To not pay to choose seats but expect to sit together?

Why are these threads always full of parents who are positively gleeful at the prospect that they can force another person to look after their child for them?

It's totally grim.

Easyjet will not fly with minors on their own but the system can allocate you all randomly across the plane though. We witnessed this twice in May, both times they would not take off until someone offered to swap and offered drinks etc for the people who swapped.

I always pay to reserve seats as I dont need that hassle.

Also @keffie12, if you have a medical reason for needing to be in an aisle seat near a toilet, perhaps at your next GP appointment you could ask them to write you a short letter saying you have a medical reason for needing to be in an aisle seat near the toilet and you could keep it with your passport in case the same thing happens again.

Sorry for the loss of your husband.

Your story is an example of why it would be easier all round if airlines abandoned this policy and just let everyone select their seats without charging extra. That way, everyone except the last people to check in on a fully booked flight would have some say in where they were sitting, there would be fewer issues on board, and in the unlikely event that the cabin crew needed to ask someone to move, that person wouldn't have paid extra to have the seat of their choice.

On my first air flight away, after my husband had unexpectedly passed away in 2019, I booked my seat, so I got an ailse seat. I always book seats as I need fast access to the toilet.

All was well going out. Coming back was a different matter. I wasn't even told at check-in that they had moved my seat.

I was livid when I got on the plane to find two people had been allocated seats where I was in one, so they could sit together. They hadn't booked seats

I'd been shoved in a window seat near the back..

I didn't take that lying down. I told the flight attendant who came over to me and tried to get snotty that I wasn't going to sit where there had put me.

That I had booked my ticket and seat. If they wanted me to sit somewhere else, they could find me an ailse seat near a toilet. I also told him he didn't want the details as to why.

Needless to sat being appropriate, assertive, and firm, they did some moving around, and I got an ailse seat near the toilet.

I sent the airline company a strongly worded email when I got back. I got a seat refund and compensation.

As I told them, I wasn't a 2nd class citizen just cos I was solo travelling
.

I wouldn’t bother, someone else who hasn’t paid and doesn’t care where they sit will swap with you if necessary.

It seems less and less people are falling for these extra charges - everyone gets on the plane, finds their seats then spends 10 mins swapping seats with each other.

"Then airlines realised that people's insecurities about being split apart could be a wonderful money-spinner, and we ended up where we are now. "

I don't think that's totally it. It was more that they recognised that some people valued low cost flights above all else and genuinely weren't bothered if they sat together or not.

I'm in that category now that DS was older, but when he was young we paid ever since the time we booked an upmarket package holiday without realising that seats together weren't included and it had to be done at time of booking and I found it stressful not knowing we would be sat together until we got there.

Having paid when DS was young, I'm not terribly inclined to be moving for other families who want to save their money but have the same benefit. However it's hypothetical as I've never been asked. I certainly wouldn't be moving to a middle or window seat as I go to
the loo quite a lot.

There is a lot more historically to this than that, it simply wasn't a case of airlines saying "oh, there's a money spinner.......it's a necessary revenue earner these days, and some of that is down to human nature..

Once upon a time, early in the days of widespread internet booking, you'd get:

Airline A advertising flights from A to B for 200 STG (all in).

Airline B comes along and advertising flights from A to B for 160 STG
but then charges 20 STG for seat choice, 20 STG for checked bags and ? for food...

Like moths to a flame in search of cheaper flights many people would tend towards airline B....

( and so the airline where I worked, which was an A, ended up copying B to stay in business on many routes.

and re-iterate, yet again....if people want to yell "it's not fair" and campaign for banning of charges for seat choices fill your boots, but given margins the airlines will up charges to compensate for the lost revenue...

You're right you absolutely should sit next to your children no question and yes you shouldn't have to pay for it... however, if others have paid for their seats, as is now generally required, you now might be forcing someone who has paid for something to be bumped off their seats by not paying. I just factor that extra price into the entire cost these days tbh

In the days before airlines introduced a separate charge for seat selection, the majority of passengers got seated together at check-in, and there may be one or two couples or families per flight that drew the short straw and ended up split. It was accepted as bad luck for getting to check-in queue last. People didn't make as much fuss about it and there certainly wasn't a concept of thinking of people as tight-fisted or selfish if they were the unlucky ones, as it was only to do with the time they had managed to arrive at the check-in queue.

So people were generally kinder about it, and if a young family was going to be split then you'd find someone nearby would just volunteer to move without all the nastiness.

Then airlines realised that people's insecurities about being split apart could be a wonderful money-spinner, and we ended up where we are now.

It's surprising that with the power of social media there hasn't been a collective motion of everyone just refusing to pay for seat reservations.

If only approx half pay for their seats (as usual) then there are a lot other non payers who can be swapped with.

And where is the safeguarding responsibility of the parent?

Your child Your responsibility

if you want them beside you pay the money
if your happy that your two year old could be placed next to any random then don’t pre book but don’t expect others to move to accommodate

She's clearly said she doesn't expect anyone to move. It's in the post just above ( and she's said it more than once.

So OP if other people pay to sit with their children/travel companions do you expect them to move because you didn’t want to pay? If so why do you think this is fair?

Sounds like a perfect plan OP , let us know how you get on.

Recently returned from Mallorca. Family of 4 including 2 DC under 5 . They were allocated 2 seats together so Mum sat with youngest , Dad was in row in front and other child row behind . They kicked up a fuss but no one moved .

If it’s Easyjet they generally put you together especially if you check in as soon as you can. You’ll be given seat numbers on your tickets which you can see after checking in, so you’ll know if they’re next to each other. If not go back and pay

Years ago when Dd was about 6yo we flew back from Tenerife in the days where nobody paid for a seat and nobody had an allocated seat. It was a scrum to get on the plane first.

we were first ones at check in. Went to the gate as soon as it was announced. Then they changed the gate, then Dd needed the loo…….so anyway we ended up being last two on the plane. Seats were about six rows from each other. I asked the air stewardess if anyone would move, she said no. Nobody offered to move….remember nobody here had paid for a specific seat! Dd was hysterical, I had to physically force her into her seat and buckle her up and leave her. Anyway she threw up over the person next to her on take off and kept throwing up. They then had to spend the flight back covered in sick! Karma I reckon.

I can’t believe so many people have said you’re being unreasonable and being entitled, etc. and that they wouldn’t move! There’s some nasty people in the world.

Easyjet would be very unlikely to sit you nowhere near a 2yo. They’d be breaking all sorts of CAA rules/guidelines if they did…..but yes technically it could be on the row infront or behind or across an aisle. But I think if you get to check on early this would be very unlikely

It doesn’t mean it’ll be nice for the two year old or the parent if they care

Yeah but I'd move for the 2 year old who would be so distressed away from their mummy. Cmon, be human!

Never been split on an easyJet flight and travelled with the kids at least twice a year during school holidays. Although would have enjoyed the solitude in the teen years!😂
I've not said people won't be sat together though

I'm saying people can't guarantee it and it's a gamble they have to choose to take or not. If they take the gamble it might work. It might not.

Unfortunately some people on this thread seem to think they should choose not to book seats together and then on the day it's someone's job to move passengers around to suit them/they take the chance because someone else can be guilt tripped into moving.

She won’t need to worry about any of that if she doesn’t sit next to her child 😂

Another entitled parent who thinks everyone else should accommodate them--for free. And then wonders why people complain about other peoples' kids on airlines.
She probably won't bring any toys, food or drinks for the kids either, and complain about passengers who object to him kicking their chair.
Pay the damn money.