A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question about Aegean seating kids on business-class middle seats that should go out empty.
Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.
You can access Aegean here.
Email From The Reader:
Compensation question
A3 SKG-FRA, paid business fare.
The screaming toddler from the lounge was also on my flight. The kid was likely ticketed in 1D, Dad in 1F wanted nothing to do with him so passed him to mom in 2D who was in my row. They removed the middle divider so the “monster” could wiggle around that seat.
FA should have removed divider between 1D and Dad to allow mom to care for the kid, but nope, dad had row 1 to himself.
Can I ask A3 for a partial refund?
Aegean Promotes Business Class As:
Main Point:
Your personal space
Leather seating with the middle seat always vacant, extra pitch and a cabin separator can ensure extra personal space, comfort, and privacy throughout the flight. You may choose your preferred seat even during booking.
Not sure why the family was not booked for the same row. Then removing the divider would not have affected the business class experience and benefits of other passengers.
The flight attendant should NOT have removed the divider and seated the kid on the middle seat when 2 -2 seating is one of the business class benefits.
The reader should ask for compensation (a partial refund), and hopefully, the airline should stress to flight attendants that these middle dividers should not be removed to accommodate other passengers.
Conclusion
I almost had a similar situation on an Austrian flight last year when a passenger’s partner had a hissy fit and threw the kid at him. He then asked if it would be ok for the kid to sit on the middle seat (at least he asked), and I declined (that, luckily, was the end).
British Airways often seats passengers on these business class middle seats during irregular operations without compensating affected fliers.
The main benefits of the “European” business class for frequent fliers are the onboard Food & Beverage offering + blocked middle seat. All the other benefits you can already get if you have status with the airline or alliance (checking in, boarding, extra luggage allowance + lounge access).
The reader should demand compensation from Aegean, and, at least theoretically, you could consider this a travel class downgrade and proceed per EC 261/2004.