A father's revelation that Southwest Airlines seated his two-year-old child a row away from the rest of his family has ignited a heated and divisive online debate about airline policies and passenger responsibilities. Cory Watilo took to social media platform X on Thursday to share receipts from the flight he booked for his wife, Tara, and their two children, aged five and two.
The Controversial Seat Assignment
The first image posted by Watilo displayed the ticket age options on Southwest's website, which included categories for adult (18 and above), teen (12 to 17), child (five to 11), child (zero to four), and lap child (zero to two). A second photo showed the booked tickets, revealing that while the five-year-old was seated next to her mother, the two-year-old was assigned to a separate row entirely by himself.
'My wife and two kids (5 and 2) are flying @SouthwestAir today. And because I refuse to pay for seats, their seats were auto assigned,' Watilo wrote in his initial post. 'My two-year-old [is] in his own row without his mom or sister. I sorta figured when the website breaks out age 0-4, they'd factor this in but nah...'
Social Media Backlash and Blame
What began as a personal rant about automatic seat assignments quickly escalated into a broader controversy, with many users arguing vehemently that the situation was entirely Watilo's fault for not paying extra for assigned seats. One infuriated user responded, 'What a cheap f***. You’re the reason I say hell no when people ask to switch seats.'
Another commenter added, 'Don’t inconvenience other people because YOU decided to have kids while being cheap.' A third wrote bluntly, 'Stop being broke and fly another airline then.' Some users acknowledged previous issues with the airline but still placed responsibility on Watilo, with one stating, 'This is a bit on you my man. You want your family to sit together ya gotta buy the seats.'
Support for the Father's Position
However, not all responses were critical of Watilo. Several users agreed with his perspective, arguing that airline booking systems should inherently prevent young children from being seated away from their parents. One supporter wrote, 'Your point is that their booking systems shouldn’t allow the child to be located away from the parents and at least be in the same row, but everyone’s saying it’s your fault!'
Southwest Airlines' Official Policy
According to Southwest Airlines' stated policy, passengers may be able to pick their seats when booking depending on their ticket type, and families are explicitly encouraged to choose seats together. The policy reads, 'You may also choose to purchase seats, either during booking or prior to departure. We encourage families to select adjacent seats at the time of booking.'
For Basic fare tickets, where seats are assigned automatically 24 hours before departure, Southwest Airlines will attempt to seat a child aged 12 and under next to an accompanying passenger aged 13 or older whenever possible, at no extra cost. If passengers arrive at the gate and find their child is not assigned adjacent seating, they can request assistance from a Gate Agent.
The policy further states, 'If adjacent seats cannot be found on that flight, then the Gate Agent will give you the option to take the next available flight with adjacent seating available.' Daily Mail has reached out to Southwest Airlines for additional comment on this specific incident.
Resolution of the Situation
A few hours after his original post, Cory Watilo provided an update on the situation, revealing that his wife had simply asked another passenger to swap seats so the family could sit together. He wrote, 'And just like that – as expected – problem solved.' This resolution, however, did little to quell the ongoing debate about whether airlines or passengers bear primary responsibility for ensuring families sit together during flights.
