Controversy Ignites as Southwest Airlines Separates 2-Year-Old from Family, Assigning Solo Seat

A father has ignited a lively discussion after sharing that Southwest Airlines placed his two-year-old child in a separate row from the rest of the family during a flight.

Cory Watilo voiced his concerns on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday. He included images to support his claims about a flight he arranged for his wife and their two children.

One of the images displayed the ticket category options, which included adult (18 and above), teen (12 to 17), child (five to 11), child (zero to four), and lap child (zero to two).

Another image depicted the reserved tickets for his wife, Tara, their five-year-old, and their two-year-old. Notably, the five-year-old was seated next to Tara, while the two-year-old was assigned a seat in a different row.

Watilo expressed his frustration on X, stating, “My wife and two kids (5 and 2) are flying with @SouthwestAir today. And because I refuse to pay for seats, their seats were auto-assigned,” highlighting the issue of seat allocation without additional charges.

‘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 on X.

‘My two-year-old [is] in his own row without his mom or sister.

Cory Watilo took to X on Thursday, sharing receipts from the flight he booked for his wife and two children

‘I sorta figured when the website breaks out age 0-4, they’d factor this in but nah…’

What began as a rant about the automatic seat assignments quickly escalated, with many arguing it was his fault for not paying extra for assigned seats. 

‘What a cheap f***. You’re the reason I say hell no when people ask to switch seats,’ an infuriated user replied.

‘Don’t inconvenience other people because YOU decided to have kids while being cheap,’ they continued.

‘Stop being broke and fly another airline then,’ another wrote.

One X user agreed that while he had issues with the airline before, this situation was Watilo’s responsibility. 

‘This is a bit on you my man. You want your family to sit together ya gotta buy the seats,’ they wrote. 

Others agreed with Watilo, one user writing, ‘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!’

According to Southwest Airlines policy, depending on your ticket, you may be able to pick your seats when booking, and families are encouraged to choose seats together.

According to Southwest Airlines policy, depending on your ticket, you may be able to pick your seats when booking, and families are encouraged to choose seats together 

‘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,’ it read.

For a Basic fare, where seats are assigned 24 hours before departure, Southwest Airlines will try to seat a child (12 and under) next to an accompanying passenger (13 or older) whenever possible, at no extra cost, per the policy.

If passengers arrive at the gate and their child (age 12 and under) is not assigned an adjacent to a passenger 13 and over, the customer can request assistance.

‘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,’ per its policy.

Daily Mail reached out to Southwest for comment. 

A few hours after his original post, Cory Watilo updated the situation, saying his wife asked the other passenger to swap seats so the family could sit together. 

‘And just like that – as expected – problem solved,’ he wrote.