Parents were furious after being told that the airline had “separated” him from the baby during the plane trip.
An anonymous man who posted about the ordeal on Reddit claimed that he was told he could not sit with the baby because someone else paid for the seat, despite having already pre-selected it when he booked.
In the post he wrote: “The Emirates sold me halfway through my pre-selected seats and pulled me away from my baby! I recently flew Ho Chi Minh City via Dubai with the Emirates to Dusseldorf.
“I carefully selected my seat early, checked in online and boarded in a seat where I had my boarding pass assigned to me in Vietnam. I checked the seat selection at the check-in counter. My wife and I were traveling with an 8 month old baby.
“In selecting a seat, select a seat and select a seat while checking in online. The seat is locked and no one else could book it. Selecting a seat will show 0 euros for a free flex ticket.
Later, as he passed in Dubai, the man separated him from his wife, claiming that Emirates “suddenly reissued his boarding pass and changed his seat.” When asked why, staff were told that his former seat had been “sold to another passenger who paid for it.”
He said he was not given the option to pay for the seat, but another passenger was allowed to buy it – despite his flex ticket “free seat selection”. The situation confused him.
He added: “This caused extreme discomfort as we had already flew for seven hours. Now, after transport, we had seven more ways to go. With this new flight, my baby couldn't sleep, crying a lot throughout the flight, hindering nearby passengers.
“My wife and I couldn't sleep due to stress and fatigue. Emirates woke up this to make extra money in the seats I had already chosen.
“Whenever my child falls asleep due to fatigue, someone goes for a walk and our child wakes up in surprise. He's not used to moving around.”
He made it clear about the situation as he wanted to know if anyone had experienced something similar. He doesn't know if the issue should be further expanded.
The post has earned mixed reactions as some were confused by the story. Still, it didn't stop people from sharing their thoughts.
One person said: “I think Emirates is ruined. Do you think it has to do with communication? You bought a flex ticket that includes some of the seat payments, so you paid for your seat. Did you move in to accommodate someone with medical needs?”
Another addition: “This is very bad on the Emirates side. Your ticket price obviously included the price of the seat selection, so giving it to other paid customers is not zero. Have you contacted us to give feedback?
Someone else had another idea. “Are the aisles far away? You're overreacting. I have four kids and we travel quite a bit. The aisles means nothing.
Emirates has been asked to comment on the alleged incident.
