Earlier this year my wife purchased plane tickets for the five of us. She bought the tickets through an online service eight months early to save money and ensure we had the proper arrangements. She verified the ages of the children and selected options to have the entire family sit together. We were pleased to have bought early and settled in for a great experience.
The expectations were due mostly to our naiveté. I’m an experienced business traveler and tend to travel alone. The more I fly alone the better I become at flying alone. I have no idea when it comes to traveling in a group…with children. I am pretty satisfied in most situations and can pretty much control what I can control (me).
As the months rolled by, we began to receive changes in flights and itinerary and we saw our plan unravel. Soon, our entire family is scheduled in various parts of each leg of flights. I called United Airlines to ensure we could all sit together. I discovered that the person on the other end could not change my seating.
“May I speak with someone with the authority to make the seat changes,” I asked.
The person on the other end told me that the changes could be made at the gate.
“Are you aware that we’ll be traveling with three children under the ages of 10?”
Silence for a moment and then, “Sir, I’m making a note about the children’s ages.”
“So, you aren’t aware.”
“No, sir,” she responded.
After making the notes, I thanked her and hung up.
Here’s the lesson: If you buy tickets using a discount service, immediately contact the airline and follow up frequently, especially when flights are changed. Make your needs known.
To wrap up, age is important as schedules change. Though we identified our children’s age at the time of purchase, the flights didn’t reflect the consideration. We bought our ticket in February for a November trip. The schedule changed many times, but our request sit sit together did not. Follow up immediately and contact the airlines frequently to ensure you and your family are taken care of.
