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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect to be allocated airline seats next to my kids?

751 replies

correllia · 30/08/2011 13:24

My partner and I are off on holiday to menorca at the end of September with Monarch. They have emailed us to tell us we can check in online now, which saves time at the airport.

So far so good - but to complete the process I have to prebook my seats at the cost of £5 per seat per flight. We are on a tight budget and deliberately haven't bought the seats in advance to save the pennies.

Kiddies are 2 and 4, whilst I don't mind our sitting 2 and 2 apart from each other but looking at the seat plan even this option is fast disappearing! Can the airline force such young children to sit next to strangers?

Am I unreasonable to demand that we sit with them?

PS this is my first post, so please be genttle :-)

OP posts:
LessonsinL · 30/08/2011 13:27

YABU to expect the airline to make adjustments because you don't want to pre-book the seats to save money.

However, YANBU to want to sit next to your children.

Your options are: 1) book the seats, sit next to children.
2) Don't book seats, enjoy the ensuing argument on the plane/at check in when you demand to sit in seats you haven't booked.

MorelliOrRanger · 30/08/2011 13:30

I'd book the seats personally. They are too little to be sitting with strangers.

:)

scurryfunge · 30/08/2011 13:30

It is such a small amount, I would pay to save the stress.

HummelBoy · 30/08/2011 13:31

So lets just say for argument sake, I am on that flight tomorrow and I have prebooked and paid for my seats, am I to give mine and my families seats up just so you can save £40 ?

Get a grip, budget or no budget you will waste that much whilst you are on holidays.

MorelliOrRanger · 30/08/2011 13:31

To add that other people have booked their seats to sit with their families, you are going to have to do the same and quickly by the sounds of it. It's only £20.

scrambedeggs · 30/08/2011 13:31

they might split up the family but would allocate one adult to each child

FranSanDisco · 30/08/2011 13:31

Just book the seats and enjoy your holiday.

bagelmonkey · 30/08/2011 13:32

Don't spend the money. I guarantee that whoever gets to sit nextcto your kids will be more than happy to swap with you.

Andrewofgg · 30/08/2011 13:33

Book them. If you don't you have no right to expect others to move. If for example I have booked a window or an aisle, according to my preference, and paid for it, I expect that to be honoured - not changed to suit the preference of parents who were trying to save a fiver a head.

spamm · 30/08/2011 13:33

I thought that legally you could not be sat apart from children that young on a plane? Obviously that does not mean that the airline will not be really difficult and make your life miserable.

Sharney · 30/08/2011 13:33

Agree with LessonsinL. Sorry but if you want to sit with your children you are (unfortunately) going to have to pay for the privilege.

scrambedeggs · 30/08/2011 13:34

THEY WILL NOT PUT A SMALL CHILD WITH A STRANGER

Its more than their public relations dept is worth if something goes wrong

carpetlover · 30/08/2011 13:35

Its a pain but I would bite the bullet and pay. I have known friends argue this about their 3yr old but the airline refused to budge. They were going to Greece and the best the airline could offer was two seats one seat apart as someone had, strangely I thought, booked the middle seat. So they had to fly with one sat one seat away from the 3yr old and the other sat a few rows back. It's not great but I just look at the seat cost as an essential part of the overall holiday cost.

Itsjustafleshwound · 30/08/2011 13:36

But they can't let them sit with strangers - don't you have to be accommodated??

from their website

''When booking extra legroom or group seating, children aged 15 years and under MUST be seated as part of your party adjacent to one adult aged 16 years or over.''

They are legally obliged to seat your children with one parent

cleanteeth · 30/08/2011 13:37

We've just come back from our hols and had the same dilema before we went. we didnt book as it just seems like a total rip off (£15 each!!) but we all ended up sitting next to each other anyway. if you mention it when you check in im sure they'll do what they can to have you together

HummelBoy · 30/08/2011 13:38

They will not put a small child with a stranger, but by the time they have reorganised the plane the OP, will be the well deserved recipient of "hard stares". I would refuse to move, and technically if everyone refused to move, they would have to offload the OP and her family.

Who will then have to rebook, and I bet will pay more than £40 for the privilege.

Katiepoes · 30/08/2011 13:39

Yes, but they don't have to seat the four of them together. Pay it or put up with being split up. I've paid ours (under protest as we're already paying extra to have a seat for DD and not my lap) and will refuse if we are asked to move.

Itsjustafleshwound · 30/08/2011 13:39

The preference seating is always at the discretion of the airline and is not a right ...

Andrewofgg · 30/08/2011 13:39

No fleshwound YOU are obliged to pay so that you are sitting with your DCs. They can't break another person's booking.

Having said which, shame on the (wo)man with the middle seat who would not agree to change. Was (s)he asked, carpetlover?

scrambedeggs · 30/08/2011 13:39

"Children should be seated where they can be adequately supervised by an accompanying adult in the event of turbulence or a decompression in the cabin.

Children, accompanied by adults, should ideally be seated in the same seat row as the adult."

btw they class sitting together as in front or behind or across the aisle

Itsjustafleshwound · 30/08/2011 13:42

What I have read and seen there is no way that they will make a child sit away from a parent - it is illegal

PerryCombover · 30/08/2011 13:42

I think it's a pisstake asking you to pay more to be seated together
They should include it in the cost and stop all this stealth pricing after purchase.

There is no way they will split you and your children up but might seat you 2 and 2

I'd pay it

Itsjustafleshwound · 30/08/2011 13:43

They are not breaking a booking - they are breaking a PREFERENCE (seat choice)

Inertia · 30/08/2011 13:44

found this from CAA

www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=1770&pagetype=90&pageid=9855

So they don't have to guarantee to sit you with your children- but if you get separated, I can't imagine the other passengers would be that impressed at sitting with an unaccompanied 2yo. For that reason, I'd imagine the airline would try to sit each child with an accompanying adult. It's annoying though, like another airline stealth tax.

LindsayWagner · 30/08/2011 13:44

I flew Easyjet this summer and they went to great pains to seat a family with under 5s together 2 x 2, asked ppl to move etc. One guy got shirty and the cabin leader went all hatchet faced and said, 'you might not be flying at all if you keep up this attitude.. ' [shock ] but also a bit [awe].