Air New Zealand Complaint - Rough return to London - London crew would not offer my child a spare seat

Posted by littleyaya on 2010-01-22:

Did you pay for a seat for your child? A child under two can travel for free if they sit on your lap. If you didn't buy a seat for your child, then why would you think that you could sit the child in a seat you didn't pay for?

Posted by LadyScot on 2010-01-22:

I am with ya. If you didn't pay for that seat then you do not get to use it. What would you have complained about?

Posted by jktshff1 on 2010-01-22:

Question, was a seat available next to you, or would they have to inconvenience other passengers by asking them to move themselves and their overhead stuff? If so, I can see the airlines point.

Posted by memoryx57 on 2010-01-22:

Come on people...there was no one sitting in the seats. Big deal, a child sat in a spare seat...I can't for the life of me see where it would have made a bit of difference to anybody. It would have simply been an act of kindness on the airlines part to let a child have a seat that nobody was using...it wasn't gonna cost them a cent!!

Posted by jktshff1 on 2010-01-22:

mem, I agree, provided it did not cause a mass migration on the plane, moving overheads, moving people, etc.
If a seat was available next to the op...no problem...otherwise, they ain't special.

Posted by LadyScot on 2010-01-22:

Business has nothing to do with kindness. If you go to a buffet right before it is changed do you think they are going to give it to you for free simply because it is about to be tossed? WHY would anyone complain because they won't?

Posted by Ben There on 2010-01-22:

Did you ever ask the crew if you could move to those seats, or were you waiting for them to ask you if you would like to move?

Posted by spiderman2 on 2010-01-22:

When I flew with a little one, I paid to have a seat for him and not gamble and see if there was a seat or if people would move for me. sure it cost money, but if you can't afford a seat for everyone don't fly.

Posted by jktshff1 on 2010-01-22:

+10 spider

Posted by MissMae on 2010-01-22:

It's really too hard to offer up any sort of a response to your review because you don't tell us whether or not you asked if you could use one of the open seats or if you just sat there and waited for a crew member to offer one to you.

If you didn't ask, you really can't expect them to read your mind, right? They may have thought you preferred to fly with your child on your lap and that's why they didn't say anything.

If you did ask, and were told no, then I side with you. There's no reason not to let passengers use the open seats...unless the plane is making a stop and picking up more passengers and those seats will be filled then.

Posted by littleyaya on 2010-01-22:

The flight attendants could have said no due to weights and balances. I was on a flight once and they wouldn't let me sit on the other side of the plane for that reason.

And do we know if the OP even asked for an extra seat? Or did they assume the flight attendants would offer up an extra seat?

Posted by Ben There on 2010-01-22:

I have never seen any issues with people moving on a large plane unless they unintentionally sit in a crew seat, an infant restricted seat or a different cabin of service. There could be many reasons the crew didn't specifically ask you if you wanted to move... Maybe the seats you saw were restricted for the reasons above, or there were too many people with special needs that they decided to leave it up to the customers to pick on their own. Maybe if they asked you, the other people with babies would have gotten mad, (or someone in a cast, or the person sitting next to the obese passenger, or the lone business travelers sitting in a row with loud teens, etc...). If you don't have the nerve to move yourself over a 12 hour period then what can they do?

Posted by littleyaya on 2010-01-22:

I wonder if the OP even asked to move seats. And if they did, if they asked why they couldn't move. I was on a flight with an ex boyfriend once and he had a brace on his leg (from a car accident a few months earlier). He asked a flight attendant if he could sit in the exit row so he could stretch his leg out. The flight attendant said no. He asked why and she explained that he would not be able to open the door in case of emergency since his leg was in a cast. She did, however, offer an aisle seat to him so he could extend his leg out. We were happy to have gotten an explanation and a solution.

Posted by Ben There on 2010-01-22:

When I am booked on a long flight, I will watch the seat map on the airline's website to see if there is anybody sitting next to me. If there are still plenty of seats open but the computer has happened to put someone next to me I will move myself. This is never a sure thing since someone can be put next to you till right before departure, but you will have better odds than if you just don't do anything. Also, when they say "You must turn off all electronic devices at this time", that means the main cabin door has closed so no one else will be getting on board. That is when you can make a mad dash for the empty rows.

Posted by molli on 2012-09-18:

Hey ben, you ARE NOT allowed to make a mad dash for a spare seat when the doors closes, expect staff to get miffy.

On both take of and landing they advise ALL passengers to be in their aloocated seats.

Once airboure SURE, but not on take of and landing. So dont get mad if they shoo you back.

Posted by Molli on 2012-09-18:

When I had my infant in arms (4months old) I was required to hold her for the ENTIRE long haul flight as they had allocated the bassinette rows to a group of men who were unwilling to move???

I got told by the hostess I didnt PAY for a seat so what did I expect!!!

No longer their customer.. for sure.