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Asking a non-Jew to early check in on Shabbos

Question:

My wife and I will be flying early Sunday morning, check in opens 24 hours before (on Shabbos). My wife will be quite heavily pregnant and is suffering from it. I would very much like to ensure I can sit next to her to assist her during the flight. If we don’t check in until motzei Shabbos we may not be able to sit next to each other. I wanted to know if I could ask a non Jew (in advance) to do the check in for us during Shabbos to ensure we can sit together

Answer:

Hi,

The general rule regarding telling a non-Jew to do melacha for us is that whatever we may not do, we may not tell the gentile to do. Additionally, even if we don’t tell the non-Jew to do the melacha for us and he does it on his own, in many instances we may not benefit from the melacha that he did for us. There is a heter to tell a non-Jew to do certain things when it is for a sick person, however it is hard to put your wife’s pregnancy into that category. Therefore you should not ask a non-Jew to book the seats for you on Shabbos.

God willing, you will get two seats together, and it can be worked out nicely even after Shabbos. hen you get to the airport, you can explain the situation when checking in your luggage, or to the cabin crew on the flight and they can help you out.

I hope everything works out alright, and that you have a safe and comfortable flight.

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