Equipment Change Months After Booking Moved Seat For A Five-Year-Old Away From Her Parents

A family which booked a trip to Florida's Walt Disney World was informed recently by American Airlines that it had changed the flight schedule and equipment for their return flight ... and that their five-year-old daughter was now seated several rows away from her parents. American's solution? Pay an additional $60 in fees for 'Premium Seating' to assure seats together.

The scenario was facing the Parish family of Dallas, TX. John Parish says he is a frequent business traveler and American customer, and told NBC News that he thought a simple phone call would resolve the problem. But even though the return flight had been switched to a larger plane, American said they were unable to accommodate the family with three seats together unless they paid the additional fee.

Parish points out that he had already paid for his tickets, and that it is not his fault that the airline changed equipment. He said he booked seven months in advance specifically to assure that the family would be able to sit together on the plane.

When contacted by NBC News on Parish's behalf, American said that "the computer tries to re-accommodate our passengers" in similar seats, or at least close by. But in this instance "one of the seats needed to keep all three family members together was not automatically available." American spokesperson Mary Frances Fagan said she was "sorry" for the inconvenience, but that such things are not uncommon when the airline changes equipment.

A travel consultant told NBC that such situations are usually able to be resolved at the gate through voluntary changes in seat assignments and "cajoling" on the part of airline gate agents and flight attendants. But consumer advocate Chris Elliot said that parents should not be cowed into paying the additional fees. He said they should demand that they be accommodated as a family. He said the airline is playing a game of 'chicken' with parents to see if they can coax an additional fee from them.

Still, Elliot is not necessarily a fan of legislation to force the "families sit together" issue. He said defining a family becomes problematic in such instances. He said the DOT is going to have to make a determination about what is included in the price of a ticket.

As for the Parish family, following the call from NBC News, Fagan said that they were once again seated together for the return flight, no additional charge. But she cautioned that usually it will be necessary for people who want to sit together to work with gate agents and flight attendants on the day of their flight should they be in a similar situation.

FMI: www.aa.com