Stars, they're just like us! Brenda Song says that she and fiancé Macaulay Culkin faced a common airplane annoyance recently, when the airline gave away the family's seats right before they were about to board for a long-planned getaway.
Song shared her story on social media, calling out the airline for forcing her to get separated from her young children as they were heading out of town to celebrate her toddler's birthday. This isn't the first time that parents have blasted airlines for doing this, but it is the first time I can remember Macaulay weighing in on things. Phew, I would not want to be in charge of this airline's social media after this!
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On Mar. 21, Song took to her Instagram Stories to share a frustrating experience she had with Alaska Airlines. In the since expired story, E! News says that Song put the airline on blast, calling them out for giving away the seats she had booked for a special trip for her son's birthday.
“I didn't know when you book your first class tickets 6 months in advanced [sic] for your family of six for your son's birthday @alaskaair can just give away your seats the morning of with no warning splitting up you and your 3 and 4 year old kids,” the 37-year-old wrote. “We will never fly @alaskaair again and neither should you.”
Culkin quickly jumped in to support his wife, sharing the story on his own page and adding the caption, "Hell hath no fury like a Brenda scorned.”
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Alaska Airlines Responded With an Apology
The age of the couple's children likely added to the frustration of the incident, prompting such strong words for the airline. It seems like for its part, Alaska Airlines agreed that this was not the best way to handle things, and the company issued an apology via E! News.
"Traveling can be stressful, especially with young children, and we pride ourselves on being a top airline for traveling families,” a rep told the publication a day after Song's message appeared online. “We are deeply sorry for adding friction to the experience. It sounds like they also attempted to contact the couple to see if they can make things right. "We appreciate that guests have a choice in the airline they select and we take our responsibility to deliver a safe, reliable and caring experience every single time," the rep added in the statement.
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What You Need to Know About Last Minute Seat Changes
Unfortunately, Song and Culkin's experience are hardly rare. There are plenty of horror stories out there about families being separated at the last minute when their seats have been split or given away, prompting a lot of last minute chaos and confusion.
However, in many cases you can advocate for yourself to stick with your family, especially when you're traveling with young children. Additionally, you may be owed a refund or financial compensation when this happens, especially if this new arrangement also causes your seat to be downgraded in the process.
So, how do you know what you're owed, and what to do, if this happens to you? You'll need to check your airline's contract of carriages to see what the rules are. These are legally binding agreements that you agree to when you purchase your tickets (located in many of the "check here" boxes you'll see throughout the booking process). You can also find the details of these contracts on the airline's website, which will explain what happens in different situations.
In Song's case, the airline does have a section on reservations, where it states that the airline can't guarantee seating arrangements on its flights. "Seat assignments, regardless of class of service, are not guaranteed and are subject to change without notice," the contract says. "Alaska reserves the right to reseat a Passenger for any reason, including from a seat for which an additional fee has been paid, and if a Passenger is improperly or erroneously upgraded to a different class of service."
As a mom, I can only imagine how upset Song was on that flight. In a time when it seems like these issues are only getting worse for travelers, hopefully she is able to use her story to raise more awareness so that other parents and caregivers don't have to deal with the same thing.
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