California family booted from Delta Air Lines flight after refusing to give up son's seat

[Dashinka 25,881]

I guess it is Delta's turn.  This one is a bit more interesting,and did not involve any apparent injuries.  Delta may have a point here, but I think we may need more facts.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/05/04/california-family-booted-from-delta-air-lines-flight-after-refusing-to-give-up-sons-seat.html

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

15 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

I guess it is Delta's turn.  This one is a bit more interesting,and did not involve any apparent injuries.  Delta may have a point here, but I think we may need more facts.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/05/04/california-family-booted-from-delta-air-lines-flight-after-refusing-to-give-up-sons-seat.html

Something does not add up. Why did they not have a ticket for the other son.

[Dashinka 25,881]

5 minutes ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

Something does not add up. Why did they not have a ticket for the other son.

I think the two smaller children were flying as "Infant in lap", but with the older son's seat empty since he took an earlier flight, they thought they still had the seat available.   A lot of facts are missing.  Did the older son also fly on Delta?  Did they buy another ticket for him on that other flight, or did he just fly standby?  Did they try to change the name on the ticket for the flight the parents and other two children were on?  If the seat was empty, then I don't think Delta did anything wrong related to trying to put another person in it, the parents at the very least would have had the credit for that ticket for future use.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Bill & Katya

[MacUK 983]

I'm confuzzled, did they check in the older son even though he wasn't there so they could use the seat? I don't know about US domestic flight rules but over here you need to at least have photo ID to check in, even on domestic flights. So that would put the check in staff at fault.

 

Or did they just assume that the seat was theirs even though the ticket holder hadn't been checked in?

 

Sorry, in that scenario it would be treated like any other no-show. You don't check in then you don't get the seat. The whole basis of US airlines overbooking flights is they expect a certain percentage to not show up so they overbook to fill those seats.

The older son was a no show, the seat goes to someone else.

 

 

Are the media going to report every time someone gets annoyed with airlines?

[Dashinka 25,881]

2 minutes ago, MacUK said:

I'm confuzzled, did they check in the older son even though he wasn't there so they could use the seat? I don't know about US domestic flight rules but over here you need to at least have photo ID to check in, even on domestic flights. So that would put the check in staff at fault.

 

Or did they just assume that the seat was theirs even though the ticket holder hadn't been checked in?

 

Sorry, in that scenario it would be treated like any other no-show. You don't check in then you don't get the seat. The whole basis of US airlines overbooking flights is they expect a certain percentage to not show up so they overbook to fill those seats.

The older son was a no show, the seat goes to someone else.

 

 

Are the media going to report every time someone gets annoyed with airlines?

I agree, it appears as if Delta treated the other seat as a no show since the parents had no way of checking their other son in.

[Unlockable 7,322]

Read the story. If everything in the article is true, Delta was in the right.

 

I have personally seen parents use the "child in lap", but then use the entire row for a baby bench/carriage. Then the passenger huffs and puffs when they have to remove their child and items to make room for the people who are assigned to the seat.

 

ETA: Also, when you purchase a ticket, it says in the disclaimer that if you fail to show for the flight, the airline has the right to give your seat to another passenger.

Edited May 4, 2017 by NuestraUnion

[Transborderwife 4,666]

West Jet is looking better and better everyday 

[8bit_Theatre 64]

1 hour ago, MacUK said:

I'm confuzzled, did they check in the older son even though he wasn't there so they could use the seat? I don't know about US domestic flight rules but over here you need to at least have photo ID to check in, even on domestic flights. So that would put the check in staff at fault.

 

Or did they just assume that the seat was theirs even though the ticket holder hadn't been checked in?

 

Sorry, in that scenario it would be treated like any other no-show. You don't check in then you don't get the seat. The whole basis of US airlines overbooking flights is they expect a certain percentage to not show up so they overbook to fill those seats.

The older son was a no show, the seat goes to someone else.

 

 

Are the media going to report every time someone gets annoyed with airlines?

Minors don't need ID to go through security.

 

In theory he probably could have checked that ticket in and no one would have been the wiser.

Edited May 4, 2017 by 8bit_Theatre

[Dashinka 25,881]

1 hour ago, 8bit_Theatre said:

Minors don't need ID to go through security.

 

In theory he probably could have checked that ticket in and no one would have been the wiser.

The other ticket was purchased for an 18 year old son that took an earlier flight, so I don't think he would qualify as a minor, so the airline wouldn't have had a check-in for his ticket.

[bcking 3,157]

Even if the ticket was purchased for a minor, you can't change the name on the ticket without some sort of fee with most airlines, and at the very least it has to happen ahead of time. If they don't have anyone checked in with that seat when it comes time to board, they are within the right to place someone who was on standby.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

So riddle me this . Instead of overlooking, why don't they just have a policy that says if you don't show up you loose your money. Seat is paid for 

[Transborderwife 4,666]

6 minutes ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

So riddle me this . Instead of overlooking, why don't they just have a policy that says if you don't show up you loose your money. Seat is paid for 

Pretty sure that they already do if non refundable 

[IAMX 3,055]

I can't really feel bad for Delta or any other airlines, this is what happens when you overbook.

[OriZ 3,165]

2 hours ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

So riddle me this . Instead of overlooking, why don't they just have a policy that says if you don't show up you loose your money. Seat is paid for 

 

2 hours ago, Transborderwife said:

Pretty sure that they already do if non refundable 

Sometimes it's not just people not showing up period. Many times it's stuff like missing connections. The airline then in most cases lets you board a different flight later on, at no charge. Since they still have to find a seat for you they need to make sure their other plane is as full as possible, so overbooking makes sense in that situation. Moreover, even if you just missed your own flight they would normally still let you board a different one, even if non refundable. So if we expected them to not overbook we should also expect to lose that. 

Edited May 5, 2017 by OriZ

[OriZ 3,165]

7 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

I guess it is Delta's turn.  This one is a bit more interesting,and did not involve any apparent injuries.  Delta may have a point here, but I think we may need more facts.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/05/04/california-family-booted-from-delta-air-lines-flight-after-refusing-to-give-up-sons-seat.html

“You're saying you're gonna give that away to someone else when I paid for that seat? That's not right,” Schear tells the Delta employee.

 

What a moron. Unless they paid for the other seat as well on the plane he did board, they already got their money's worth. It's not two for the price of one. I also find it quite ironic that they purchased tickets on united to leave the next day.

Edited May 5, 2017 by OriZ