Yes I do know USA does not own Rep Airlines. My refund came from USA because that is who I purchased my tickets through. The FAA opened an investigation, the pilot filed a great report (I spoke to him exiting the plane)Rep Airways deferred me to USA I was told ulitimately it is not the pilots job to know the car seat rules (both by USA CS and FAA) that is is up to the FA's. The pilots job is to fly the plane....whatever, If I drive a car it's my responsibilty to know everyone is restrained properly HOWEVER since lap children are allowed
technically there was nothing wrong in their opinion. Now the issue came because I had purchased Josh a ticket and w/out a car seat a 6m old isn't allowed to sit in their seat. I flew 3 out of 4 flights with no issues. Honestly we need to figure out a way to make the FAA require FA's to have child restraint training, if FA's knew the facts clearer we would have all this confusion. I would like to see the aircrafts all have laminated sheets readily available to reference when questions come up w/ standard info.....probably a pipe dream I know.
I think it was all handled well after the fact. My SS1 was replaced, we recieved refunds and vouchers for future flights. The name I posted is the FAA office that handles USA and follows up on issues like this. I don't know if you read the article but our issue wasnt a rf vs ff. Josh was not allowed to ride in any restraint because the FA said rfing seats were not allowed period..not a wieght issue. I only had a SS1 with me or I would have in that situation put him ff just to have him restrained. We'd already been traveling 8 hrs after a 3 day conference and this was the last flight here. I had 4 kids to get home too. It was an awful experience to KNOW how unsafe Josh was and still be forced to make the decision to stay on the flight. With all the circumstances I didn't feel like I had much of a choice at the time.
So my issue wasn't technically a US Airways flight but USA was the one to handle all communications, they were the name on my ticket and who I paid for my ticket. From what the FAA stated Rep Airlines needs to follow USA guidelines if they are contracted to operate a flight for them.
Just wanted to add that US Airways does not own Republic. They are their own company, may also be listed as Chataqua. Did your plane say US Airways on it, or Republic? If it said Republic, you need to contact their customer complaint department too. Lots of airlines do what is called code sharing, where you can purchase the ticket through the US Airways website or their toll free number, but when you actually fly, you are flown by a plane owned and operated by another airline. Even US Airways Express is actually owned and operated by Mesa Airgroup. Trust me, it is all VERY confusing for the employees, I cannot imagine how the passengers feel.