Mum told to pay £50 to upgrade her plane seats if she wanted to sit next to two-year-old daughter

A woman claims she was told to pay over £50 to upgrade if she wanted to sit with her toddler on a flight.

Travelling with kids, especially very young kids, can be a nightmare, so parents need to be close at all times to make sure things go as smoothly as possible.

And when Sara Kloek and her husband booked their American Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Minnesota last week, that's exactly what they intended to do.

However, when Kloek went to check in the day before the journey, she was amazed to see that she and her two-year-old daughter had been placed in aisle seats.

Kloek's husband had also been placed in a completely random seat as well, some seven rows away from her and their young daughter.

But it wasn't just the aisle that was the problem, with Kloek needing a car seat for her child, they ideally needed to be by the window, according to AA's policy, so as not to block access for other passengers.

Knowing this was simply not going to work, she got in touch with the airline to see what they could do.

And she was stunned when she was told by a representative that she had two options, to cough up another $61 (£48) to sit next to one another or work it out at the gate.

This was despite AA's commitment to seat families together.

"I didn't think it was fair to put that on the flight attendants, and I didn't think I needed to pay the $61 because of these commitments," Kloek told Insider.

"We were fine sitting wherever, as long as I could be with my 2-year-old."

So what could she do?

Is this adjacent seating @AmericanAir for me and my 2 year old? @USDOT @PeteButtigieg pic.twitter.com/AlLRznHU33

— Sara Kloek (@sarakloek) August 23, 2023

The upset mother then took the issue to social media, contacting AA's Twitter account to see if there was anything that could be done to resolve the situation.

And eventually, a rep for the airline managed to make sure Kloek was able to sit next to her little girl for free.

Looking back at the whole ordeal, Kloek said it appeared as though it was 'a problem that technology could solve'.

A spokesperson for American Airlines representative told Insider there were automated systems in place to help with issues like this.

But, the company said, it also welcomed customers to get in touch directly should they have problems with their seating arrangement.

Tyla has contacted American Airlines for further comment.