After experiencing flying with young children myself I can attest to the stress that it brings even when everything goes right. Everyone running to get from point A to point B, making sure everybody has luggage and didn’t set anything down anywhere. It’s a mad dash on a good day. That’s why when I heard about Brenda Song‘s experience with Alaska Airlines the story felt all too familiar.
What Happened?
What should have been a routine family vacation was dampened by the harsh reality that anything can change. Unfortunately for Brenda Song this meant that the first class tickets that she had paid for months ahead of time, would become obsolete. She still was able to get on the plane with her family, Macaulay Culkin and her two sons Dakota (4) and Carson (3) but she did not get to sit in the seats she chose for her family. All she really wanted to do was take the stress of the trip off in a way that sitting together would have.
“I didn’t know when you book your first class tickets 6 months in advance 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,” “We will never fly @alaskaair again and neither should you.”
Macaulay Culkin, who reshared her Story, writing: “Hell hath no fury like a Brenda scorned…”
Alaska Airlines Responds
In a statement to PEOPLE Alaska Airlines seemingly apologized to the couple. Stating that it was “unacceptable and not reflective of the care” they aim for. “Traveling can be stressful, especially with young children. We pride ourselves on being a top airline for traveling families,” the statement continued. “We are deeply sorry for adding friction to the experience.”
They also said that they would reach out to Song and Culkin’s family to “make it right.” They added, “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.”
Regardless of the airlines apology it doesn’t fix the problem. Many airlines today separate family members from each other. There is a rule a lot of flights will implement that if you are traveling with a child under the age of 2 you will get priority boarding. Unfortunately with Song/Culkin’s children now older than that that *could* have been the issue. Why buy tickets in advance and choose seats when this will still happen?
