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Home » United Airlines » United FA Compels Passenger to Change Seats: Ridiculous or Justified?
United Airlines

United FA Compels Passenger to Change Seats: Ridiculous or Justified?

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 22, 2018November 14, 2023 39 Comments

My brother Andrew commutes weekly between Southern California and the Bay Area. Since United Airlines brought mainline service back to Burbank, he has switched his business from Southwest to United. He shared this story with me from his flight yesterday.


a child looking out a window

As airlines continue to offer basic economy fares that lack complimentary seat assignments, it is inevitable that onboard conflicts will arise. I witnessed one yesterday and I don’t like the way it was handled.

On a recent flight from Burbank to San Francisco, I watched drama unfold one row in front of me.  The flight was relatively full and the last two passengers to board were a young mother and her 4-year old son.  Both held tickets with prominent orange stripes along the top, indicating they were flying on one of United’s “Basic Economy” fares.  Mother and son were given middle seats in Economy Plus, one row ahead of the other.

A FA quickly noticed the situation and approached the assigned seats.  She calmly but firmly told the passengers seated in those rows that one of them would have to move to a middle seat across the aisle so that the mother and child could sit together.  No one volunteered initially, however after another impatient quip from the FA of “who’s it gonna be,” a gracious man gave up his aisle seat for a nearby middle.  The mother did not say thank you or otherwise acknowledge. Neither did the FA.

While I am not one to voluntarily separate a mother and her child, this situation presents a dilemma facing all passengers who fly on Basic Economy tickets.  Namely, they have no right or expectation of two seats together, regardless of their circumstances, even a mother is traveling with child, or two love birds on a honeymoon.  It is a benefit that is given up in order to pay less for a ticket.  I found it ridiculous that a passenger who paid more or earned the right to sit in Economy Plus and who further chose the seat of his liking was shamed by the FA into moving to a less desirable seat so that accommodations could be made for a lower-paying passenger.  The way it played out was unfair, and the FA should never have put that pressure on the passengers.

What would you have done?  Is this a matter of treating fellow humans with decency and respect or receiving fair services for what was paid for?


My Thoughts

His question is fair and I don’t think it is as black/white as saying yes or no. Unless the mother did not book the ticket herself, she had absolutely no reasonable expectation to get a seat next to her son. That was HER voluntary choice.

I don’t blame the FA for trying to diffuse conflict, but s/he was totally out of line for compelling another passenger to move. That’s just not the way it should work, especially when United now allows Basic Economy passengers to pay for a seat assignment in advance.

On the other hand, who wants to sit next to someone else’s four-year-old? I believe United should not allow the sale of Basic Economy tickets to any passenger under the age of 12.

It’s still ironic to me that Basic Economy passengers are ending up with the best seats on the plane…

> Read More: One Surprising Reason to Buy United Basic Economy

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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39 Comments

  1. Mark Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    That is an issue that the gate agents need to handle prior to allowing them to board. I’m pretty sure UA keeps seats blocked for family seating and should have a process that assigns those to anyone traveling with small children. The problem is that you can game the system this way by purchasing basic economy and guarantee seats together without paying a fee. I agree that children too young to sit alone shouldn’t be allowed to purchase basic economy but i’m guessing families like that make up a large portion of basic economy passengers.

    This is a drawback of basic economy that puts more pressure on gate agents to fix a situation that may not have a happy solution which takes time away from processing upgrades, etc.

    • Dogtags40 Reply
      February 23, 2018 at 10:49 am

      No, United probably does NOT have a pool of seats reserved for families. The whole point of Basic Economy is that there are no reserved seats. Mom could’ve bought regular economy is being seated together was a priority.

      As an(retired) flight attendant, I’d have tried to get regular coach passengers to volunteer to sit in the Economy Plus seats (an upgrade), thus opening up two seats together on Economy for mom and kid. I’d never bully a passenger to give up his assigned seat.

      • JoEllen Reply
        February 23, 2018 at 9:46 pm

        For a fact, UA agents can work out seat assignments or “hold” seats aside (at least two together) in advance of a flight in basic economy — IT’S ALL ABOUT agents that can think out of the box and save themselves the aggravation of leaving a parent separated from a child……why this is even on a FA to get involved with on board the airplane, I don’t know – all of this should be worked out at the gate podium, not as another “job description” for a FA or dumping on passengers to feel “guilty”. Just another case of a lazy gate agent who can’t be bothered doing it in advance.

    • Calvin Reply
      June 27, 2018 at 3:44 am

      Today I was traveling with my wife, my mom that needs a wheelchair, and my two children ages ten and eleven – with the younger one being autistic. I was rudely told to give up my seat because a child was seated between me and my handycap mom. The father, mother, and child were given separate middle seats throughout the plane. Mind you I booked my flight in November and today it’s June. In addition, I need to be near my autistic child and my 80 year old mom in case they need my assistance. Anyway, the father was trying to shame me to give up my window seat so his wife can sit next to his 9 year old something child. At first I didn’t understand why he was getting upset when I had refuse his request. I tried to explain my situation especially when the flight was 4.5 hours long going from Hawaii to San Francisco. The FA then tried to pressure my wheelchair bound 80 year old mom to give up her isle row seat. My mom smartly didn’t because she saw how I didn’t give up my seat. Now normally I would give up my seat if I was traveling alone, but today I’m with my family on vacation. Eventually someone gave up their seat to the wife and child. But what was weird and upsetting was when I was picking up our luggage at baggage claim, the father came out of nowhere to confront me about not giving up my seat. My guess was he was waiting for his luggage too and was still mad at me. He was verbally yelling at me as I carting my luggage from baggage claim to the curbside pickup area. The man was sarcastically saying, “Thanks for being a man” or that “I need to be man”. There was more said but I’m going to spare the detail berating because it doesn’t matter. Since I was with my family, I responded by saying my child is autistic and my mom is elderly. When I went back in for a second load of luggage, the man was giving me the evil eye, staring me down. I think he wanted me to say something and start the confrontation again. Of course I wasn’t going to take the bait. This was on a United Airlines flight, flight UA1146 6/25/18 and I’m a United Premier member with priority boarding and seating.

  2. Randy Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:05 pm

    Whenever I can’t get ideal seats with my traveling companions (wife, parents, etc) I know that I’m asking a big favor of someone else and usually try to offer a better seat or at least equal seat in exchange for someone swapping. For example, I’d only ask an aisle person to swap with another side for example. Never would I expect an aisle or window person to switch into a middle, nor should a FA.

    No issue with a FA asking passengers on behalf of another flier but they should have had common sense in the kinds of swaps they are requesting and certainly without guilt tripping anyone. Maybe a good compromise would have been to put the mother and child in the same row middle seats so she could keep an eye on her child.

    • JoEllen Reply
      February 23, 2018 at 9:55 pm

      What I have a problem with is the gate agent, flight attendants, UNITED, are dumping the responsibility to another passenger for assistance (oxygen mask or having to quickly exit, etc) in the event of an emergency. Can’t imagine anyone that wouldn’t do so but then again, I can. Can you imagine the angst of the parent and child if serious turbulence (or worse) starts occurring? No stranger can provide the comfort and reassurance that is needed from a parent. SERIOUSLY, ALL OF THIS CAN BE OBVIATED BY HOLDING BACK SEATS IN BASIC ECONOMY FOR FAMILIES.

  3. United Hater Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:13 pm

    I just tell the FA that I have a $300 “change fee” if they want to move me after I’m seated. They usually look at me funny and move on to the next sap who will do United’s dirty work for them for free.

    • emercycrite Reply
      February 23, 2018 at 1:30 am

      Brilliant.

    • snesguy Reply
      February 27, 2018 at 2:34 pm

      I agree with emercycrite, this is brilliant. I think $300 is too low though. United makes up its own rules and guidelines, we should choose our own as well.

  4. 121Pilot Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:15 pm

    I had something similar happen traveling non-rev offline with our 3 year old twins. I told the gate agent that we would need seats togther either 2 and 2 or 1 and 3 and she said she would do what she could.

    In the end we had 4 middle seats relatively close together in the cabin. I was lucky that when I nicely asked a couple of people if they would trade seats that 2 aisle customers voulenteered to take middles so we could sit with our kids. If that had failed we would have had to get off the airplane. Needless to say I tried to buy the very kind strangers whatever they wanted to drink on that flight.

    I think they way to handle this with customers like this is first for the gate agents to handle it by getting the parents and small kids seated together. Failing that I don’t think you demand people move I think you ask nicely and on a full flight I bet you will find someone who will agree. Perhaps you throw a $100 voucher at that person especially since my understanding is the airlines generally end up making money on vouchers like that.

    I would not try and block kids from certain fare classes. I’m honestly not sure that would be legal anyway.

  5. Billiken Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    Maybe the FAA needs to hurry up and implement provisions of the FAA Reauthorization Bill of 2016 that requires airlines to ensure that families sit next to each other without charging extra fees.

    • snesguy Reply
      February 27, 2018 at 2:48 pm

      Maybe we should let families fly for free? Where does it end? The law should probably say that airlines cannot sell families tickets that do not allow seat assignments in advance.

    • Olivia Reply
      February 11, 2019 at 4:01 pm

      Or better yet, instead of passing a law, parents could simply take the 5 seconds it takes to read the rules of the fare in the first place. That apparently seems to much to ask though. I personally don’t book Basic Economy because I know that the rules literally say “families my not be able to sit together.” So I purchase standard coach fares for my family.

  6. Donald Osborne Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    The smarter thing to do is to ask if a couple of people in the back sitting in adjacent seats would like to help them out and get a free “upgrade” to economy plus in the process. Since Mother and child did not pay for economy plus, everyone wins.

    • JoEllen Reply
      February 23, 2018 at 9:57 pm

      YES, yes, yes…….this is not difficult if agents or FA’s think out of the box – especially the gate agent. I do not agree that FA’s should be moderators of musical chairs at zero hour and ready to close the door!

  7. Dan Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:47 pm

    I don’t think the flight attendant was out of line. United put her in a horrible situation that needed to be resolved. She should have offered compensation but at that point she needed to fix the problem ASAP.

    The problem is she likely asked someone who paid more to move. United should make that passenger whole. Don’t blame the flight attendant making 50k a year blame the c level exec’s making 5 million.

    • Dan is a loser Reply
      March 6, 2019 at 12:34 am

      Union loser. Anyone who is all butthurt because someone makes more money instead of making the effort to make more money themselves deserves no recognition of their option

  8. TM Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    As a matter of principle, I refuse to pay more to select seats if I am flying Spirit, yet they manage to always keep me with me kids. Spirit is known to have the worst service, yet they manage to get this right. I’m surprise the rest of the airlines can manage to keep up. Some airlines that don’t let you select seats ahead of time will make an exception for families (British Airways and Air Canada.)t

  9. jay Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    The airline should compensate the person giving up their seat. It should be standard policy for all situations.

  10. henry LAX Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    it’s nearly impossible to move any humans, even for non-issues. A recent flight of mine was so lightly loaded the captain requested 7 pax from the front half to move to seats to the back half just for take off weight-balancing, and everyone can reclaim their original seats once airborne.

    It took nearly 5 minutes to find 7 volunteers to perform such a trivial task that is totally inconsequential to the pax’s seat comfort.

  11. Michael Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 2:10 pm

    I thought UA habitually reserved the last N rows of the economy class cabin for family-together seating. Did that fail here? too many basic-economy families?

  12. Bill Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 2:14 pm

    I completely agree. The FA could ASK passengers to move to be gracious, but there is no requirement that anyone move. There is no requirement that a parent and child be seated together–and if there is, then the airline should never allow any child to have a Basic Economy ticket purchased on its behalf.

    The mother took advantage and likely knew she was doing so. Either way, the fact the she didn’t bother to thank the man who moved suggests she damn well knew she was gaming the situation.

    The FA behaved poorly, and then behaved poorly again by not even thanking the man who did move.

  13. Credit Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 2:37 pm

    UA needs to pay. Or the FA needs to pay from her pocket.
    Liberals! Easy to be generous with other people’s money.

  14. Alan Brint Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    This one’s a tough one. I’m very torn between siding with the mother or the FA here. While no person should have been cohersed into giving up their aisle seat they likely paid for, this situation is entirely the mother’s fault. That’s indisputable. I see what you are saying, but I cannot think of a reason why the mother should have expected to sit with the child if both tickets are on basic economy. The mother should not have purchased basic economy when traveling with her four year old son. That is a disrespectful and insulting decision that has consequences beyond the individual family. Let me assure you, I’m not going to this old bat of a mother if her husband decides to dump her.

  15. JW Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    The best solution is not to fly United at all. It’s a disease.

    • emercycrite Reply
      February 23, 2018 at 1:33 am

      Correct.

  16. MeanMeosh Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    The FA was in the wrong for coercing another passenger to give up a seat, possibly even one they paid extra for. That’s just bad customer service, though I can’t blame the passenger for just complying, so as not to get thrown off for being a “security risk” for “not complying with flight crew instructions”. Someone else mentioned this, but the time to deal with these re-seating situations is at the gate. I’m betting if the GA made an announcement asking if someone would be willing to move from regular Economy to E+, even a middle seat, they would have gotten volunteers.

    I’d also be curious to know how the mother ended up with Economy Minus tickets in the first place. My degree of sympathy would vary proportionally depending on whether she purchased them herself and knew the risks, or if these were booked by someone else.

  17. MEOW Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    This happened to me once on a UA flight in J and annoyed the shit out of me. I was asked to move out of my aisle seat since some mother booked her four-year-old on the other side of the cabin, total asshole move to me, the guy who volunteered above is a way better man than I will ever be.

  18. 747always Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 10:25 pm

    Rather ridiculous. Higher paying (relatively) customers get shafted.

  19. RA Reply
    February 22, 2018 at 11:18 pm

    I have not flown united in years and havnt been happier. Ruined continental. Not to say US airlines are great but united is the worst ( never flown sprit or southwest). Basic economy with no seat assignments for families should not be allowed and united needs to fix the problem. This article should be sent to them.

  20. T.B. Reply
    February 23, 2018 at 2:06 am

    Why didn’t she get to the gate on time……..she was the last to board! What entitlement she thought she had, and a simple thank you goes a long way.

    • JoEllen Reply
      February 23, 2018 at 10:05 pm

      Why would you assume she got to the gate late?…..if she’s ticketed for basic economy she’s in the last boarding group. Like every boarding group, people line up (in sections) and somebody will be getting on “last” in their respective boarding groups. Nevertheless, if a gate agent has any common sense, they will be looking at the seat chart long before that flight boards, taking note of parties with younger children (d.o.b. on the PNR) and setting them aside accordingly. As well the gate agent can also look at potential volunteers who will give up their seat for miles or a voucher. Maybe someone would be willing to give up an aisle or window way back in basic economy for a middle exit row seat. There are creative ways if someone is not lazy and knows how to do their job.

  21. Quacky Reply
    February 23, 2018 at 4:57 am

    FAs should be able to issue some compensation onboard (i think Lucky posted something about AA FAs being able to that??

    If was possible,the FA could’ve said something like “”Who would be ok to change seats so this Mother can sit with her little child together for a compensation of $(insert_amount_here) or something like that
    Not yell or make anyone uncomfortable.

    • snesguy Reply
      February 27, 2018 at 3:00 pm

      This! You have the perfect solution. There is no need to force people who have confirmed seat assignments, possibly paid for, to swap for free. I have seen people in prime seats jump up like they were on a spring to take a great VDB offer after they were already boarded. I am sure with a whole planeload of passengers there are a few who would be happy to volunteer for the right offer.

  22. Marissa Reply
    February 23, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    Could have been far better handled with some nice carrots from UA; I thought FAs had some discretion of those kind of things but my memory is probably faulty.

  23. Mak Reply
    February 23, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    I would agree with the outrage if these people paid for a seat they didn’t receive, but if they were also flying on basic economy tickets, they weren’t guaranteed a specific seat either. And if they weren’t guaranteed a specific seat, I don’t think it was wrong for the FA to move them to another seat to fulfill a reasonable airline preference to have children seated next to their guardians.

    • snesguy Reply
      February 27, 2018 at 3:06 pm

      I hope to never be in Basic Economy but once someone is assigned and boarded in a specific seat they should not be forced to move without compensation.

  24. Sexy_kitten7 Reply
    February 24, 2018 at 2:54 am

    Geez, what’s with all the uninformed people in the comments? This isn’t USA Today! UA does not reserve any seats for families. They release a handful for disabled people at T-24 and that’s it.

    The FA was rude and way out of line. I would not have given up my seat with that attitude. They’d have to Dao me off the plane. In her defense, some airlines have a no man next to child rule (yes that’s a real thing) but to my knowledge UA does not. If I were that pax, I’d send my regards straight to Oscar and the DOT. Unbelievable!

    How the mom+kid got the tickets is irrelevant. Ridiculous that they (or more likely the FA) should expect treatment above and beyond that which is contractually required. Shame on them!

  25. aJeep8u Reply
    February 18, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    Every one of you are wrong.
    All airlines have seated families together forever, until recent greedy moves by airlines to squeeze every last drop of change and inject as much discomfort to every passenger now flying. This was never a problem before. Stop allowing yourselves to fall victim to airlines greedy policies and remember that it does not have to be this way people.

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