Plane seats - refused to swap

Phone the airline, tell them the date and time of the flight coming home and ask them to help you book and pay for the seats.

Your husband is a controlling twat!!

I totally empathise how stressful it is when you can't sit beside your child. I nearly had this yesterday. We'd booked our seats together but were changed to a different aircraft with completely different seats assigned. My five year old had a seat in the front row and we were in the 9th and 14th. I was lucky enough that the staff found us seats together. It happened before on a bus also I'd booked seats together but the seat was damaged and blocked off and nobody would swap so he had to sit across the aisle from me. Honestly just do the bookings yourself, check in well in advance its not worth the worry and stress.

I think it’s rude not to move, I really do. I always move, I find it baffling that there are so many threads and sooo many people who think it’s ’their Right’ to sit in their booked seat. Yes, you chose it, but now you need to swap. Although, once my husband had someone ask him to swap, to economy..ha… which really is cheeky fuckery.

I'm confused. When I flew recently they allocated the children next to me. I didn't have a choice of the seats on the plane when booking the ticket or checking in. They were just sat next to me 🤷‍♀️ I think your DD sitting between two men is not OK. They should have had that changed.

I think your DH cheaped out, he assumed you would be sat together and when you weren't he tried to make out it wasn’t an issue and then refused to let you look at the booking.

Honestly, if the airline has a business model that separates kids as young as 5 from a parent on a flight which could be long and/scary for them, they deserve to deal with kids fighting on board themselves.

I’m disgusted it’s come to the point where we’ve all normalised paying ‘extra’ to be near our children when flying. It isn’t an ‘extra’ for very young kids to have access to their caregiver, even if not in a stressful situation - but flying is stressful for many kids and adults. I don’t blame other passengers for not moving having paid money for their seats, but honestly what has it come to that companies taking in zillions of pounds have made us all act like sitting with young children on a flight is a bonus that should be available only to those who can pay? What if there’s an accident or strong turbulence? What if the kid needs the toilet but the seatbelt sign is on and they wet themselves? My kids get travel sick - does an unrelated seat mate want to deal with that? Does this policy apply to all kids in seats? Two year olds? Three year olds?

Your husband sounds like a controlling jerk, but budget airlines are fucking obscene and we should as a society push back. The level of ‘you should have paid’ and ‘everyone knows’ on this thread. But why have we been duped into thinking this is something people should expect to pay for? If everyone stopped paying for ‘extras’ which should be standard, budget airlines would stop squeezing every last penny out of us and start providing a fair price for a decent basic level of service which includes not separating young children from their parents. Instead we snipe at each other about what we paid for, when the thing itself - sitting by your loved ones - costs the company selling it to you nothing at all. It has no worth except for the worth we let them make of it.

Sorry for the rant, OP - but I would be really upset, too. Your husband simply must sort out buying seats before check in. I agree with other posters that if he can’t you have an option to buy separate flights back for you and your kids if you have access to money. You are not being silly and it’s completely understandable for this to be non-negotiable for you.

same as mentioned Edi (strangely I can call Ryanair a bunch of absolute shitbags though 😆)

TLDR none of this is travel company or airlines fault, this was always going to happen if you didnt pay at booking.

do you know your seats for the journey back?

The child was only a row in front thats what airlines mean by sat together it can be a row infront a row behind or the row at the side but this is usually under 5s. Op daughter is 8 so they honestly could have stuck her anyway.
We always book our seats while booking the flight and just see it as part of the cost. I just don't understand why you wouldn't if you had kids.

Never had an issue and I book plenty. Including Expedia. I wouldn’t travel with a partner who withheld essential travel documents from me though. Are you allowed access to your insurance policy details?

Are you just on a wind up now???

I am so intrigued as to the name of the airline.
Begins with an E but not easyJet? We used to have an error message always come back on DS’s last passport with Easyjet but now he is 15 weeks had to get him a new one and it’s fine. DD is younger and we never had a problem with her passport but maybe it is a common thing. I do really feel your pain as having to be twice on standby as unable to check in online is a pretty stressful flying experience

TUI, I suspect, or similar.

This is because they sublet out blocks of seats to specific travel conpanies and let them get on with it. And the online systems dont cooperate properly so you have to manage everything via expedia/onthe beach/loveholidays or whoever- who want to be able to upsell seats and luggage at their own (usually higher) prices.

Again, pay for seats at booking if you have to be sat together. ain your situation your odds of randomly being allocate together for free, when everyone else pays, are even less as you are limited to the expedia/whatever travel company block of only X number of seats, not the whole plane.

It’s not the airlines fault he did not pay for assigned seating (and he said he did not pay as he said he tried to select seats at check-in.)

OP please read this message.

I used to work in travel and this is not the case. Expedia is the vendor. Even if you book the holiday as a package if you look at your bank statements you will notice that there is a transfer that takes money directly from airline. Your booking is exactly the same as if you had booked directly

Sorry you were so upset, but really your DD was in very little danger. Most men don’t assault small children in public places where paid staff and the parents are close by. Next time insist on booking the flights yourself.

We book via a 3rd party and they always check us in and sort our seat numbers. Who was your 3rd party?

I would be equally upset and refuse to go on further trips with him if he can not share details. My DH shares bookings and sometimes I book and he is a very traditional husband. He opens the car door for me, he carries the heavy shopping and he empties the car. I don't strain or lift a finger but he isn't toxic. Your husband is not traditional he is just a horrid miserable uncaring man child.

Hahah yes re Ryan air! My nine year olds seat was double booked 😝 the other passenger just about accepted to move from near me

An “error” ha! More likely there was something he was meant to do to book assigned seat and he forgot and yet he’s being all patronising acting as if you’re going to mess things up.

But he didn’t pay to have you sitting together did he? So he did scrimp. Sounds like a lot of blaming others and not twat DH taking responsibility goes on.

And this is why we book direct with the airline. Third party booking sites are often rubbish at sorting out issues.

And for those saying that leaving it until 24 hrs before the flight to check in is too late, that’s policy with some airlines unless you’re a frequent flyer with them (looking at you BA).