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Myself and my family travel on passes quite frequently.  Being on passes means we do not always get to sit together.  not a big deal now but when My kids were younger it was a problem.  I NEVER once had an issue with asking if someone was willing to switch seats so either my wife or I could be next to our daughter.  A few times the flight attendant did some switching around to accommodate it.  I never expected this but it was nice none the less.

 

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8 hours ago, deicer said:

My question in this is when are parent's going to take back responsibility.

Some days it's just too hard having to think for others.......

 

Really? 

I use a travel agent too because I don’t understand all this foolishness. Maybe these parents should get off their lazy butts and deice the airplane too.

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15 hours ago, boestar said:

Business Class seat? on Passes?  Yeah Ok.  That hasn't happened in years. 

I didn't say anything about travelling on passes, I merely mentioned that if you have something of value to give it is easier to get something in return.

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I recently booked tickets for my family on a different airline using frequent flyer points. This airline doesn't normally charge for seat selection however not all ticket classes are eligible for advanced seat selection. My frequent flyer ticket was one of those classes not eligible. However on booking the airline assigned me seats automatically to ensure I was seated with my children. I didn't get to choose which seats I was assigned but at least I was assigned seats together. 

This is what all airlines should be doing. Paying for advanced seat selection is one thing but that is overridden by an airline's duty of care for its passengers!

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11 hours ago, Wolfhunter said:

Really? 

I use a travel agent too because I don’t understand all this foolishness. Maybe these parents should get off their lazy butts and deice the airplane too.

The travel agent messed up, not AC.

Quote

With regards to the original Facebook post, Air Canada tells Global News the travel agent for the family did not indicate that one of the two travellers was a child and so the automatic seat selection for families did not pick up a problem.

But the airline says it has now amended the booking and that the father and daughter will be seated together on their return flight.

 

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So that makes it OK then? Good Lord, any of you folks actually work in a service oriented industry? 

 

Are you this well informed and smart when it comes to getting your car repaired or do you place your confidence in those whose job it is to help you?

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23 hours ago, Wolfhunter said:

So that makes it OK then? Good Lord, any of you folks actually work in a service oriented industry? 

 

Are you this well informed and smart when it comes to getting your car repaired or do you place your confidence in those whose job it is to help you?

You said that you use travel agents because you don't understand this foolishness. I merely pointed out that your precious travel agent didn't help in this case. They placed their confidence in their travel agent and the travel agent failed them. Now, according to the media and apparently yourself, it's AC's fault.

 

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OK…well, I guess you ether get this or you don’t. My precious travel agent is not the final arbiter of what happens on board and the only corporate defence against stupid situations is good employees. Pop quiz:

 

You just moved to a new province (mine), bought a Jeep Wrangler and thought it might be cool to install an aggressive lift kit and over sized tires. You picked up your bits and pieces at Jerry The Jeep Guy and bring them to my shop for installation. What you don’t know (and what Jerr Bear didn’t tell you) is that in addition to the wear and tear on your drive shafts and txm/tfr case your vehicle will not be compliant with the new safety check regulations coming next year. As your last line of defence I should:

 

  1. say/do nothing ((it’s your precious Jerry the Jeep Guys fault), do the job, be sure to add 10% for shop supplies. When W5 comes around I blame you. 
  2. suggest a less aggressive approach that is compliant, exchange the parts with Jerry and apply the savings to the labour bill.  

 

Don’t tell me “thats different”; it’s not. Is it about who's at fault or about a little kid sitting with strangers? BTW, I’m done with this… last word is yours

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  • 1 month later...

.

not going away...

Air Canada says parents must pay to guarantee 2-year-old can sit with them on flight

Fee to secure specific seat for toddler only applies to Tango fares, airline says

Fri Apr 29, 2016 - CBC News
By Fiona Morrow

Many parents may dream of taking a flight with their toddler assigned a seat far, far away, but few would consider it a serious — or safe — option.

But as Caley and Matt Hartney discovered after booking return flights from Vancouver to Toronto for themselves and their two-year-old daughter, Charlotte, Air Canada only guarantees a child between the ages of two and eight will be seated in the same cabin as a parent or guardian, not an adjacent seat, or even the same row.

Unless, that is, a $40 fee is paid to reserve a specific seat.

Confused at what the online ticketing system appeared to be telling her, Caley Hartney called Air Canada customer service, where the agent confirmed the required fee and referred her to the company's conditions of service on their website.

The agent said that according to Air Canada rules, it is only required that a parent of a child aged two to eight is seated in the same cabin as their child.

When she asked to speak to someone else, the agent said the only other route to protest the fee was to write to Air Canada's president (which they have done).

Who is responsible?

The Hartneys did pay the fee for the two adult seats, but have refused to add the $40 charge to their daughter's already full price fare, arguing that the current system makes no sense.

"My wife refused," Matt Hartney, an accountant from Burnaby, told CBC News Thursday. "[She explained] that she's comfortable paying for both adults, but that a child should not have a reserved seat fee, given that a two-year-old should have to sit next to a parent.

Matt and Caley Hartney say Air Canada requires a $40 fee to guarantee their toddler sits beside them on a flight. (Caley Hartney)

"You can't book a two-year-old a seat on their own — the system won't allow it. You have to add the child to the adult's ticket," he added.

"If it is the policy of Air Canada, that every time a child flies, to ensure they sit next to a parent they have to pay a $40 charge, then it's not optional. And if it's not optional, it should be disclosed up front and included in the fare when you reserve the flight."

And the idea that a toddler could happily be seated away from her parents for the duration of a flight is, Hartney says, "a bit silly.

"In the event that customers have not pre-selected their seats, we have in place processes to reduce the possibility of being separated."

.

 

 

 

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If I'm understanding this correctly, they paid the fee to reserve 2 seats together, so theoretically, the child could sit with one of the parents in those seats, and the other parent could sit elsewhere, and maybe even ask someone to switch so they can sit together.  Instead they're making it sound like Air Canada is forcing them to sit in those 2 seats, separated from their toddler.  In fact, you can avoid paying the reserved seat fee altogether if you don't use the Tango fares.  That's what Tango fares are - they're cheap fares where you have the option to pay fees for whatever extras are important to you.

I remember years ago, a wise old incharge gave to perfect response to a passenger who was griping because he wanted an upgrade he wasn't entitled to:  "If you bought a K car, would you expect to be delivered a Cadillac?"

 

 

 

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Another In Charge I know used to handle the types griping for an upgrade by saying:

"Upgrade sir?, certainly, if you can just give me your credit card number" , that usually brought a change of mind on the spot.

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I eagerly await the slack-jawed, glassy eyed introspection within the airlines when they find they are once again being regulated in an interventionist way. Fortunately though this is a change that probably won't require pax being burned alive to be implemented.

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I would suggest a change in policy; it should be mandatory for young children to sit with their parents… for a whole host of reasons. Sometimes the best way to change errant policies is to follow them and see who cries uncle.

 

 

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