

To answer your question, "How do they come up with the seating assignments?" is indeed a very good question and I will do my best..Not all airlines operate the same but this will give you an idea.

Let's take an airplane with 100 seats. All of these seats are empty at the moment, no reservations in other words.

The first 80 people who reserve get to choose from 80 seats. 20 seats are always blocked because the Department of Transportation requires enough seating be available for those with disabilities, the word handicap is prohibited. The emergency exit row is also blocked until about 24 hours before departure.

Some airlines will let you specify age of the passenger during reservation because a child is not allowed to sit in the emergency exit rows.

The remaining 20 are left not able to make a seat assignment. The gate agent is then required to figure out who is where. The changes for safety are made at that point. It makes sense.

People often make mistakes when checking in, so do the agents at that point. Mistakes are also made during the reservation creation. Many neglect or just don't know how to claim that a passenger is under age. The computer does not know better.

So the stress comes to the gate agent to rearrange passengers (some are not happy about this) so that a child can be in a safe spot with the parent. Also, some aircraft seats do not have the extra emergency O2 mask for a lap child so that also has to be considered.

I hope this helps.