Plane seats - refused to swap

Yet nothing self entitled in expecting them to move?

Those men were in aisle and window seats, so very likely paid to avoid the dreaded middle seat. The fact they were by themselves is irrelevant.

But its not a single mistake its what a lot of entitled parents do on a regular basis as they know their will be some mug on the plane who will swap with them and then when nobody does they cry and have a tantrum about it

by the sounds of it if they would swap it would have been to a middle seat. Meaning they would have had to give up their aisle or window seat that they would have had to pay to book.

But we all make mistakes. If I were on my own or with adults I'd move.

I am really quite shocked and alittle appalled that none of the four men either side of your dh or dd would swap with your dh or dd, if they were single.

I have experienced this before years ago when dc were much younger, and i was as upset as you were, I am sure most people would be with you. But I asked a few people if they'd mind moving while we were waiting to board and I think it was the third person I asked who said they'd be happy to.

Definitely try to sort this out now with the airline if you can rather than wait until the day.

Not for a specific airline that starts with E and J and is orange… it’s 7 days

@Overnightoatsareyummysee my post above the one you have just quoted regarding not swapping…….. it’s not self entitlement and grumpiness…it’s being prepared

No if people have paid for a seat their will be a reason they've chosen that seat whether that is to sit with a partner a certain area of the plane or like me will only sit in an aisle seat. This is why I pay so I will not move for anyone.

Check in for lots of flights only opens 24 hours before. We have flown with BA three times over the last year and for all of them it was 24 hours before departure. Also used 3rd party for all of them and apart from actually buying the tickets, everything was directly with the airline.

Come on now, we know most peoples reason to not move is self entitlement and grumpiness.

The error may have been when he tried to check in he couldn’t get seats together. @Annoyed321
I always pay at the point of booking to ensure our seats are together. I even do this if it’s just me and my husband. He has epilepsy so if he has a seizure I am there and know what to advise the flight attendant. We wouldn’t explain his medical history to random people who didn’t book seats with their children. I would just decline.
If I was travelling alone I would just wait till check in.
Its a massive risk waiting till check in especially in the height of summer holidays!

Yep, and wanting your child sitting next you doesn’t trump those reasons.

Sorry if I've missed this but surely he could have paid for the seats when he booked?

OP’s husband messed up at the time of booking, also British Airways typically charge more than the budget airlines, as explained earlier, so that’s why you’ve not experienced the “bizarre situations”.

If you book with easyjet you can check in weeks in advance, it's a million times better than Ryanair and BA's crappy last minute policy.

Why don't you and your husband book stuff together OP, you can both keep an eye on each other then!

You have no need to feel embarrassed by what you said or did. I’d be very upset in your shoes too. Unless those passengers were sitting by their own children, I think it’s pretty shitty they didn’t move

This is the way to go. If you get a delay or are bumped and are entitled to compo it is an absolute nightmare trying to process it with a 3rd Party booking. Direct bookings 10 times easier and some like Wizz give you 20 perc extra if you put it in a wallet to spend on flights. They wont even talk to 3rd Parties.

I understand that, which is why I referenced childless people in my post. I personally don't like to treat people as less worthy just because they don't have kids. Everyone has their reasons - physical disabilities, anxiety (or other non visible disabilities) toilets, preferring a window seat, being tucked away, etc.

I don't think this is only an issue when booking through third parties, though things may have changed in the last few years.

We flew with our children a lot when they were young. Even though we were flying long haul and always booked directly through the airline, we experienced this same problem. The online systems wouldn't allow us to book seats because children were included and we couldn't get allocated seats until we checked in at the airport. It was frustrating, but they did always manage to seat us together.

A few years ago, my DS went on a shorthaul domestic flight with a friend. They were both 15 and classed as unaccompanied minors. We wanted them to sit together, especially because his friend was an inexperienced flyer. They were not allowed to book seats online so we phoned the airline. They said there was no way to book their seats in advance because they were unaccompanied minors. It seemed bonkers to us! In the end, they weren't seated together but were fine.

This happened to us flying to the US this summer with an Irish airline. All the adults could check in but not our youngest - we had pre booked seats on booking but the airline changed the flight time very slightly and we were allocated seats, despite paying.

What's the airline? Are you sure that you haven't been checked in for both legs already?

I fly easyjet a lot, never pay for seats and they always put me and DS together.

This would have been stated at the time of booking and Dh invited to select and pay for booked specific seats. Have travelled with my children for 20 years. Several dozen airlines. Always been able to book seats together with kids whether at booking or at check in…. But there was a fee.

DH did not want to pay the required fee.

Even checking in 24 hours before a flight doesn't guarantee you'll all be sat together, because most people pay for seat allocations when they book the flight.
Also, you are setting your children up for a lifetime of anxiety if you fall apart like that in front of them.