{"id":712001,"date":"2026-02-15T22:52:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:52:04","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-02-15T22:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:52:04","slug":"dad-blames-southwest-airlines-for-auto-seat-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/dad-blames-southwest-airlines-for-auto-seat-selection\/","title":{"rendered":"Dad blames Southwest Airlines for auto seat selection"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29f3fc25f7a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29f3fc25f7a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/dad-blames-southwest-airlines-for-auto-seat-selection\/#%E2%80%9CDad_blames_Southwest_Airlines_for_auto_seat_selection%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Dad blames Southwest Airlines for auto seat selection&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CDad_blames_Southwest_Airlines_for_auto_seat_selection%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Dad blames Southwest Airlines for auto seat selection&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p>They\u2019re calling him a cheapskate. <\/p>\n<p>As a result of refusing to pay for seat selection on a flight, a father of two was forced to sit separately from his tots \u2014 and people are taking the airline\u2019s side.<\/p>\n<p>Cory Watilo took to X (formerly <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/watilo\/status\/2021941000302920070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2021941000302920070%7Ctwgr%5Ef47fc896ac37e4490f42f89a2676fb989a324f5f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailydot.com%2Fsouthwest-airlines-seated-toddler-alone-dad-complains\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to share<\/a> his rather frustrating experience recently flying Southwest Airlines with his family.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside a screenshot of selecting from the drop-down menu on the airlines\u2019 site that he was flying with little ones, the father of two wrote, \u201cmy wife and two kids (5 and 2) are flying @SouthwestAir today. and because i refuse to pay for seats, their seats were auto assigned. My 2 year old in his own row without his mom or sister. i sorta figured when the websites breaks out age 0-4, they\u2019d factor this in but nah\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watilo\u2019s assumption wasn\u2019t wrong. If a flyer doesn\u2019t pay for seat selection, their seat will be auto-assigned, and technically, airlines aren\u2019t required to seat families together on a flight. <\/p>\n<p>However, the Department of Transportation encourages airlines to at least ensure young flyers are seated with an accompanying adult, which clearly Southwest failed to do here.  <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-wrapper twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">my wife and two kids (5 and 2) are flying <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SouthwestAir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SouthwestAir<\/a>  today. and because i refuse to pay for seats, their seats were auto assigned.<\/p>\n<p>my 2 year old in his own row without his mom or sister.<\/p>\n<p>i sorta figured when the websites breaks out age 0-4, they&#8217;d factor this in but nah\u2026 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7D0M3OLhiq\">pic.twitter.com\/7D0M3OLhiq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Cory Watilo (@watilo) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/watilo\/status\/2021941000302920070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>So you can\u2019t blame this annoyed father for feeling a certain way. However, his little rant of a post caused quite the stir online, garnering over 2 million views and a lot of mixed reactions.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re so cheap that you refuse to not pay for seat selection then why didn\u2019t you put the 2 year old as a lap child?\u201d one person snarkily asked.<\/p>\n<p>Someone else chimed, blaming Watilo:  \u201cNot true. Unless you put their ages wrong. Just did a flight Saturday and they automatically assigned us seats together. Do you need me to do a tutorial for you. To disprove this?\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"38499582\"><br \/>\n\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38499582\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 airplane taking off against a clear blue sky.\" class=\"wp-image-38499582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 6000w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=300,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=768,512&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 768w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=1024,683&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=1536,1024&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=2048,1365&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=600,400&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 600w, 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https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=424,282&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 424w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=389,260&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 389w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=360,240&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 360w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=340,227&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 340w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=320,213&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 320w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=314,209&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 314w, 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https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=180,120&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 180w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=171,114&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 171w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=160,107&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 160w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=144,96&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 144w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=107,71&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 107w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=93,62&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 93w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=84,56&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 84w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=60,40&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 60w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=105,70&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 105w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=81,54&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 81w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=200,133&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=231,154&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=322,215&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=662,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 662w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=90,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 90w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=120,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 120w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=1200,800&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=1038,692&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1038w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=87,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 87w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=50,33&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 50w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/737-800-airplane-phoenix-airport-121394698.jpg?resize=150,100&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\"\/><figcaption>The dad brought up valid points, that many seemed disagree with. <span class=\"credit\">Markus Mainka \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cCome on bro. I hate this SW BS as much as anyone out there. I can literally fly FREE with them and still pay now for other airlines\u2026 But this is a bit on you my man. You want your family to sit together ya gotta buy the seats,\u201d quipped someone else.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBro, pay the money for your family to be together this isn\u2019t difficult \u2013 penny pinch elsewhere,\u201d another comment read.<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/chrismac0314\/status\/2021993483985391860\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Some, not many, came to Watilo\u2019s defense: \u201cThe comments on this post are surprising. Your point is that their booking systems shouldn\u2019t allow the child to be located away from the parents and at least be in the same row, but everyone\u2019s saying it\u2019s your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026People are more focused on the dad as to why he didn\u2019t pay rather than the greedy multi billion cooperation which is separating a family <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ing together unless they pay up,\u201d read another comment.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the heated online debate Watilo\u2019s post caused, the good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> is that a kind flyer ended up switching seats with his wife, so none of their little ones were sitting alone.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" >News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/15\/lifestyle\/dad-blames-southwest-airlines-for-auto-seat-selection\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Dad blames Southwest Airlines for auto seat selection&#8221; They\u2019re calling him a cheapskate. As a result of refusing to pay for seat selection on a flight, a father of two was forced to sit separately from his tots \u2014 and people are taking the airline\u2019s side. Cory Watilo took to X (formerly Twitter) to share&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-712001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712001\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}