gad33

No, it was about the fourth row back.

(I don't fly for four years and "something" happens on each flight. Who knew life could be so exciting?)

NatashaB

My stepdaughter flies as a UM on southwest airlines (costs $50 extra per one way trip). This rule doesn't appear to be in place on that airline as she has sat next to male passengers before, in fact they don't even sit the UMs together which seems a bit odd, she would much prefer to sit next to another kid.

Jerseygirl

My daughter flew as a UM with BA when she was 13. She had an empty row to herself...when someone tried to sit in the same row they were asked to move.

Yorkieabroad

Northwest/KLM (now Delta) have been doing the opposite with us the last few years - they've been trying to force us to sit seperately on flights across the pond. I have 3 kids, now 9/7/5 years old. Everything was fine when we were buying 4 tickets, but once the youngest needed her own seat we ran into problems which we still haven't found a way around. They always put us on 3 seperate rows, often not even in the same part of the cabin, which obviously means one of the kids sitting alone. Even when we think we've got it sorted with pre-assigned seats at the time we buy the tickets, we still get re-seated at check in and scattered across the cabin. The check in staff fob us off to the gate (sorry, full flight, nothing we can do), the gate staff fob us off to the cabin crew (sorry, too late, you shoudl have sorted it earlier!), and they normally, but not always, manage to get us reasonably close. Its a joke the way they expect kids of that age to sit apart from their parents on the longhaul flights - mine have been travelling long-haul since befor ethey were 1, they are at home onplanes, know what is required, and how to behave, but that isn't the point - they should not be expected to sit apart from their parents, next to strangers. err, sorry, OT rant over....

dinosaur

Wow, had same experience with Delta this summer and thought it was only me this happened to...like you have flown many times with family between here and the UK, but this was the only time we have ever been split up. Which might have been OK if the airline staff were helpful, but they weren't.
Anyway, next time will pay the extra cash and go with any airline other than Delta...

Yorkieabroad

We go at least once a year and it happens every time. Like you say, totally unhelpful. Unfortunately the timing and connections to Teesside work well for us, so we keep going back for more...

AmerLisa

My older daughter and her two little ones (5 and almost 2) flew this past summer with Delta. Hopefully we never have to repeat that again. They tried to split her up with the oldest sitting a row behind her (you've got to be kidding me.) Anyway, it didn't happen, but let's just say flying is stressful enough, why do they need to add more to the scenario.....