[relaxitup]

Article does mention the child is 2 years old; not sure if that changes the scope of their refund policy/responsibility. However, I would imagine that if this mother wanted to hold the child in her lap for the duration of the do flight, she presumably would not have purchased an extra $1000 ticket. I imagine they'll for sure give her a full refund and then some after the media flack, whilst still making it seem like their actions were acceptable.

[sokoloff]

United better hope that the child in question was under the age of 2. If the child is 2 (or older), that's a clear violation of 14 CFR 121.311. It's unlikely that the air crew will face a suspension, but United is likely to be fined if the kid was over 2. (From the picture, it sure looks like they were.)

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/121.311

[eeks]

Parent of 3 kids that fly a lot here. Airlines force you to buy a full seat as soon as your child turns 2. This woman was most likely forced to buy a full ticket for her child.

This is properly inacceptable. I don't understand why this woman complied.

I would not have in her situation and would have made a terrible scene had I been asked to relinquish a seat I paid for.

[rlucas]

Except, that mother almost certainly knew of the recent excesses of violence played out on behalf of, if not explicitly the direction of, United Airlines, and made a judgment call about reducing risk that her child would be beaten up by a cop or air-steward (or that her child would be taken from her in a strange city if she were arrested).

As much as United shed crocodile tears over the David Dao beat-up incident, the more power-hungry / Milgram-normalized flight crews probably secretly appreciate the implicit threat of violence that now accompanies their seating suggestions.