*This is an account directly from a Facebook group to which I belong, posted with permission from the family.*
On December 26 the Klatt family was scheduled to fly to Reykjavik on IcelandAir out of Minneapolis. Due to operational issues on the airline’s part, their original flight was canceled, and they were left scrambling to find other arrangements that would still get them to Iceland on time. IcelandAir did a good job accommodating the Klatts on another flight, which involved flying the couple and their two-year old son to Toronto on a different carrier where they would be able to still depart for Iceland the same day as scheduled on another IcelandAir flight. Everything seemed fine.
Yet things would go completely awry.
Rebooked, but reseated
The Klatts arrived in Toronto on their connection and went to receive their seat assignments for their IcelandAir flight. Their relief at being re-booked changed to ” extreme disbelief and disappointment” when they saw that none of the family was seated together. None. All three of the Klatts were split up, including their two year old son. They were told not to worry, and that they should arrive at the gate at 6:30 and their need to all be together would be accommodated.
Arriving on the dot at 6:30 p.m., just any anxious parent would do, the Klatts were then told that there were no other seats available. Their seats, 28F, 30C, 31D to be exact, would have to suffice. They were given a diagram of the seats, as if that was supposed to help them feel better. As you can see, the parent that would obviously be in 28F can’t do a thing, while the other one would be both across the aisle and one row apart from their child.
Sorta close, I guess. It would be a bummer to be in the 30C/31D configuration with either my eight or eleven-year-old, but I know we’d manage it. WIth a toddler? No way. Definitely not acceptable.
IcelandAir refuses to budge
The Klatts begged to be re-seated, but the gate agents and flight attendants didn’t do a thing. Boarding time came, and they headed to the aircraft. The Klatts son had to be seated in his own seat, and when his mom left him to sit in her own seat across the aisle, the kid broke down and started screaming, Mommy, don’t leave me!” You would think the flight attendants would have intervened at this point, but they were no help, either.
I’m left shaking my head in disbelief at the airline staff. At a minimum, IcelandAir should have seated one parent with the two-year-old. Given that the airline was re-accommodating a number of passengers and the plane was undoubtedly full, getting more than that might be a stretch. But it is completely unacceptable to place a child of that age away from their parents.
My own experiences
When my kids and I returned from Paris on an Air France flight (SEE: Air France A380 Economy Review: Paris to SFO), we were on two separate PNRs. When we checked in, I could not get seats next to the kids. I had opted not to pay for seat selection, counting on Air France being able to seat us together.
Which turned out to be exactly what they did. All it took was asking the gate agent when we got to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Super easy, and completely unlike the Klatt’s experience.
In another instance I saw a family traveling with two kids, a boy of about 11 and a girl of about 9. You could tell they had traveled before and we’re mostly comfortable sitting next to strangers. All were in middle seats. They almost certainly had booked basic economy, as I could tell they were prepares for the experience. But the family knew what they were getting into, which makes it entirely different than this incident.
Conclusion
Things turned out all right for the Klatts in the end, as the passenger seated next to their son swapped seats with Mrs. Klatt so that they could be together. Everyone was able to calm down, and the little guy passed out in his mom’s arms on the way to Iceland where they were able to enjoy a wonderful time as a family. It absolutely should not be up to the kindness of a complete stranger to relieve the situation. IcelandAir failed terribly.
I cannot imagine ever going through this as a parent. As my older kids are 8 and 11, I might suck it up and stop fighting with the gate agents if they ever refused to seat us together in a similar situation, as long as both of my kids are fairly close and visible from where I am sitting. Still, it seems inexcusable. I would be upset.
What are your thoughts on this situation? It is obviously mishandled by the airline. It should not be up to other passengers to accommodate seating kids with their parents.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I was pretty unimpressed with IcelandAir the last time I flew them. Very unfriendly gate agents in multiple countries and then the Icelanders themselves are mostly Richards as well, though it’s a beautiful country. Plus they bait and switched Cleveland with their downgrade to seasonal service
Call me cynical but under the circumstances of an IRROPS event, the fact the family was re-accommodated during the busy holiday season, with little disruption to their travel plans should be something they ought to be grateful for. Would they have preferred to be told the next flight with 3 seats together is not for another 5 days? If the plane was full and the only 3 seats were scattered, the choice is fly scattered or not fly at all. If airlines are dis-empowering their cabin crew or contract station agents from assisting in soliciting volunteers to switch seats, that is unfortunate, but it seems that the travelers were able to resolve the issue by asking a fellow passenger to switch seats. This is something I have done several times myself when I am not otherwise able to get seats together with my travelling companions.
I’d be grateful for the re-accommodation, but it should be within the gate agent’s power to move other people, if needed, to re-seat a family. They were given a window and two aisles. Someone could have figured out how to move a single traveler around to at least get two together for their flight.
In general, though, I’m confident that other passengers will help make things work out.
have had similar situation in the past – in fact just like this, similar aged child across aisle, one row. One of us sat w/ toddler in lap while plane seated, no trauma. since we had 2 aisles, our chances for a fellow passenger courtesy swap – move forward one, move back one – have always been successful (or even once we traded one aisle for a center next to us — what center seated solo passenger wouldn’t take the aisle?. No trauma, no screaming. is the stress and anxiety spelled out above really realistic and necessary?
Definitely way less stressful if you’re willing to trust things to work out. But what about a situation worse than this, where you are in two middles? Could you count on someone to swap? I will still maintain it shouldn’t be down to the other passengers to decide. The airline should make necessary adjustments.
I’ve seen multiple families now where kids and parents are seated apart, but every time the kids were 8+. Very different age than two.
I noticed in your post that you said: ” I had opted not to pay for seat selection, counting on Air France being able to seat us together”. If every parent opts not to pay and the airline is not able to seat, who is then responsible that the three year old kid ends up twenty rows away from the parents. Food for thought.
Air France also has a family seating policy, which should be free of charge ahead of time. You should not have to pay.
https://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/resainfovol/services/choix-siege-standard.htm#families-and-children
Yet when I called in, they didn’t seem to be able to let me select without paying for myself and my kids, so we took things up with the gate agent, who had us accommodated within seconds.
I find it incredible that airlines don’t realize they need to have basic rules on seating toddlers with family members. It should be common sense that you don’t have any child under age 5 seated without an adult, especially since airlines have recently had liability issues with pervs and weirdos. At one time we had to run through an airport to make a connection as our incoming flight arrived late on SW. We had 3 kids between 1 and 6 and missed family boarding because of the airline arriving late. When we boarded there we ZERO seats next to each other and the attendant told me that there was nothing she could do as it was our fault for arriving after family boarding. I actually stood at the front of the plane and begged for someone to move so each child could be near a parent. Finally I flat out said that I will not be sitting down until someone moves and 2 nice priests offered their seats. It still infuriates me that people couldn’t be separated from their traveling companion for 2 hours and would rather hear a terrified child scream than move. On several occasions I have seen the frantic look on parents faces and happily offered to move. Some people (including gate agents and flight attendants) are just absolutely and completely pathetic at common sense.
With Southwest it’s tricky, as FAs aren’t supposed to really interfere, just make sure everyone is seated.
With other airlines offering confirmed seating, I do not understand when they don’t accommodate a family with small kids.
Yes, but in this case the flight that made us over 2 hours late was another SW flight. I’ve seen some pretty irresponsible parents expecting SW to accommodate late arriving people but when it’s a connection that is their responsibility.
Traveling with small kids is stressful, and I try to do my part if possible. But here’s an experience that makes me think twice about helping out!
A few years back, family booked 4 seats to Hawaii. 3×3 configuration plane. 4 year old son sat with wife a few rows up and 2 year old daughter with me. A family of 3 came in. Man sat down in our row and wife sat with lap baby right in front of him. An hour after take-off, wife says she wants to take a nap, and for husband to hold baby in his lap. Husband notices my daughter taking up only 1/2 of the middle seat, and asks if its okay for his baby to share the middle seat “for a little bit”. I agreed, knowing how stressful it is to travel with a baby.
The moment he puts the baby down in the middle seat, dad pulls out a computer, puts on headphones, and starts watching a movie. Baby was fine for a few minutes, and played well with my daughter. Then baby got cranky and started throwing things and nearly falls off the chair. Daughter gets scared and starts climbing onto me. Baby now occupying seat we paid for. Dad is enjoying his movie. I tapped him on the shoulder and said my daughter needed to nap, and we need her seat back. His response? “I didn’t finish my movie yet!” He then huffs and puffs that he would have to wake up his wife, and he can’t relax with baby on his lap, and he doesn’t understand why baby can’t just share the seat with my daughter for “a bit longer.”
I put down the seat divider, sat in the middle while daughter sat next to me in aisle seat. Guy huffed and puffed the rest of the way to LA.
Wow. How self-absorbed.
This is a nothing story……..really. It is so clear that the passenger in the middle seat next to either the kid or the parent would be more than happy to change seats for an aisle seat! This happens on Southwest all the time as well as many other airlines. Who would not make the change, only an idiot. And the Iceland Air people likely knew this too.
I’ll grant that this will overwhelmingly be the case. But should it really be up to other people and not the airline to make this accommodation when pre-selected seats are offered?