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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:
Fontsnob · 01/09/2011 19:05

By your logic slavetofilofaxthe men may have had no choice in being tall...but they didn't have to fly knowing how tall they were.

Inertia · 01/09/2011 19:15

slavetofilofax , other posters have indicated upthread that a particular airline booking system did not allow sky cots to be prebooked, but extra legroom seats could be, which is possibly how this situation could arise.

And frankly, I don't see how the men can complain about noise created by distressed babies when they could have done something to help the situation (prebooked seats cannot be guaranteed, remember).

When I've had to deal with a toddler and baby at home, I've made sure the baby was safe by putting her in her cot then sorting the toddler. Now, if only there were something similar on planes- a sky cot perhaps...

Fontsnob · 01/09/2011 19:19

Sigh....so again, the airlines should not be creating these situations, they should be booking those with needs into the relevant seats and not charging anyone. Oh wait, isn't that what they used to do...before they realised that they could make more money out of passengers.

exoticfruits · 01/09/2011 19:19

The CAA makes it quite clear that airlines can charge extra but can't guarantee them, if safety comes first. Perhaps they need to be clearer about it. A schoolgirl, part of a party, couldn't go between 2 strange men-a toddler has to be next to parent etc-people of reduced mobility can't sit next to emergency exits etc.
They say:
Some airlines allow you to request a seat position, such as "window or aisle", and some allow you to request a specific seat before the flight, selected from a picture of the aircraft seat layout. They will usually not guarantee to honour the request, however.

exoticfruits · 01/09/2011 19:21

Exactly Fontsnob-if they are obliged to sit a toddler next to a parent there is no need to pay extra.

Animation · 01/09/2011 19:25

"Sigh....so again, the airlines should not be creating these situations, they should be booking those with needs into the relevant seats and not charging anyone. Oh wait, isn't that what they used to do...before they realised that they could make more money out of passengers."

Fontsnob.

Hear hear !!

Absolutely. Smile

Fontsnob · 01/09/2011 19:28

I need to stop getting sucked into this thread, it's giving me a nervous twitch!

JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 01/09/2011 19:29

isn't that what they used to do...before they realised that they could make more money out of passengers

No. It's what they used to do before offering absurdly inexpensive flights.

The model has changed - these days you only pay for what you need. In Ye Olden days you shelled out one hell of a lot more than £50 (or whatever) for a flight to Spain.

exoticfruits · 01/09/2011 19:31

If they want more money-PUT THE PRICE UP. It is extorting money by stealth that I object to. I don't have a 2 yr old but having found out they have to sit next to you I certainly wouldn't pay £10.
They must get into a real muddle, giving out seats and then finding it doesn't work-all unecessary.

Animation · 01/09/2011 19:35

"No. It's what they used to do before offering absurdly inexpensive flights."

Don't seem inexpensive to me. The Trans-Atlantic flights are ridiculously expensive.

Portofino · 01/09/2011 19:39

I agree - it is ridiculous. In the olden days, you could get a £10 return flight somewhere with Ryanair. And that is what it cost - £10. We did lots of cheapy weekend trips (pre dd). Now you have to pay for a fecking suitcase, to check in, for priority boarding to guarantee all sitting together etc etc. Like I posted earlier - a 10 euro "flight" price each way should have been 60 euros for the 3 of us, non? No, after all the "extras" it was about 300. It is a con! You double the cost of the flight by taking a 20kg suitcase. That is just ridiculous.

I don't mind flying Ryanair - I have never had a problem with them - but I wish they would stop their current business model and just quote you an each way price, and let you fecking book your seats on line.

Portofino · 01/09/2011 19:41

jenai - but they never used to charge for the extras. You COULD get a genuinely cheap flight. I have done so many times. My best and I got flights to Pisa one time to surprise the OHs. £3.99 as I recall. You might pay a small tax amount on top but that was it.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 01/09/2011 19:46

I'm going to get up a petition to get the flights put back to 1970s prices... that'll sort it. :)

Fontsnob · 01/09/2011 19:52

Right and do we honestly think that everyone on the plane has paid a tenner for their ticket. Or do they allocate a certain amount at the cheap price then continually raise the price the nearer to the flight date it gets? So in effect the person paying a fiver for their aisle seat could in fact still be paying less than the parent and two year old who have to sit separately. Good times.

Fontsnob · 01/09/2011 19:54

Not that I ever complained about getting a cheap flight deal, I just wouldn't complain if I got asked to move to make someones life easier for a couple of hours.

Animation · 01/09/2011 20:12

No flies on you today Fontsnob !! Grin

Fontsnob · 01/09/2011 20:14

I have been preparing for this day animation my soapbox is comfy and gleaming Grin

RosieBP · 01/09/2011 20:33

Can I throw another bombshell in the mix - my DH travelled by coach with National Express and when booking online there was a button to pay extra for priority boarding - on the coach! It's catching!

TherapeuticVino · 01/09/2011 20:34

Urgh I have just had a horrible experience relating to this and am now dreading my upcoming holiday. I booked transatlantic flights for my family of 4 online a few weeks ago (very much non-budget...). Paid by credit card and as soon as I received confirmation I went online to book seats together. The only seats left are 4 single seats in completely different parts of the aircraft.

Called the airline who said that on the day they would "do their best to seat us together or near each other" and if they couldn't we could ask people to move once we got on the plane (DDs are 6 and 9). I asked to cancel the flights, they said yes but no refund (nearly 3K) - this was within 5 minutes of booking them. I feel sick that I'm going to have to ask people to move who have booked their seats and would MUCH rather cancel and book on another airline but I can't. Miserable, and I'm going to have to do the same on the way home which I will be worried about all holiday :(

Fontsnob · 01/09/2011 20:45

Perhaps we can extend this idea to the car...make the dsds pay and book in advance to stop squabbling over who sits where. Grin

Malificence · 01/09/2011 20:47

Look, as I said much earlier on the thread - Airlines only pre allocate a percentage of seats - there will be a minimum of 40% of seats available at check in - if you have booked with Virgin or BA etc. you can go into online check in the day before flying and they will have released more seats, even if you don't , as long as you get to the airport for when check in opens, you will not be separated - it's only those towards the back of the line that get split up.
Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

Therapeuticvino, you are worrying over nothing, all it means is that the preallocated seats have been taken, not the whole plane Wink - who are you flying with?

missymarmite · 01/09/2011 20:50

Don't pay. Most airlines allow parents with small kids to board after priority boarding but before the rest of the tightwads budget passengers. You won't have problems. I am sure that most reasonable passengers will allow a parent per child, I am sure no one in their right mind would object. If they do, they can take responsibility for DC, and you can have a break Wink

donthateme · 01/09/2011 21:05

Missy- only if they provide a written guarantee to entertain your child with I spy, take them to the toilet and not to object when they throw their food over you - apparently!
(runs away from thread fast)

Andrewofgg · 02/09/2011 06:57

TherapeuticVino You and DH/DP may have to settle for two twos, each of you with one DC. Warn them befolrehand, especially 9, and decide who will sit with whom. And if you want people to move, you will have to be nice about it. And see mine of 15.53 on Tuesday about deciding whom to approach!

Catslikehats · 02/09/2011 09:05

slavetofilofax so instead of accepting my interpretation as I was there and did see what happened you would rather just call me names and attempt to justify their rudeness that you didn't wintness. Is this really how aggressive people get over the oncept of assisting someone less able?

Surely someone who is tall has as much choice to fly as someone with a baby and toddler so I don't really understand your point.

malifiance it must be different on different routes. I often fly BA as I can get tickets through the friends and family system and I am able to book specific seats earlier, if I happen to forget to check in prior to 24 hrs frequently there are no seats available. I also always get to check in 2.5hrs before travel as is the English way, unlike the ME way which is to arrive 40 mins before the plane takes off, thus I am always first to check in and still have the issue.

This is why when I am flying with under 5's I always travel business but then apparently that takes you to a whole other level of selfishness Wink