United re-sold 27 month old's paid-for seat -- made Mom hold him for the flight. [View all]

[pnwmom]

Last edited Thu Jul 6, 2017, 01:39 AM - Edit history (4)

Only children UNDER 2 are supposed to be able to fly on a parents lap, and this mother had paid for 2 seats. United screwed up in scanning the tickets, and then insisted on having a stand-by passenger take the child's seat.

United doesn't seem to be learning.

ON EDIT: The NBC story below adds some appalling details (e.g., he spent some time just standing on the floor between her legs.)

https://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/

Did you know that the safest place for your child on an airplane is in a government-approved child safety restraint system (CRS) or device, not on your lap? Your arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly urges you to secure your child in a CRS or device for the duration of your flight. It's the smart and right thing to do so that everyone in your family arrives safely at your destination. The FAA is giving you the information you need to make informed decisions about your family's travel plans.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/national/ct-united-airlines-toddler-seat-20170705-story.html


United Airlines has apologized to a passenger who was forced to give up her 2-year-old son's seat and hold the child on a flight - until her leg and arm went numb.

Shirley Yamauchi, a middle school teacher from Hawaii, was bound for a teacher's conference in Boston last week, she told Hawaii News Now. Her traveling companion was 27-month-old Taizo, whose ticket she said cost as much as hers - nearly $1,000.

SNIP

But as Yamauchi and her son sat waiting for takeoff to Boston, a man walked up with the same seat number as Taizo, the mother told ABC affiliate KITV.

"I told him, I bought both of these seats," she told the station. "The flight attendant came by, shrugs and says, 'flight's full.'"

SNIP

"I was told if we refund you anything right now, we're going to have to cancel the rest of your flight arrangements to Hawaii," she told KITV.


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/united-airlines-forces-mom-hold-toddler-entire-flight-n779731

After waiting more than five hours last Thursday in Houston to board, Yamauchi said she and her son were exhausted. Once they were seated, a United flight attendant came to see if Yamauchi’s son, Taizo, who was in his seat, was on the plane.

The Kapolei Middle School teacher said a man who was a standby passenger approached her and said her son was in his seat. She said she notified a flight attendant about the confusion but, “She shrugged and said the flight is full.”

Yamauchi, 42, said she hastily had to place her son, who is 25 pounds and half her 5’2” frame, on her lap. She said the standby passenger was one of the last people to board the plane. The flight quickly departed after he sat down and no other flight attendants questioned her about her son, she said.

The teacher claims for the entire duration of the flight, no one addressed her having her son in her lap despite her struggling to put the seat belt over both of them. Taizo had to stand or crouch on the floor because Yamauchi said he became too heavy to hold. “He’s tall child for a toddler. He comes up to my belly button. It was a three and a half hours flight,” she said.