Mom says JetBlue tried making her 1-year-old sit alone. Is she valid?: ‘Should be illegal’
Flying is enough of a nightmare as it is these days without adding impossible logistics into the mix. And what’s a challenging (if beloved) logistic at the best of times?
Kiddos, of course!
Flying with kids has never been easy. Though certain parents do seem to insist on making it more of a headache for everyone involved. However, this challenge is definitely not helped by chaos that results in flights, plans, and even seats being shuffled around.
One mother has gone viral on TikTok after allegedly dealing with such chaos. Her kid wasn’t even 2 years old yet.
What happened on this JetBlue flight?
In a TikTok posted in Dec. 2025, which has since gotten over 200,000 views, mother Britney Maz (@britneymaz) shared a harrowing tale. She says she was allegedly almost separated from her son on a JetBlue flight. She recounts the story via captions on a video of her son peacefully playing in his seat on the plane.
“JetBlue tried to separate me and my 22 month old son today,” Maz writes to start off the video. “Has this happened to anyone else?”
Maz shares that the flight started like any other, and that things seemed normal when she’d initially booked tickets for herself and her son.
“For context – when I booked we had seats together,” Maz writes. “They changed the plane and there were only middle seats available when I was notified (we were initially row 32, this plane only had 27 rows).”
While this seemed stressful, Maz says she was promised it wouldn’t be an issue. They told her that she’d still be able to sit next to her son.
“I called JetBlue (twice) and they assured me (twice) we would be re-assigned seats together,” she writes.
Unfortunately, it turned out that was apparently not the case
“We were assigned 18b and 19b and at the gate counter I was told we wouldn’t be able to sit together,” Maz writes. “They wound up putting us together but now before tears were shed and I was humiliated at the counter.”
All in all, a deeply stressful lead-up to flying, which many parents already dread. Maz finishes her video by prompting other parents to chime in, as she “would love to know if [they’ve] had a similar experience.”
@britneymaz I’m relieved the situation was resolved, but the whole experience was very stressful. I’m hesitant to book @JetBlue again after this trip. We used to love them and we fly a lot (my son has been on 14 flights and he’s not even 2). We have bought him a seat on every flight. As a parent traveling solo, I’m nervous this will happen again. Thoughts? *Note – the crew on this flight were incredible. So helpful and kind.* #traveltiktok #flyingwithkids #traveltips #airlinetiktok ♬ a dream is a wish your heart makes – christina perri
Parents feel for Maz’s predicament
Parents were quick to convey their sympathy to Maz. Some expressed a need to see tighter airline regulations that protect parents and children.
“This should be illegal,” one viewer commented. “Like you asked me my kids age when I booked the seats: they should automatically be blocked from doing this to anyone 12 and under.”
“You should not be allowed to book tickets without seat assignments when traveling with a minor,” another wrote.
Some commenters were even cracking up. They imagined what would have happened if JetBlue ultimately hadn’t let Maz and her son sit together. They noted that hardly would have been an ideal flying experience for any of the passengers at all.
“Bahahahah,” one commenter laughed. “Good luck to the seat mates.”
“Can you imagine a 2yr old being sat next you that’s not yours?!” echoed another.
In a reply to one commenter, Maz revealed she had actually initially “paid $500 per ticket and selected [both her and her son’s] seats when [she] booked.
“I didn’t pay extra to be in the front of the plane because I know flight attendants will try to move kids having a meltdown to the back of the plane,” Maz wrote. “I booked at the back intentionally just in case that happened. JetBlue’s own policy is families will be sat together even in Blue Basic. I guess I had to pay even more to ensure me and my ‘infant in a seat’ stay together but that doesn’t seem right. That seems like a bait and switch, no?”
What is the policy at JetBlue when it comes to seating?
Under the ‘Family Seating’ section of JetBlue’s Customer Service Plan webpage, the airline says it guarantees “seating children under 13 with a parent or accompanying adult at no additional cost, even on Blue Basic fares” if the right conditions are met. These conditions include all passengers being “on the same reservation” and passengers making “no changes to seat assignments after they have been assigned.”
However, these conditions do stipulate that Family Seating is only guaranteed if “there is no change from the originally planned aircraft to an aircraft with a different seat configuration.” In that event, the JetBlue guidelines say that “JetBlue will make every effort to seat children next to an accompanying adult.” However, if that’s still not possible, passengers still have several options to explore as part of the guarantee. This includes being rebooked at no additional cost to a new flight with adjacent seats.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Maz via TikTok comment and JetBlue via email to request additional comment.
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