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Original poster

Terrible parent expects others to care for toddler on flight...

22 replies

TrussSucks · 24/10/2022 23:39

I booked a last minute holiday today for me and my 2 yr old, leave next week. Only problem is, the plane is pretty much full on the way out so I wasn't able to book seats together for a fee (I did try!). So obviously I let the system allocate us seats for free and I currently have a wonderful 4 hour flight with an unknown member of the public babysitting my toddler a short distance away, bliss.

I rang Jet2 and they assured me people would be moved so I'd have to actually look after my own child so now I'm going to be that person on the flight who people glare at for being foisted out of their specially chosen seats aren't I?

OP posts:
rustcohlesmug · 24/10/2022 23:43

Better than being the person that sits at a distance from their toddler, surely?

Original poster
TrussSucks · 24/10/2022 23:45

Yeah but people (on MN at least) always blame the parent for being too tight to pay to pre-book seats. Maybe I'll stick a post-it on my forehead saying I tried.

OP posts:
madnesss · 24/10/2022 23:49

I'm a bit surprised an airline allowed you to book a single seat for a 2 year old tbh. I would be contacting them.

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Behaviour & development Families Flying Holidays
madnesss · 24/10/2022 23:50

Urgh, ignore me. You have spoken to them Blush

AnotherDelphinium · 24/10/2022 23:52

All you can do is offer to swap, and if they don’t want to, let them get on with it 😁

I imagine if they really don’t want to move, they’ll engineer some sort of three+ way swap, as understandably they probably don’t want to move from travelling as a party to middle of the row seats!

DifficultBloodyWoman · 24/10/2022 23:53

You inform the check in staff when you check in - they may be able to sort it out for you immediately.

If they can’t or don’t, you tell the gate staff and cabin crew when boarding.

And when they speak to other passengers about moving you say ‘I’m sorry, I tried to pay for seats together but none were available’.

When someone moves, you say ‘Thank you, I’m so sorry to have inconvenienced you’.

CheezePleeze · 24/10/2022 23:53

so now I'm going to be that person on the flight who people glare at for being foisted out of their specially chosen seats aren't I?

No, they'll move someone who hasn't pre-chosen their seat.

XanaduKira · 24/10/2022 23:55

DifficultBloodyWoman · 24/10/2022 23:53

You inform the check in staff when you check in - they may be able to sort it out for you immediately.

If they can’t or don’t, you tell the gate staff and cabin crew when boarding.

And when they speak to other passengers about moving you say ‘I’m sorry, I tried to pay for seats together but none were available’.

When someone moves, you say ‘Thank you, I’m so sorry to have inconvenienced you’.

This.

But I reckon you'll be seated together as I've never known an airline to seat a child as young as 2 away from their parents (even the crap airlines!).

HoppingPavlova · 16/12/2022 04:24

Yeah but people (on MN at least) always blame the parent for being too tight to pay to pre-book seats. Maybe I'll stick a post-it on my forehead saying I tried.

But you didn’t try. You say yourself, you booked a last minute flight, still going ahead with it knowing you couldn’t get seats together. When I’ve gone to book flights where I couldn’t get seats together I either rearranged dates, or where I couldn’t I shelved the holiday. What I didn’t do was shrug my shoulders and think the plane could all move about to accomodate us. So, you can stick what you like on your head but what does it change?

Likewise, I’ve had flights cancelled and rearranged where our new seats were not together. I contacted the airline and made it their problem to fix, not mine on the flight, and in two cases it was supposedly physically impossible for them as we had been given the last seats on the next flight after our cancelled one. I made them put us together on the one after and we stayed an extra night. It’s about planning and not being that person who wants to sit together but has planned poorly and someone needs to race from the airport off to work early the next morning or whatnot so they believe that trumps a plane load of passengers and everyone had to shuffle to accomodate them.

Winterflorals · 16/12/2022 04:30

That is perhaps taking the ‘op is in the wrong’ mentality a tad too far, @HoppingPavlova

Liorae · 16/12/2022 04:35

That's fine. If your kid was sitting next to me I would be doing nothing for it.

amylou8 · 16/12/2022 04:45

I thought it was a legal requirement that a child that young be sat, not necessarily next to, but within arm's reach of the adult responsible for them? I'd not check-in online and go to the desk as soon as it opens. They'll almost certainly be other people yet to check-in that haven't pre-booked seats that they can move around.

Liorae · 16/12/2022 04:52

TrussSucks · 24/10/2022 23:39

I booked a last minute holiday today for me and my 2 yr old, leave next week. Only problem is, the plane is pretty much full on the way out so I wasn't able to book seats together for a fee (I did try!). So obviously I let the system allocate us seats for free and I currently have a wonderful 4 hour flight with an unknown member of the public babysitting my toddler a short distance away, bliss.

I rang Jet2 and they assured me people would be moved so I'd have to actually look after my own child so now I'm going to be that person on the flight who people glare at for being foisted out of their specially chosen seats aren't I?

Yes, and you will deserve it.

lifeinthehills · 16/12/2022 04:56

Did you leave booking till the last minute? When I prebook my seats there are always plenty of options to choose seats together.

I would refuse to swap seats with you, two year old or not. I'd be traveling with a special needs adult who needs support, so not able to move. I also wouldn't look after someone else's toddler if next to me. Had my time doing that. Neither would my special needs travel companion who is likely to completely ignore the toddler and find them irritating.

I'm sure the airline would sort something out. Otherwise you might have a toddler in your lap for the flight.

JMAngel1 · 16/12/2022 05:00

Good lord, get a grip people.
This has made me giggle - a two year old sat on their own!
Of course people will move for you to be able to sit with him/her (not it @Liorae - this is a parenting website FFS) because they're adults not two year olds.

Enjoy your holiday and don't worry about it - just say thank you to whoever has moved for you and maybe send a drink over to them during the flight.

user1494050295 · 16/12/2022 05:00

A little older but my daughter (9)and I were upgraded to Club from LHR to Singers. Separate seats. Loved it. Person next to her didn’t care

Liorae · 16/12/2022 05:06

lifeinthehills · 16/12/2022 04:56

Did you leave booking till the last minute? When I prebook my seats there are always plenty of options to choose seats together.

I would refuse to swap seats with you, two year old or not. I'd be traveling with a special needs adult who needs support, so not able to move. I also wouldn't look after someone else's toddler if next to me. Had my time doing that. Neither would my special needs travel companion who is likely to completely ignore the toddler and find them irritating.

I'm sure the airline would sort something out. Otherwise you might have a toddler in your lap for the flight.

In case you haven't noticed, there have been numerous articles in the press about parents who think other passengers who have paid for their seats have been asked by lazy non seat booking parents to move.

lifeinthehills · 16/12/2022 05:10

Liorae · 16/12/2022 05:06

In case you haven't noticed, there have been numerous articles in the press about parents who think other passengers who have paid for their seats have been asked by lazy non seat booking parents to move.

Show quote history

I've seen it. I assume those people are asking passengers of their own accord rather than getting the staff to reassign seats.

I'd be polite but my response would be, "I'm sorry, I need to sit with my companion due to their care needs. You'll need to ask someone else." Their last minuteness is not my problem. My companion is my responsibility and concern.

Liorae · 16/12/2022 05:13

I totally agree, but it seems to be a Mumsnet thing that child overrides disabled or elderly. I think it's a bit sick myself.

lifeinthehills · 16/12/2022 05:16

Liorae · 16/12/2022 05:13

I totally agree, but it seems to be a Mumsnet thing that child overrides disabled or elderly. I think it's a bit sick myself.

I guess I could always make a pain of myself constantly having to stand over them to make sure my disabled companion is fed and getting their needs met.

The special needs adult is my child. Mama bear will not budge on this.

tbtf · 16/12/2022 05:18

@HoppingPavlova ... she's probably already back babe, did you check the date? Hmm

HoppingPavlova · 16/12/2022 07:45

@tbtf no I didn’t babe. No idea. Must have been in the current active thread section though as I don’t go anywhere else on here so ?????

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