He was left stunned (stock image) (Image: Getty)
A parent was left furious after an airline allegedly “separated” him from his baby during a journey.
The anonymous man, who posted about the ordeal on , claimed he was told he couldn’t sit with his baby as someone else had paid for the seat, even though he had already pre-selected it when making the booking.
In the post, he wrote: ” sold my pre-selected seat mid-trip and separated me from my baby! I recently flew Ho Chi Minh City to Düsseldorf via with Emirates. I had a Flex Ticket, which includes free seat selection.
“I carefully chose our seats early, checked in online and even got my boarding pass in Vietnam with my assigned seats. Confirmed with check-in counter about our seat selection. My wife and I were travelling with our eight-month-old baby, so I made sure we had window-side seats in the first row of economy, where my wife could comfortably hold the baby.
“In seat selection I choose the seat and, during online check-in, I choose the seat. Seat was locked and nobody else could book it. Just due to Flex ticket where choosing a seat is free, it shows 0 EUR. If I had bought a cheaper (Saver Economy) ticket, I would have to pay a small amount for the chair.”
Then, when transiting in Dubai, the man claimed Emirates “suddenly reissued his boarding pass and changed his seat”, separating him from his wife. When asked why, the staff were said to have told him his original seat was “sold to another passenger who paid for it”.
According to him, he was never given an option to pay for his seat, but another passenger was allowed to buy it – despite his Flex Ticket “including free seat selection”. The situation left him baffled.
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He added: “This caused extreme discomfort as we had already flown for seven hours and now, after transit, we had seven more to go. In this new flight, my baby couldn’t sleep and become fussy and cried a lot the entire flight, disturbing nearby passengers.
“My wife and I couldn’t sleep either due to stress and exhaustion. Emirates made this happen just to make extra money on a seat I had already selected.
“Whenever my kid fell asleep due to tiredness, someone would walk-by and our kid would startle and wake up. He is not used to movement around.”
He opened up about the situation as he wanted to know if anyone had experienced anything similar. He’s unsure whether he should esculate the matter further.
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The post has garnered a range of different responses, as some were confused by the story. None the less, it didn’t stop people from sharing their thoughts.
One person said: “Emirates have messed up and I guess it’s to do with communication? You HAVE paid for your seat, as you bought a Flex ticket, which includes a portion of payment for seat selection. I just wonder if you were moved to accommodate someone with a medical need?”
Another added: “This is quite bad on Emirates’s part. Your ticket price obviously included the price for seat selection, so makes zero sense for them to give it to any other paying customer. Have you contacted them to give your feedback? I’d urge you to escalate this.”
Someone else had a different idea though, writing: “An aisle apart? You’re overreacting. I have four kids and we travel quite a bit. The aisle means nothing and you’re putting way too much thought and effort into this. Move along.”
Emirates has been asked to comment about the alleged incident.