'You want it, pay for it': Mum with baby vents about plane problem

"We got the bassinet... but not the seat, so what's the point?"

Flying with kids is rarely easy, and one mum's recent Instagram post about that has resonated with parents everywhere. 

After a frustrating experience with an airline's seating arrangement, she shared her thoughts to her travel account, @bravefamilytravel.

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Image: Instagram

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"We got the bassinet... but not the seat"

The mum explained that she had requested the bassinet seats months in advance for the long-haul flight with her husband and two young daughters.

However, she was told by the airline that they couldn't guarantee the request, only that they would "make a note of it."

"We didn’t expect much from it but were told at check-in that two of us would be sitting bulkhead with the bassinet but that the aisle seat was occupied by someone who had paid for that specific seat," she explained.

"Then the airline said, 'You’re more than welcome to ask him on board, but we can’t move him'."

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"So I sat bulkhead with the girls and the bassinet," she revealed, "and my husband sat on the aisle behind, and it was actually a lovely flight but here is why I’m sharing about it.

"I don’t love this whole 'we can’t help but ask the passenger on board' game airlines play: it shouldn’t be up to us to sort out seating for a flight, let alone one this long.

"I don’t think passengers should be made to change or feel guilty for not wanting to change seats just because families are travelling and need to sit together. As families, it really is in everyone’s best interest if we sit together.

"Let’s be real, you’re not going to enjoy sitting next to me with a baby and a toddler and no other set of hands to help. But I don’t think it’s the passenger who paid for his seat's job to sort this out or be made feel like he needs to forfeit the seat he paid for."

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"Having a child doesn’t give you any more rights than others"

Her post left many viewers divided, with one person saying, "If HE could pay for that specific seat, why couldn't you?"

"Self-responsibility. People should not ask others to move at all. It was up to you to buy the seats that you wanted. Period. If he paid for it, you could have done so too. And if you're traveling on a budget then you gotta take what you get," a second user echoed.

And a third agreed, "Oh here is an idea. Do what he did. And pay for the allocated seat. You want it, pay for it. Just like he did. Having a child doesn’t give you any more rights than others."

"It’s amazing how people with kids think the whole world needs to stop to cater to them… ridiculous," noted another woman.

However, a few people thought the airline was to blame and that they should have done more to accommodate the family in the situation. 

"Airlines can absolutely sort this out and need to do better to accommodate passengers and families. This shouldn’t even be a question. You can arrange for x amount of pets that are all paid carry-ons, you can arrange for a baby bassinet and the child’s parents. This is 100% the airline’s responsibility and they need to actually do their job," said one.

Another person vented: "Three times now I have paid to book SPECIFIC seats to be together and the airline has separated me from my twin toddlers. It is absurd. Then people are looking at us like we didn’t plan ahead as flight attendants beg people to swap with us."

"The airline should have informed him that they are going to offer the seats bedside to family and offer him better business class seats! Common sense and customer care!" concluded someone else. 

Originally published as 'You want it, pay for it': Mum with baby vents about plane problem