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.

Not sure why some are doubting that part of this story…Easy do some long routes these days, have a look at for example Gatwick - Sharm el Sheik…that’s scheduled at not far short of 6 hours…

Used to be a very long day out for their Cabin Crew because they did it as a round trip, two sector day ….probably still do.

Presumably you then avoid any problems by paying to book seats together then.

Children who travel alone have to sit next to strangers

If he's stuck alone in a window seat, how do you think he's going to be able to keep getting up and down constantly? What if there's turbulence and you can't get up at all?

I firmly believe OP is at fault for not checking in and reserving seats but I can totally see why she's anxious too.

It happens. But equally it might be something like an adult refusing to get up to let a child out or making them feel uncomfortable for another reason.

Children aren't very good at advocating for themselves, which is why ideally they'd have an adult close by to advocate for them. In situations where that's not possible, you just have to do the best you can to make sure they know it's ok to need help and to speak up.

Though it is surely a conversation you have with your child before you get on the plane, privately, rather than loudly in front of the whole plane where you just look unhinged?

????

It's the airline's problem if guidance is that the younger children sit within reach of a responsible adult. It's the airline's problem if someone tried to go the wrong way during an evacuation to reach a child. If it's just a preference- sure. But for younger children airlines are generally quite keen on following the guidance. They won't care about a 12 yo, they would care about a younger child.

You don't just pay to rattle around in a tube. You pay for the airline to implement safety protocols and manage the cabin safely (that's actually what cabin crew do, not just serve snacks). If their stupid pricing model means that sometimes a problem arises, it's incumbent on them to manage it. It's not like it's a new issue for EJ, it will happen on literally every flight.

If DH and I travel alone we don't book seats, we don't move sitting apart on a flight after 15 years! So I'd be in a randomly allocated seat and happy to swap rather than sit next to a lone child in my childfree time, make it clear it was a mistake though, I'd be less favourable to the pp who said she's too stingy to book so just asks people to swap. If I travel with DS we always book seats to be together so I wouldn't swap then but I wouldn't be rude about it

Actually no, they'd probably forget it. They're much more likely to remember it if sat in their seat and I can point out to them where the button is to call the cabin crew, where the toilets are and where Mummy is sitting.

Tbh I wouldn't worry about looking unhinged so long as my child was reassured as to what to do in an emergency. How I appeared to compete strangers wouldn't be my priority over my child (just like I wouldn't expect other passengers to prioritise my child by swapping seats).

A free drink? I'd want free access to the drinks trolley!

Of course you point out all the things in the first paragraph.

For the rest, "Remember what we talked about at home, if you feel uncomfortable? Great. Now we're just up here if you need us and we'll come and see you soon to make sure you're happy." No need for the theatrics of 'the people next to you might try to molest you (effectively)'.

Likewise with the ???

Easy made about £8 profit per average passenger for the second quarter of 2024….that sort of figure is not atypical across the industry (after a few horrific years of being in the red)

Obviously the actual structure causes issues for some but that’s not down to gouging.

*I can't believe people would get upset about a young child sitting alone being reminded what to do if they are being made uncomfortable for any reason.

I would never expect someone to swap seats, but it's not reasonable to say "ok I won't swap seats, but I also object to you telling your child what to do if they need help."*

No problem with a parent telling their child how to get help if they need it. But that's not what you were saying. You described loudly telling your child in the presence of the people sitting next to them that no one should be touching them etc - so that everyone knew your expectations. As an adult I don't care what your expectations are and don't need to know someone is "looking out" for their child. Especially when "looking out" for said child didn't extend to actually booking and paying for their child to sit next to them.

You know exactly what you said, your faux naivety now you've been challenged doesn't change the fact.

You are being a bit dramatic. Just check in and ask someone if they want to swap.

I'd tell my kids whatever I thought would keep them safest in this situation, and it is zero concern of any of the adults round about.

"You do you" goes two ways.

Get to the check in and gate early. Ask at the check in desk and ask at the gate.

If you’re sitting 15 rows away because you weren’t bothered enough to pre-book seats, then loud proclaiming that no one can touch them, is actually doing squat all to keep them safe in reality.

You should have booked the exit row seats for the adults. People will absolutely swap to get one of those!

I was in one on my way back from Corfu a few weeks ago, I could literally stretch my legs all the way out.

The other side of that is that if I was inclined to help your child in anyway (like if they needed help with opening something for their meal or whatever), there's less chance I'd even look at them. Wouldn't want to be accused of anything.

If you care about your child's safety, you make sure you pay to book them next to you. I always did that.

Hopefully the child won't decide the adult is taking too much armrest and declare that the person next to them is making them uncomfortable.

I would and have always paid for seat bookings, but this is how I would manage the situation in the OP's place

I thought that children under a certain age had to be seated with an adult? So they'll have to seat you together anyway. I've never worried about it or paid the extra for pre-booked seats with Easyjet and always ended up being seated with my kids.

gouging

What does this mean in this context? goughing someone's eyes out, understandable, non-sensical in the context of that post

Nope, as someone posted way back for the UK at least the regulator has made “their view” known and has published guidance on the subject but not rules.

Here’s a link:

www.caa.co.uk/passengers-and-public/before-you-fly/making-a-booking/airline-seating-allocations/

I thought that children under a certain age had to be seated with an adult?

No they don’t have to do so. There are guidelines from the CAA, and even there next to can be across a row but they are just that and they are not the law. Airlines can have own stricter individual policies if they wish.