I`ve been coming to Thailand (from London) for quite a few years now. In that time I`ve used every airline, or combination of airline, possible. They all have their pros and cons but I have always tried to go with BA if possible as I am a gold member with them, and they have been my airline of choice for the last few years.

Yesterday I broke that mould and decided to book with Thai, who finally seem to be offering competitive pricing again after being obscene for a couple of years. At £2500 they were the cheapest for a return for me, my wife, my 2 year old son and my 2 month old baby.

All was well until I checked the seats we were booked in – we were split up! My wife with our newborn and me with the 2 year old. When I called to protest and explain my 2 year old wants to be near his mother, and I want to help take care of our newborn, I was bluntly told that, despite their being 20 bassinet seats on a 747, we were only allowed into the back portion as I`m in “the cheap seats” which are already full. I protested £2.5k sure didn’t feel that cheap and its your passengers that will suffer when the 2 yo kicks off, but she stood firm and said if I want to pay a full fare (£1000`s more) I can get one! Most expensive seat selection system of all time?

Its booked and paid for now but Ill not be near them again. Over-rated and, like so many airlines, focus entirely on business and first class, making economy passengers feel like lepers. Their attitude towards children is something I`ve not experienced before.

Anyone else experienced the like?

If you selected the seats at time of booking I can understand how you feel. Though of course the airline reserves the right to move you around if they deem it necessary. As for first/business class - your tickets would have cost more if it wasn't for these passengers.

If you selected the seats at time of booking I can understand how you feel. Though of course the airline reserves the right to move you around if they deem it necessary. As for first/business class - your tickets would have cost more if it wasn't for these passengers.

They selected seats for me - not together.

Don`t really know what you are getting at with the first/business class thing. I fly both regularly and didn`t mention them in my post as a main point. Economy class passengers still need a decent level of service.

Seats are not fixed absolutely until you check-in. A nice word with the check-in staff should net you seating together (IIRC you can't do online if you need bassinet seats).

Get to the airport early for the best chance!

Seats are not fixed absolutely until you check-in. A nice word with the check-in staff should net you seating together (IIRC you can't do online if you need bassinet seats).

Get to the airport early for the best chance!

Crossy you are right and, as its them that will have to deal with the consequences of my screaming kid for 12 hours if they dont, I`m pretty sure they will oblige and move us all together, regardless of "promo" sections of the plane or not.

It still doesnt excuse customer service that implies a farrang peasant like myself with a promo fare should just be happy to be on the plane at all, and not make any additional requests.

Seats are not fixed absolutely until you check-in. A nice word with the check-in staff should net you seating together (IIRC you can't do online if you need bassinet seats).

Get to the airport early for the best chance!

Crossy you are right and, as its them that will have to deal with the consequences of my screaming kid for 12 hours if they dont, I`m pretty sure they will oblige and move us all together, regardless of "promo" sections of the plane or not.

It still doesnt excuse customer service that implies a farrang peasant like myself with a promo fare should just be happy to be on the plane at all, and not make any additional requests.

It's a very simple fact of life, you get what you,pay for...... Pay full fare economy and have your choice of any seat, pay discounted APEX and sit where told. Your £2500 may seem like a lot of money but there are people up front paying considerably more subsidising your seat.

Edited June 18, 201313 yr by RabC

If you selected the seats at time of booking I can understand how you feel. Though of course the airline reserves the right to move you around if they deem it necessary. As for first/business class - your tickets would have cost more if it wasn't for these passengers.

They selected seats for me - not together.

Don`t really know what you are getting at with the first/business class thing. I fly both regularly and didn`t mention them in my post as a main point. Economy class passengers still need a decent level of service.

I was just responding to your comment that first/business class get all the service. Seems fair enough to me since they're helping keep your seat cheap. Perhaps the reason you didn't get to choose seats was due to the nature of the tickets bought.

Wow... now who's derailing his own thread?

In my much more vast experience of traveling everywhere, there's quite a few airlines with websites that are comprehensive enough to allow seat selection; Thai's website does allow seat selection AFAIK. How did the OP book these tickets? I assume either a travel agency or online with a consolidator hence not knowing where the <deleted> are parked until after the fact? If you called THAI to complain about a ticket they didn't issue directly, they can't do anything and said as much but I guess they could have been a bit more polite about it. Depends on how polite the OP was maybe.

Either way, as Crossy pointed out, the place to negotiate seat allocations is at check-in so get in early. Also skip feeding the kids and rub sand in their eyes so that they are obviously cranky and blubbery looking and the counter staff will do whatever it takes to keep you all together in one place.

I also have had issues with TG seating (in Business Class)... TG could and should be doing things much better... especially regarding their call centre.... and particularly the quality of English on the recorded messages, the grammatical inaccuracies are no longer cute when you are waiting 30 mins on a international call !...

We have flown Thai economy several times with our child. When she was a baby, we always got bassinette seats, and when she was a toddler, we got window bulkhead seats so I had leg room, and the bub could play on the floor. The staff were always wonderful, both on the ground and in the air.

I had 2 bad experiences with Thai International.

1. My wife and I were bumped out of business class just before boarding when some big Thai HiSO and family showed up, forcing us to economy with refund.

2. My wife asked for help in putting a bag in the overhead bin. She was told by the Thai Airline Steward that "We all have bad backs.", and walked away.

These 2 issues have melded a permanent impression in my mind of Thai's trying to run a airline.

I have found that being reasonable always worked. As in a reasonable demeanor when dealing with Thai Airways. The are Thai after all. Just calmly present your situation at check in an they will sort you out. Relax. When we fly with our child we always have to either go to airline office or wait till check in. Same in other airlines. Since you have a new baby this may be your first time. It's normal procedure. You'll be fine.

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Sitting beside your own infant is not a perk of travelling, it is a right. To prove the point it WILL happen when i get to the airport

In your case each child will be sat next to a parent, so your 'right' won't be infringed upon. If you only booked it a week in advance, it may be that there isn't a block of four seats available.

Nice rant though. I presume you'll be recycling parts of it at the check-in desk.

To be fair, Joe Bloggs paying a full Y fare isn't going to be selecting a bassinet row seat in the first place...

And it's too bad you're flying from LHR, I'd pay good money too see you kick off at the check-in staff if you don't get your way...

Arabic verb: "The dog barks, but the caravan moves on"

Furthermore it wasnt an APEX fare. (it was booked yesterday for a journey next week)

£2,500 booked a week in advance is a good price on Thai, which is why you booked...

Yesterday I broke that mould and decided to book with Thai, who finally seem to be offering competitive pricing again

You haven't even taken off yet, and you're already stressed so just as well you aren't upsetting both the children instead of just the one. You've been advised half a dozen times to approach check-in as soon as they open and this is good advice.

A post containing flame/abuse and inappropriate language (and reply quoting it) have been removed.

Starting a thread and then abusing those who respond to it is not the best example of netiquette I have seen.

The amount you paid for 2 adults and 2 kids is not much. I think an adult paying normal price will not be at all amused that he is seated next to a screaming kid but.....

Why should you, paying a cheap fare get precedence over people that are annoyed with your child. Those that paid a higher fare should be moved away from you up to business class and you should be left to fend for yourself.

Next time book, and PAY for tickets that allow you bundle seating and stop trying to get preferential treatment on the premise that full paying passengers will get annoyed at your screaming kid.

Oh, and it's really YOU that wants the extra leg room, not for the child to crawl around isn't it.

Sheesh, some people! Just because you have kids you expect to pay the cheapest fare and get the most leg room and comfort.....for the sake of other passengers or course.

Edit: I really wish airlines would put all families with young children in the back to scream away, with noise reduction walls and the other passengers can chose where they want to sit.

Edited June 18, 201313 yr by FDog

You get what you order, Thai or not Thai airways is still a third world airline with inflated first world airline prices, not for me, plenty of choice available

I also have had issues with TG seating (in Business Class)... TG could and should be doing things much better... especially regarding their call centre.... and particularly the quality of English on the recorded messages, the grammatical inaccuracies are no longer cute when you are waiting 30 mins on a international call !...

Maybe you'll Skype next time.

Another post containing inappropriate language removed.

I had 2 bad experiences with Thai International.

1. My wife and I were bumped out of business class just before boarding when some big Thai HiSO and family showed up, forcing us to economy with refund.

2. My wife asked for help in putting a bag in the overhead bin. She was told by the Thai Airline Steward that "We all have bad backs.", and walked away.

These 2 issues have melded a permanent impression in my mind of Thai's trying to run a airline.

regarding number 2. In the past I always helped people put their bags in the overhead bins but in the past few years passengers now practically drag everything on board and whereas in the past the bag may weigh only a couple of kilos now some bags weigh as much as 20kilos. "You came all the way from home, dragged your bags down the stairs to the door, put them in the trunk of the car, drove all the way to the airport, dragged them through security and all the way to your seat. Suddenly, the bags are too heavy for you to put into the overhead compartment by yourself. The deal is: you brought it, shove up there yourself or we throw it out the door and under the plane." I'm not going to throw my back out at the beginning of a flight and have to work the next 12 hours in pain.

I have found that being reasonable always worked. As in a reasonable demeanor when dealing with Thai Airways. The are Thai after all. Just calmly present your situation at check in an they will sort you out. Relax. When we fly with our child we always have to either go to airline office or wait till check in. Same in other airlines. Since you have a new baby this may be your first time. It's normal procedure. You'll be fine.

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I agree that being reasonable almost always allows the other person to be reasonable, but not ALWAYS. Just because you did not eat the lion does not mean the lion won't eat you. Kindness given is not always returned, but sometimes viewed as a weakness and taken advantage of. Sad truth in life. Please don't blame the OP for not being polite when you don't know that he wasn't. Also, show me a sign anywhere there says "If you purchase our cheapest product, we can treat you like crap". This should not be any companies slogan.

I am responding to several of the posts in this thread, not just yours. Sorry.

Edited June 19, 201313 yr by stoli

When booking with Emirates you are informed that bassinet seats will be allocated to appropriate passengers at check in. So although you can reserve the seat online when you book, there is no guarantee that you will be seated there.

In this case the mother and babe require a bassinet seat, the father and toddler do not. The airline are ensuring that the appropriate passenger is being appropriately seated, I call that professional.

Any experienced traveller amongst us knows that there is usually some degree of seat swapping after boarding a flight, so even if the airline cannot help at check in then all is not lost. We've all seen that before.

I read this thread last night and I saw the OP's rant, the OP needs to get some anger management counselling, he's more likely to take a tantrum than his toddler.

I have found that being reasonable always worked. As in a reasonable demeanor when dealing with Thai Airways. The are Thai after all. Just calmly present your situation at check in an they will sort you out. Relax. When we fly with our child we always have to either go to airline office or wait till check in. Same in other airlines. Since you have a new baby this may be your first time. It's normal procedure. You'll be fine.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

I agree that being reasonable almost always allows the other person to be reasonable, but not ALWAYS. Just because you did not eat the lion does not mean the lion won't eat you. Kindness given is not always returned, but sometimes viewed as a weakness and taken advantage of. Sad truth in life. Please don't blame the OP for not being polite when you don't know that he wasn't. Also, show me a sign anywhere there says "If you purchase our cheapest product, we can treat you like crap". This should not be any companies slogan.

I am responding to several of the posts in this thread, not just yours. Sorry.

This becomes a circular argument, I've seen confrontations on aircraft when passengers poach reserved seats. There's a set of people out there who take the attitude that their boarding pass is a basis for negotiation.

In this case the passenger that requires the bassinet seat is getting it. Full stop.

The airline is fulfilling it's obligation, the airline has no obligation to block off entire rows to facilitate one passenger.

No one is being treated like crap.

.

Edited June 19, 201313 yr by theblether

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

What a ridiculous comment

Suppose those who aren't fans of children on flights can always revisit this thread again!

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/638915-controversial-sedating-kids-on-long-haul-flights/

My last long haul flight I had the luck to be sat next to an extremely drunk, smelly and chatty (worst combination ever?) middle aged man from birmingham. The chat would have been okay had it not been his desire to talk almost exclusively about "thai birds".

This was much more painful than any occasional cries ive heard from an infant in the past.

Toddlers and babies shouldn't be in airplanes really. I find it selfish to think that a plane full of people should be held hostage by a screaming child. If anything, there should be separate areas for screaming children, as many package tours already do. This of course wouldn't be needed if parents raised their children properly and didn't think that THEIR little precious deserved special treatment.

Yes, how about those of us with small children just stay inside our house and not travel anywhere incase we might upset other travelers like yourself? Children do not fly for free, we still have to pay for their airfares.

I find it selfish that I have paid for a full price adult ticket and people feel the need to use my armrest, or drink the entire flight and get drunk or keep their light on all night or open the window at night time when those of us are trying to sleep. You obviously do not have children! I am a mother and I live in Thailand as my husband works here, but we fly home often to visit my family... next time I'll just leave my kids at home so they dont get to see their grandparents etc so we don't upset people like you. I ask for no special treatment for my children.

To the OP:

My family and I ONLY fly Thai and I always fly with my children (second one due any day now) and Thai Airways staff (ground and in flight) are excellent and only provide excellent service. I was always given a bassinet when my 1st born was younger and they always make sure that we are comfortable, even moving me to my own row of seats so my child can sleep the entire flight.

I will be flying home in December to Australia (9 hour flight, and it is very much hard for the parent of the child who is upset not just for the other travellers) and I know I will get the same service again. As I know we are travelling with kids, I always make sure to have my seats booked and reserved at least a week before the flight and will stay up at night to online check in to make sure me and my children are comfortable. As a parent its your duty to make sure all this is not left to the last minute.