I effed up our holiday

[poppysgalore]

Flying out tomorrow on easyJet - family of five - first time on easyJet- had no idea we had to book our seats in advance. Just logged in and seen there's only random single seats left. Except for two rows that are near the fire exits so can't be allocated to under 16s. I'm gutted ! What do we do now , my youngest is 7 and the flight is 6 hours long. How could I be so stupid and not know this.

Surely they can't force you to move? I wouldn't move if I had paid for my seats- I want to sit with DH and my own child

Most airlines have a clause in their T&Cs that says they can move you even after boarding for reasons various, often vaguely defined:

FYI this is a C&P from Easyjet’s own website:

<<

1. We reserve the right to amend your seat selection, whether before travel or on-board, for operational or safety reasons. Should we need to amend your seat selection, or if we rebook your flight as a result of a delay or cancellation, and are unable to honour that seat selection by providing a seat in the same or higher category that you have purchased, then you will be entitled to a refund of the seat fee.>>

This happened to us when flying with Tui to Lapland. Apparently policy is that under 10’s can’t fly unaccompanied so steward moved someone so my 4 year old could sit next to me.

As someone who always pays extra to reserve a seat, I’m shocked by all the people on this thread who don’t and expect others to move. Completely unreasonable and selfish.
I definitely wouldn’t be moving from a seat I have chosen and paid for, whoever is asking.

Geez. Praying I'm never on a flight with you. What an incredibly entitled attitude.

You are being a big baby.

The flight is always shite and a means to an end. Just work out getting the 7 year old sat near one of the parents and suck up the rest.

If your holiday is all about the flight you really have got the wrong priorities.

Wow I'm amazed at what arseholes some people are when they get on a plane.

I'm scared of flying and I really don't give a shit where I sit because we're all going to hit the ground at the same speed if we crash (you're welcome)
I would absolutely swap with a parent though; in an emergency landing I don't want you pushing the wrong way along the aisle to try and reach your kids.

Im also wondering if the people who think you can put headphones on and ignore a 7yo, have ever met a 7yo 🤔

How thrilling though to know that all it takes to deter child sex abuse is to loudly „set expectations“. It’s going to revolutionise things!

I have a seven year old niece.

If she was a stranger I absolutely would ignore her on a flight. If she's disruptive I'm calling the flight attendants.

let us know how you get on OP. Hopefully alright at least in terms of the 7yo. I know my 9yo would not be happy on his own.

For future ref if you check in a month before you shouldnt need to prebook seats though its a good idea if you want to be 100% sure. Easyjet will normallykeep you broadly together if they can, ryanair will NOT.

better still, get DH to sort as before then he can get the blame it it goes wrong.

Hope you have a great trip.

There is nothing wrong with never having flown with easyJet before, have a lovely holiday. Whether you revert to BA or other carriers is your decision.

Just please never fly with Ryanair ever. You would not want to work for a man like Michael O'Leary, I would not, hence I never fly with them.

It's all parents have in some situations.

Like I said, my child is now of an age where he has to navigate the men's changing-rooms on his own. Short of standing outside and noisily making it very clear that I'm there checking up on him constantly, what else can I do?

Im also wondering if the people who think you can put headphones on and ignore a 7yo, have ever met a 7yo 🤔

Yes. And I know that if you give in to their demands for attention (if you’re not their carer/parent) once, it will not end. I once played the most agonising game of Peek a boo with a child on a train for over an hour. Eventually had to go and stand between the carriages to escape. I’d be very firmly ‘establishing some expectations’ of my own.

Im also wondering if the people who think you can put headphones on and ignore a 7yo, have ever met a 7yo 🤔

Eh? I have a 7yo. If I lost my brain and didn’t book a seat and she somehow ended ip next to a stranger, she’d stick her headphones on and watch her iPad and eat snacks - why on earth would she interact with the stranger next to her? She’s 7, not 2

Either that or children’s tickets in particular will rise to absorb that cost. Most airlines do what they can to keep to headline price as low as possible, so if they can add it just to the affected party they will. That when the majority of passengers (who don’t have young children) are on Skyscannner, they still come out lowest in price.

@toastofthetown

Either that or children’s tickets in particular will rise to absorb that cost. Most airlines do what they can to keep to headline price as low as possible, so if they can add it just to the affected party they will. That when the majority of passengers (who don’t have young children) are on Skyscannner, they still come out lowest in price.

That might be a way of doing it, though I can hear the howls of “not fair” already.

OP - just to say, you need a working email for this. If there are issues they will email you. My last Ryanair flight I had an email telling me to arrive early due to problems at the airport. I wouldn’t have done so if I had t got the email and things were chaotic and we could have missed our flight.

Next time, always use a suitable email address and ready very carefully and check all the correspondence before you go. I say this as someone with ADHD who has fucked up booking flights many, many times!!!

I thought on budget airlines like easyjet the pricing was not discounted for children, just not subject to tax.

Their seat allocation is free on Ryanair, if that’s what you’re referring to? You pay to select adult seats.

No meant the actual fares

Not an expert because I’ve never flown with children, but a random flight to Egypt in a month has the child ticket (2-15) cheaper than the adult ticket.

If I had paid extra for my seat I certainly wouldn't move for anyone who hasn't had the foresight to ensure that their child would be sitting next to them. All these entitled people make me sick.

Yes, lots and I could do it very easily. Oh and you must have completely ignored the reasons people have given for choosing their seat. I have a weak bladder and need the aisle seat. Forcing me to give that up or divulge private information because someone hasn’t booked most certainly does not make me a arsehole, it makes you one especially when it could be classed as a disability.

But not all 7yo are like that. Neither of mine would have been.

Without a parent there to rein him in my DS1 would definitely tell everyone round him his whole life story, whether they wanted to hear it or not!
He would probably make a right song and dance about any food as well - he drops/spills everything!

He is also the biggest fidgeter - I can't even cope with sitting on the same sofa as him.

And lord help anyone near him if his brother was in the vicinity, the fighting, arguing, winding each other up would be unbearable.

My youngest would be terrified and probably cry for the whole flight if not next to a family member.

I would never expect another passenger to look after them. But just being sat next to them and ignoring them still isn't going to mean that passenger has a pleasant flight!

Obviously, I would book and pay for us to have seats together, but I think it stupid of airlines not to sit children with a parent as standard. It would be bloody awful for the other passengers and that's without the safety aspect of what would happen in the event of an emergency (my DS1 also has allergies so there's the risk of anaphylaxis to throw into the mix. And my DS2 gets travel sick!)

I know the OP hasn’t done this on purpose, but suggesting she tries to get other passengers to move is rather like suggesting someone doesn’t bother with travel insurance and relies on crowd funding to pay their Turkish hospital bill …