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

Give me a £20 note that I've paid for my seat when you're asking me to swap and I'll consider it.
Otherwise my headphones go on and your child is ignored by me.

Yep. I read that and my main takeaway was "tell me you're a crap parent, without telling me you're a crap parent".

I've never quite understood the logic of posts like that. Surely they must realise they're making someone less likely to move.

Obviously Ryanair were being perfectly reasonable with their seat allocations, I bet some on here are gutted.

Doubt it as you won't be asking anyone to move, nobody really cares. Unless, of course, you try to get your son moved closer.

Is that how you talk to people you're trying to swap seats with? How unnecessarily unpleasant and aggressive.

Given that you accept that airlines' solutions are not always getting you next to your child, you expect to sit with your child without paying... in a seat someone else may have paid for and you expect that person to give it up to you for free. Possibly even without any pleasant request about it, given your comments.

I think you'd have to offer an inducement to get him to sit with his little sisters. Might be worth it though.

Obviously Ryanair were being perfectly reasonable with their seat allocations, I bet some on here are gutted.

That has occasionally happened with us DH with the kids me a few rows away.

I've also twice had the experience with jet2 being put with the same people on both outward and return flights while DH was between the kids. First time was Granddad / grandson, second time a young couple "Oh hello again" quite weird!

We've just checked in with Ryanair for 3 weeks time.
DDs 5&7 were automatically allocated seats with me, DS17 is 6 rows infront on his own. I might ask him to swap with me

Pay up or shut up. With respect.

Which is all well and good until my 2 year old spills his yoghurt on you…
or knocks your drink over on your tray table
or puts his hands in your food
or drops his toys and goes ferreting around down by your seat to find them
or presses the buttons on your iPad/seat back tv
or projectile vomits on you

its all very well to say you would call the flight attendant but these incidents have happened to me on a plane with my own boy, in a split second. The FA will come when they are able (as long as they’re not stuck behind a trolley…) but you’d already be covered in drink, dinner, vomit etc…

I will come as soon as I am able (let’s hope the seatbelt sign isn’t on!) from wherever I am say, to resolve the situation but by then the accident has happened. I will smile and sweetly say to you, I’m more than happy to swap seats with you?

I would be sitting next to my child to care for them, keep them safe and to try and stop them spoiling other passengers journey. I should not have to pay for the privilege of providing care to my children. Young children (under 5) should automatically be sat with their parent so that they can provide this care as they are unable to care for themselves and keep themselves safe.

You underestimate my ability to ignore other kids.
Uses to love them but since having my own my ability to ignore others has improved exponentially.
I wouldn't call or anything. They should be strapped into their seats anyway so how they can climb out etc etc is a mystery.
Kid could have banged itself unconscious and I'd not notice. Thatwould never happen to mine cuz I paid to pre-book. You can do the same

Haha, gotta be done. Assuming you get bored of teaching them all the good words 🤣

I've said upthread that I need an aisle seat on a certain side of the plain. If I have to swap then I'll either have my leg in someone's lap or I'd have to stand the majority of the flight (basically if seatbelt signs are off). I don't think people would be very impressed at no trolley service as I was standing in the aisle. I absolutely would not hang out by the loos if I'd been forced to stand because of someone's bad planning.

Quite a few years ago, I was sat next to a young child. Her mum settled her in, told me gleefully that she was very chatty and then went off to her seat six rows in front. She didn't ask to swap seats and clearly wanted a quiet flight......child was indeed chatty so I dug out my iPad for her which was probably more of a novelty back then, showed her how to play a game and didn't hear another peep from her. When she gave it back at the end of the flight, she asked where you could get one. I told her that loads of places sold them, really wouldn't be a problem for her Mum to find one. Very naughty of me but the Mum had really dumped her child on another person so felt that she deserved some payback.....

It doesn't bother me being 2 and 2. And it's certainly one way airlines do it, 1adult and 1 child in one row, other adult and child in the other row.

Or 1 adult between 2 kids and other adult across the asile.

But I still wouldn't pay for the privilege of picking seats.

Hard to ignore a yapping toddler.

Not remotely. Noise-cancelling headphones and the knowledge they’re not my responsibility.

Hard to ignore a yapping toddler. I dont understand people who wont switch just to prove a point tbh. I have switched many times for others to make it more convenient for them. Wouldnt even occur to me to say no just because i can 🤷🏻‍♀️ i guess people are all different, but i dont see the point in making others lives harder.
If theres a valid reason why the person cant, then its different. But pp said she wouldnt swap just to prove a point. The only point it proves is that shes mean and spiteful..

But I've actually never seen an airline splitting kid and parents when they book together. Theres just no need to pay extra.

Why would it be a hassle for Allgood? She would just ignore the brat. If the child's own parents are too spiteful to pay £20 care for them then why should she care?

Why do you expect people who have paid (perhaps) to choose a seat to have their money go to waste?

Most people would swap in such circumstances, but they may very well resent it. If you ask people for a favour or to inconvenience themselves to convenience you, which swapping seats is in this instance, you really should offer them something as compensation. Nice 20 pound note?

I was on a flight the other day, row behind us had a Dad with two toddlers while Mum was opposite in the aisle seat. Turns out Mum was supposed to have one toddler 2 rows in front and Dad was supposed to have one...but they decided they didn't like that arrangement so just set themselves up in a row of three! They were most put out when the air steward politely told them they couldn't just nick someone else's seats because they hadn't paid for all seats together...
They tried the "but we've got young children" card, unfortunately for them so did the people whose seats they'd taken!

I don’t think the people who do pay sound spiteful, more the issue with the pp

I'm not spiteful, I just respect the rules. If I paid for a specific seat is się a reason, I'd not swap with tight idiots. And I'd be ringing flight attendant every time so they can sort the child. I have my own kids and I can't imagine not paying for seating together, but cf understands another cf I guess.

HAHAHAHA, exactly this! 😆😆😆

Theres always spiteful people like you around, but luckily most arent like that.

In the end it would still be more of a hassle for you than me tbh. I would relax and enjoy my kidfree flight 🤣 And if the flight attendant comes because the child need something then i can sort it. But you would probably get annoyed by having to call for them much quicker than me.

I'm not 'entertaining' anyone else's kid. I'd press the call button every single time. Let the parents feel just how much they are making nuisances of themselves.

It surprises me not at all that the kind of parent who refuses to take responsibility for their own child's comfort - by booking them the seat, or having failed to do so asking the ground staff to resolve it - and instead just board the aircraft expecting someone else to move (hence paying for their seat choices for them), would have absolutely no compunction about leaving their beloved tot in the 'care' of a complete stranger.

Strange ideas about parenting some people have.

I would not swap, if only to make a point to cf parents.