United Airlines: Flying the Family Unfriendly Skies
Recently I had the displeasure to fly on United Airlines with my two year old daughter. According to the FAA young children are recommended to be in a 5 point harness while on board any aircraft if you have purchased them a seat (which I did, full price).
Http://www.faa. Gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/
So, having read this I planned to take my child's car seat, her diaper bag, and her stroller (which I gate checked). I didn't take anything unnecessary, just the barest minimum of what was needed to travel with a two year old.
As a mother traveling with a small child this was quite a bit to carry and was very cumbersome (two hands are needed to push a stroller, but I also had to carry the car seat). As I went through security I was informed by the TSA agent that her father could walk us to our gate to help carry this, but in order to do so I would have to get a pass from the airline I was traveling with. When I asked the man at United Airlines Customer Care about this he was very rude and told me in his most snotty voice that they don't do that for any family that needs assistance, only people who are disabled. I asked if anyone from United could assist me and was told that is not our job. When I told the TSA agent what United had told me he shook his head and said the other airlines give out passes to family members all the time.
I kissed my husband goodbye and went through security, which turned into a twenty minute process. The TSA agents felt so bad for us that they offered to help us to our gate. (The same happened on our return flight, I received more help getting to our gate from TSA than I did my own airline.)
After we finally made it to our gate, I thought our problems were over, ha! While gate checking the stroller I asked about pre-boarding (so that I could install the car seat before being in everyone's way), but instead of answering my question the gate agent told me that you will board whenever your section is called.in other words, he blew me off and didn't even bother to explain to me that United's policy is to never pre-board families with children or parents with car seats. I found out that info from the gate agent while boarding for our return flight.
Instead of being allowed to install the car seat and buckle in my child in relative peace while first class was boarding, I got to carry the car seat above my head (while carrying my child and her diaper bag) because it was to wide to fit down the isle of the plane and it would've bumped into the heads of the people already seated. Then hold up everyone trying to get past me to their seats, while I frantically tried to install the car seat, and at the same time tried to make sure my daughter was safely out of everyone's way. Other passengers offered more help than the crew in both getting on and off the airplane.
Please understand, I was not asking for anything out of the ordinary - only for United's employee's to do their job. Both of our tickets were bought full price. I did not bring excess baggage, in fact her diaper bag fit underneath the seat in front of us. I was asking for a bit of common sense and perhaps a smidgen of humanity. The sad part is that because United did not do their job (the job I paid them to do) other passengers and the TSA agents had to step in and do it.
I am not writing this to complain (okay maybe a little), but to warn anyone considering travel with children about United's bad policies. I know other airlines are far more considerate of their passengers and actually offer assistance, as well as pre-board people with small children to prevent situations such as mine from happening. If I can keep anyone from having the same experience that I did, I will.
DO NOT FLY UNITED IF YOU ARE FLYING WITH CHILDREN, unless you like being treated like crap!
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