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Original poster

Paying for seats together on a plane...would you pay?

127 replies

louisekkh · 12/04/2022 22:55

I'm flying on a 5 hour flight in the summer with my boyfriend.
It's my first time abroad in years and I get nervous on the plane.
We are flying with TUI and it will cost £44 to pre book seats together.
Would you pay this ? Or do you think we will get sat together anyway?
I don't know what to do

OP posts:
BanjoKnockers · 12/04/2022 23:44

@CuddlyCactus

We never pay for seats and are usually sat together. Except with Ryanair, I pay then because they deliberately sit you all apart. On one flight DH had a row to himself and I had a row to myself. But they couldn't possibly have sat us together Hmm
You do know that you can move! We very rarely sit in our assigned seats. The cabin crew either don't know, or don't care, just so long as everyone is sat comfortably. Just get on last when it's clear which seats are free. You can very often sit in the emergency exit seats.
Lacedwithgrace · 12/04/2022 23:46

Pay it, it's a small price to pay to be more comfortable with flying.

IsDaveThere · 13/04/2022 01:23

I don't pay. 90% off the time, I get a seat next to DP anyway but for the 1% when I dont... 5 hours without him won't kill me!

To be honest, the worst we have ever had is across the aisle from each other, not like we were at different ends of the plane but even if we were it wouldn't matter

Interested in this thread?

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Flying Holidays
IsDaveThere · 13/04/2022 01:25

Oops, I can't add up Blush 99% of the time...

Sunnytwobridges · 13/04/2022 01:33

Definitely yes. I’m weird but the journey to get there is part of the fun. I wouldn’t want to be separated for that long.

Nevth · 13/04/2022 01:36

As long as you don't expect or ask people to move if you don't get seats together, no reason to pay but you may get seated apart.

If you absolutely have to ask someone to swap then you must offer them the better seat. I am seriously so done with being targeted (solo woman travelling for work, always paying for my seat) by people who didn't pay to reserve their seat. I'm always in a front aisle and the seat they're offering is a middle in the back. I say no and sweetly ask if they've considered asking the person in the back to move up to the better seat instead if they want to sit together - eye rolls and no takers yet...

RonaldMcDonald · 13/04/2022 01:45

If you need the reassurance, pay for it

Katedotness1963 · 13/04/2022 06:00

I would not pay the extra.

PAFMO · 13/04/2022 06:04

I've flown twice in the past week.
Both flights absolutely rammed, there would have been no manoeuvre to swap around on either.
It depends how important it is to you. I fly a lot and book my seats.

ifyouturnonthelight · 13/04/2022 06:05

I hate it when people expect you to move out of the seat you paid for with your family because they're not with theirs despite not paying... I'm not moving!

AdriannaP · 13/04/2022 06:06

If it’s important to you and you worrg about it, pay for peace of mind. I was once separated from DP on a 7 hour flight to Mexico (also TUI). This was pre-kids so didn’t mind too much.

PAFMO · 13/04/2022 06:10

@Nevth

As long as you don't expect or ask people to move if you don't get seats together, no reason to pay but you may get seated apart.

If you absolutely have to ask someone to swap then you must offer them the better seat. I am seriously so done with being targeted (solo woman travelling for work, always paying for my seat) by people who didn't pay to reserve their seat. I'm always in a front aisle and the seat they're offering is a middle in the back. I say no and sweetly ask if they've considered asking the person in the back to move up to the better seat instead if they want to sit together - eye rolls and no takers yet...

Absolutely agree. I was in my seat (paid for) with DD next to me (paid for) and a couple tried to make us move to accommodate their wishes. I said "but I've paid for these specific seats" and they called a member of the cabin crew who also tried to get me to move. And I end up looking like the bad guy for saying no. This was when the seat would have been about £8. If it was that important to Derek and Sabrina they could have paid for it like I had. Hmm Ditto the CFs who book the aisle and the window expecting the middle one to be free. (That's karmic though because then they have to give the person in the middle the better seat if they want to sit together)
CorsicaDreaming · 13/04/2022 06:15

I'd definitely pay. We once didn't with an 18 month old and assumed we'd get allocated together. We weren't! Bit of a nightmare... luckily a v kind passenger moved to let us be together, but I'd never rely on that again.

I've just paid for seats on flights, it's really not great to be jammed in so tightly with strangers, especially for a long flight if you are a nervous flyer. I would want to be near my friends / family.

I think them charging extra for seats is the worst rip off really. I can see having to pay extra for luggage due to extra weight, but the seat allocation payment is just blatant profiteering imo

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 13/04/2022 06:17

As long as you don't kick off when you can't sit together, its fine. They will prioritise families over adults though, so if its school holidays I'd definitely book.

I was once nearly last on a flight with 6yo and sleeping 4yo in my arms (delay, I'd waited to the queue had died down before standing up!) And adults had sat in my seats thinking it was a free row. They had started to claim they didn't have to move but I definitely wasn't going anywhere but beside my children in seats I had booked to avoid that problem....

Nutrigrainygoodness · 13/04/2022 06:23

I would book seats. I'm flying with TUI and to book my seats was free? Unless I wanted leg room.
We are going away in June (booked last September) I went to choose our seats on the plane ages ago (maybe January) and it was already more than half booked up. Struggled to find 3 seats together that weren't over the wing.

lickenchugget · 13/04/2022 06:27

@CornishLamb

Every time we have flown since COVID , we have all been together without booking (family of 5).

I think it’s down to COVID guidelines as there have always been some free rows on the planes as well, which they say is deliberate because of COVID.

So I wouldn’t worry about it at present.

This is not the case any longer.

OP - If you check in as soon as it opens, you should be fine, but there were families on my TUI flight last week moaning because they were not seated next to each other. The flight was full, and they won’t move any preallocated seats.

Caspianberg · 13/04/2022 06:32

I would pay

Most now you can book online for free if travelling with an under 12. As it’s a hassle when people don’t pay as young child can’t sit alone.

DiamondBright · 13/04/2022 06:35

I book, I need to be in an aisle seat so I can get up when I need to and extra leg room (disability and would feel claustrophobic trapped in a middle seat anyway ) I've booked seats next to each other across the aisle (so we're both on the end) for our holiday this summer. I always book and no I'm not moving so someone who didn't book can sit together whatever the sob story.

Roselilly36 · 13/04/2022 06:44

If you really want to sit together, pay, otherwise you could be allocates single seats rows apart. Airlines often do this, to get you to pay to move seats later. I always pay, it’s worth it if you want to guaranteed to sit together.

Roselilly36 · 13/04/2022 06:48

Our flight took of late, on Xmas Eve once, when families refused to sit down, because they weren’t seated together, other passengers asked to move etc. The plane was absolutely full, no spare seats at all. Definitely book your seats.

Rainbowqueeen · 13/04/2022 06:50

Yes unless you are ok with being seated apart. Also take into account how much sleep you will lose or worry you will feel in the time between now and when you fly.

Aposterhasnoname · 13/04/2022 06:55

Always.

TenoringBehind · 13/04/2022 06:59

If I was a nervous flyer then I think I probably would pay the extra.

I don’t and am very happy to sit on my own because I’ll see more than plenty of my family over the course of the holiday.

yearisdone51 · 13/04/2022 07:03

We always pay extra to choose our seats (both legs of the journey) when we book the tickets. I wouldn't want to sit without my family and I like choosing where I'm going to sit.

fungibletoken · 13/04/2022 07:06

I think it might have changed and I think the only way to be sure is to pay. We flew with TUI recently as a couple and I set an alarm so we could check in as soon as it was possible to do so. We were allocated seats across the aisle from each other, rather than right next to each other, even though most of the plane was still available to book at that point. We decided not to pay and when we turned up for the flight there were a number of free seats/rows that meant we could have been put together. I've never had that from TUI before - we've always been together without having to pay - so expect it's new. We saw several other couples in the same situation on the way out and back. We were allocated seats together on the way back.