To not book reserved flight seats for us and the kids?

[LittlePudding1]

Hi, I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old and was under the impression that even if we weren't all sat together together on a plane they would sit me with 1dc and dh with the other but a couple of people have told me they can sit you anywhere. Surely they wouldn't sit a 3 year old away from a parent and next to a random stranger, would they?

But what's your take on the £7 muffins Nice?

See, still no comment in the people who are asking you to move because there were no seats together when the booked.

Probably because it's easier to froth about the entitled.

midnite

maybe different planes have different configurations

It is certainly possible that a low cost airline would only put them in certain rows, to avoid extra weight/maintenance/costs

or some of what is being said on this thread is inaccurate

Either way I wouldn't expect a couple, say, or a person who is feeling stressed, to think to assist a toddler in an emergency situation.

I guess that some airlines are also operating on the "it's not going to happen" mentality, which is always a bad move.

concrete easy I eat before i get on the plane

I only go uk/ireland on ryanair on business so am by myself and all relaxed and fine. excellent opportunity to catch up on some reading.

I do blame the airlines who have got all grabby about this. I think though rather than not paying for the pre-booked seats, the world as a whole would be better off if we all stopped taking cheap flights altogether - Michael O'Leary would soon stop being such an annoying belligerent arse if his airline was losing custom. Flying is not cheap and shouldn't be, and no-one is 'entitled' to be able to fly off on an allegedly cheap holiday. Suck it up and expect that there are costs to it.

Likewise, am fairly at the level of condemnation for people who say they'd refuse to move, having paid, for people who hadn't paid, compared to the relative lack of criticism of those saying they would just read their book and ignore their own distressed child so that they could get one over on the airline and the person who didn't want to move. There's no moral high ground in that attitude.

I'd say there is a fairly even split on this thread to be honest. Some of us pay the cash for an easy life, ensure that our kids are close by and enjoy the muffins. Some of us DON'T pay the cash and prefer to make an issue whilst expecting other people to look after our children.

snazzy too cheap is too right.

My cab to the airport (40 min drive) costs more than the flight to ireland. That is ridiculous.

Oh someone upthread said they wouldn't assist with a toddler in an emergency situation (oxygen etc).

Not great, is it.

that's why you stick them next to a parent. To, you know, look after them and all.

i can't see how sitting a 2 or 3 yo away from it's parent is going to be positive for anyone.

Its been a few years now since I did my airline training but I am sure there was at some point some CAA legislation that strongly recommended airlines sat children under a certain age with their accompanying adult - for reasons of safety during an emergency situation. I have the feeling it is/was a grey area though because it was only a recommendation as opposed to a stipulated rule.

If this still exists then it basically means that its at the total discretion of the airline where they sit you and where they try to sit you.

Having in the past (years ago before paying for reserved seating existed) worked on check in - I would imagine if no policy exists and the check in agent is maxed out (long queues/boarding/gate closure time approaching) and you are not early to check in then you will all get seated where the computer suggests. The only thing that may help you is to be at the front of the check in queue - but even that wont guarantee anything.

I pre-booked seat for a trip to Canada for Mr DH and Dt's 7 months old at the time with sky cots, we where put all over the plane, told sky cot where only for babies under x pounds, don't actually remember now what is was but both mine as premmies where way under the weight, they then said it was babies under 6 months, I pointed out they would be if born on due date...at this point the host..haha, said well we don't have any.
we would have spent the flight juggling babies if it haddn't been for a wonderful family from Birmingham, who where all travelling for a funeral, brother of the 3 ladies I was next to, he had 10 year old twin boys, My boys spent the flight being passed around fussed, cradled, feed and basically cared for the whole flight, every so often I would ask where they where and a family member who stand up holding a baby alight, all round the plane, the ladies next to me didn't speak English, but another family member said there was around 40 to 50 family members on the plane.
on the way back a very vocal American lady saw us caste to the four winds and insisted on us being moved together despite the hostesses protest, apparently we needed to be in the central section as a spare O2 mask is there, this flight was half empty and yet despite my booking we where not together! just took asking a couple next to me to move, they appeared delighted, they got a 3 seat section to themselves.
the American lady I talked to later and she had 5 year old twin girls and said how feed up she was with the way airlines could not use some common sense and took our money and when at our most vulnerable, ie a plane so no higher authority to appeal to at that moment. choice is fly or end up arrested

Tabard, that info came from someone who is involved in aircraft engineering for Boeing. I don't know what individual airlines do.

That said, I'm always wary of low cost airlines. Not sure what else they are cutting costs on. We had a cas here of a budgt airline being shut down for safety concerns. If I'm flying through the air in a metal tube, I want to be sure that the airline is looking after those tubes.

Concrete would you feel the same way if a person had booked too late to reserve sears, or all the seats were gone when booking? It's a simple question.

I agree it's the airlines who are at fault, all of this is so unnecessary.

I can't believe that people aren't more pissed off at the scuzzy greedy anics of these airlines bt just calmly accept it without a murmur. They are often not that cheap, especially if you don't book way in advance. Sometimes the scheduled more expensive airlines can compete once you add in all the extra crap. Folk in the UK accept any old shite and then say thank you for that shite.

But what you're saying there, Concrete, is that you can pay more and look after your own children or pay less and not look after your own children. That's why this is an economically screwy move on the part of the airline.

Little pudding with Thompson yes book .... In the past I found that the allocating of non prebooked seats very random . they might have changed this but on return flights where Thomson were not doing the handling as the outbound the changing of the seat allocations was a nightmare . On many occasions overriding the sent allocations took time and as they have a fast turnround sometimes they were reluctant to do it. i was a 'naice' person and always insisted in finding seats to try and put people together and yes with a small child I moved 2 people from the pre booked seats - shoved the cash in the hand for a refund and gave them a complimentary drink on board ....mind you that was a good few years ago so the computer systems one would hope now take this into account and staff are just as naice as I was......

It is the airlines fault. I think that if you sit your 3 year old next to someone and say 'this nice lady will look after you' and tell the 'nice lady' that she might need to have a sick bag ready there will be a swap!
Airlines shouldn't be making money out of making you pay extra to sit next to your child.

There is a very simple solution to all of this:

If you book with children below whatever the given age is you have to pay to sit at least one adult with your child. If you dont pay or there isnt room then you dont get a reservation.

Airlines have stripped down the service to the level of bus or train travel (I'm just waiting for strap hanging to come in). If you get on a bus or a train without a seat reservation then the driver wont sort it out so that you can sit with this or that person. You have to sort it out yourself.

In the good old days a white gloved steward would usher you to your seat. Problem is that the ticket price matched this. If you want cheap travel then everything is an extra.

floggingmoly.
I said earlier I was sat next to a kid of about four.
I had paid for my seat, her parents hadn't. I wouldn't/ didn't take responsibility for her. Every. Time she needed something the person on the other side called flight attendants to get the parents to sort it out.
Harsh but other kids are not my problem if parents are in the vicinity.

To the posters saying that if no one paid, this wouldn't be a problem, I disagree.

Planes come in different sizes with different seating configurations, and families comes in different sizes too.

If lots of families of four checked in first to a plane that had two sets of seats, each with six seats on a row, three either side of the aisle, then those early families would probably get four seats in a row, with one seat on the other side of the aisle to the others. That would leave lots of spaces of two seats together, and inevitably the later families of more than two people would be spread across those.

So even without people paying to book seats, you would still end up with some families separated.

I understand that airlines are making money out of something that don't have to make money out of, but if people want the option of paying to avoid being split up, or they want the option of paying so that they don't have to get to the check in desk ridiculously early, then it's right that the airline should offer it. Otherwise they simply can't accommodate all families sitting together as they would want to.

It isn't just the budget airlines, BA charges GBP 40 to book a seat from Dubai/UK/Dubai (not sure about other legs).

I see that i am outnumbered but i have one question to ask:

Why does your need to sit with your child trump my need not to move my seat?

As i have said earlier... I WILL HELP YOU WITH your child. I'm JUST NOT MOVING. I have taken steps to ensure that i dont have to..... if you haven't booked seats, then you havent taken steps to.

I appreciate that i am in the minority and it pleases me to know that when i refuse, there are a plane load of people who are quite happy to move.

BUT you MUST consider that there are other people with reasons for not wanting to move. IE dont expect that all people will be able to skip about the plane to accommodate you - that's just an overinflated sense of entitlement