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?

by the way... if I cant afford to pay for the seat bookings.... I dont fly.

thats what reasonable people do

Oh Lordy you really don't get it do you? I didn't expect nor ask anyone to move for me. I dealt with the situation by using my time so as not to inconvenience anyone else.
I absolutely don't think that someone who has paid for their seat should move for me. I do think the airlines, who know the age of the passengers way in advance should automatically accommodate parents with young children sitting together.
Out of interest how do you justify the difference in pricing to reserve seats, a service which doesn't actually cost the airline anything? £10 for this destination, £15 for another, doubled the cost over the phone, £3 with easyjet. These are not standard charges but immoral money grabbing schemes.

Earlier this month I flew Ryanair with my dh and 2 teens. We hadn't booked seats and were one of the last few to board.

An elderly couple were being boarded immediately in front of us. He was about 80, but seemed fit and able. She was the same sort of age, but was being boarded in a wheelchair with airport assistance staff. This couple had booked seats over the wing, where the emergency exits are, these seats have extra legroom, but You have to be a fit adult to sit in those seats. The cabin crew staff wouldn't allow them to sit there. They were moved and dh and I were seated there with our two teens sat together a few rows away. Later on in the flight the elderly man approached us and ranted at us that we'd been seated in the seats he paid for.

On the return flight the plane was full again. A family boarded after us without reserved seats, man, woman, young child and teen. Cabin crew staff found seats so the the woman and the young child could sit together, but there were no other 2 seats together so the man and the teen were told to sit separately. The man refused to sit down and was demanding to sit with his daughter. Cabin crew asked a few people to swap seats, but no one would. The pilot asked the man to sit down, so he did, but he sat the teen on his knee. Obviously that wasn't going to be allowed. We missed our departure slot and the plane take off ended up being delayed about an hour. Eventually someone agreed to swap, but people were fuming with this man and calling for him to be chucked off the flight.

If its important that you sit together, you HAVE to prebook.

I agree with you tomorowisanotherday. I dont see why people assume that they can demand something for free (ie the right to sit with a particular person) which everyone else has to pay for especially when to get what they havent paid for they have to disrupt someone who has paid.

Out of interest I had a look through Ryan Air's reservation process and it is quite clear that to reserve a seat then you have to pay for it. So why does this come as a surprise to people? It is quite clear at the time of making a booking. To fly Stansted to Maastricht with a reserved seat is £120 return per head with luggage, £90 without luggage. This still seems a bargain to me.

I am guessing that people get sulky when they realise that the base price is only for a seat on the plane. Everything else has to be paid for.

I agree with midnight, there is a spare mask on every block if seats on every row. So if you are two adults with two one-year-olds you would be able to sit on the same row but across the aisle from each other.

I have reserved seats in the past but mainly so dh can help with dd. I would be very unhappy if dd was sat away from both of us when she was at an age when she still needed help.

I don't understand the need to be sat with older kids/ family and friends on a flight if there isn't spaces.
If you are a nervous flyer or your kids need supervision for what ever reason, fair enough reserve your seats together.

We just roll up and sit where we can, in fact it's nice to be separate from them for a bit, especially when I'm going. To be in their company 24 hours a day for the next week or two more or less.i can survive without being next tome.

In fact one friend in particular I'm glad not to sit next to, she never shuts up! My boys bicker like mad when I'm near them but barely move a muscle sat next to someone else!!

amic I agree. In my old (child free) life I wasn't really that bothered if I sat by dh or not so we didn't bother. We nearly always got seats together. Now we have dd (and ds but at 3 weeks old he's not that we'll travelled) we pay the extra as we really really want seats together.

Seems sensible to me - those that want the seats together slightly subsidise the flexible ones.

I have never been on a flight that I had to pay extra for securing seats on, seriously! Who would do that? Can you not see that it is just a way to make your part with more money?

If I didn't gets seats with my 4yr old & 9 yr old, this would happen

9 yr old would sob uncontrollably the entire flight, between vomiting & asking for her parents, because well, you know, some kids like to be with their parents, cos like, it makes them feel all safe & shit!

4yr old would would start off upset, throw an almighty fit & then realise that this is actually a great thing because she can do what the hell she likes & she bloody well would! Including talking to death who ever was next to her & probably climbing all over them & kicking seats (not that she does that normally, but tell me, how many unsupervised pre schoolers are going to sit nicely?)

You would probably end up with your dinner on you, perhaps your drink too oh & hers too. And make no mistake that she will order coke & sunkist (no, she isn't allowed them) & be on a sugar high for the whole time (oh & she would probably vomit too as she has no idea of when to stop eating)

You would also probably have to move several times for her endless desire to see use the toilet, because she can. But you can't ignore this, because you will have NO idea exactly when she does need the loo (& it could happen at the point that she is climbing over you). If you don't oblige & move, she WILL climb over you/your legs to get out. Also, she will relentless put her tray up & down & the people in front of her will think she belongs to you & be pissed off with you! Oh & good luck if she wets herself!

After a while she will get bored & want you to play or have you read her book. Try saying no...go on, I dare ya! I bloody double dare ya in fact!

She may sleep (although she didn't on a 13hr flight from Dubai - Australia) so you might get some peace.

When we are at our destination, I will come get her, and tell you that I hope the entertainment was worth you being precious over your seat! I of course, will be thoroughly refreshed & clean, tidy & ready for my holiday. You might not be.

But if you like the idea of that, I hope I get you next time I fly Australia - London.

'if it were next to me (nervous flier) I will have my headphones on with eyes shut, thinking calm thoughts so I wont notice'

hahahaha!! Good luck with that if you have my two-year-old screaming right next to you.

I don't prebook seats because for our next flight on ryanair, that would amount to an extra 200 quid on tickets we can barely afford already. I love the idea that someone thinks that amounts to a massive sense of entitlement and that I don't care about my children as a result. The attitudes I see MN amazes me sometimes. Luckily, I know from past experience that the vast majority of the world don't think like this - people have never been other than super helpful when I've been travelling with small children.

I chose to have kids, I choose to take them on holiday so I should pay to sit next to them

What do you think you pay for when you hand your money over? You aren't paying for the privilege to stand in an airport for a few hours, or for them to get your luggage when you need it to go, you are paying FOR YOUR SEATS. Why would you give them more money for your seat, that you have already paid for???

I paid $11,000 for 4 flights to the UK. Airlines can get fucked if they think I would pay anything additional on top to secure a seat!

Nobody, but nobody has answered this question. I will make it clear.

If I booked late (family emergency, last minute windfall, etc) and coukd't pre book seats together, what is my 2 year old supposed to do for a 3 hour flight. She would probably scream in fear for take off, and have an almight meltdown, be really scared, and feel totally abobdined etc, etc. why would that be my fault? For those of you (without the need to look after your own children) who wouldn't move in situation, why? What if i had tried to pre book but there were no seats left together?

If I didn't gets seats with my 4yr old & 9 yr old, this would happen

Actually what would happen is that YOU would be responsible for upsetting YOUR child. For YOUR child being so upset she vomits.

But that's OK to you, as long as you didn't have to fork out some extra cash?

9 yr old would sob uncontrollably the entire flight, between vomiting & asking for her parents, because well, you know, some kids like to be with their parents, cos like, it makes them feel all safe & shit

Actually 9 year old would be even more traumatised by 42 year old telling her that its her mothers fault that she is sitting away from her because she was too tight to pay an extra few quid to guarantee sitting next to her.

4yr old would would start off upset, throw an almighty fit & then realise that this is actually a great thing because she can do what the hell she likes & she bloody well would! Including talking to death who ever was next to her & probably climbing all over them & kicking seats (not that she does that normally, but tell me, how many unsupervised pre schoolers are going to sit nicely?)

4 year old would be lifted into the aisle and told to go and find her mother.

who include 'extras' as part of the price

I didn't realise having a seat was classed as an "extra" now!

Haven't read the whole thread (sorry!) but I think it is really selfish to check in late or wander up to the departure gate at the last minute and then expect other people to shift around so that you can sit with your kids. If you have a real need to sit together either book priority seating, check in on line as soon as possible or, if there's no assigned seating, make sure you're at the gate good and early and can be one of the first on the plane.

LtEve - frankly I wouldn't much care who you thought was responsible or otherwise for the predicament. It would still be you dealing with it wouldn't it! And you can tell my 2-year-old what you like, cos he won't really get what you're talking about. Also, he'd be screaming too loudly anyway.

And all because you think your ability to pay extra makes you morally superior, and therefore entitled to behave without common human decency.

Baffling.

For the record, any airline that makes parents pay extra for the 'privilege' of sitting next to their toddler is the morally dubious outfit in all of this. How could it be otherwise?!

It would still be you dealing with it wouldn't it! And you can tell my 2-year-old what you like, cos he won't really get what you're talking about

No it wouldn't. I wasn't actually talking to you, but your 2 year old would be lifted into the aisle and told to find his mother.

And all because you think your ability to pay extra makes you morally superior, and therefore entitled to behave without common human decency

No, all because I have pre-booked my selected seats because I care deeply that I sit with my DH and DD. It is worth it to me to pay extra to guarantee not being seperated from them. I don't care how much it costs, I will always pay it because being with them is more important to me than money.

differentname. You have paid for a seat and that is exactly what you get.
If you want a particular seat so that you sit together you organise it that way.

And as for being sat next to your kid on the flight my response would be the same as I have said further. Down the thread. I called the flight attendants to get the child's parents to deal with her. When she cried I just put my ear phones in. Not as harsh as it sounds, the parents were a row or two away. Not my kid, parents in the vicinity, not my problem. And when she did attempt to talk non stop, I said I'm having quiet time and reading so I'm not chatting right now. Hurt feelings? Mum and dads problem. Not mine.

twofalls would you reimburse me for the money I had paid then.
If not, then no, sorry. Why should I be out of pocket.

Noisy kids are dealt with by me by putting earplugs and a flight mask on.
I've had my own two to deal with in the past and dealt with it. Other parents can deal with their own kids.

No I wouldn't be responsible for upsetting her, just because I refuse to pay twice for my seat!

If more people had the balls to do the same, they would stop doing it.

said I'm having quiet time and reading so I'm not chatting right now

Hahahahahaha, like she would give a shit. You wouldn't hurt her feelings, because she would just keep talking & making a racket! You telling her you are having quiet time would just give her a mission!

I am astounded that so many posters think it is more selfish for someone who has paid to sit in a specific seat not to move than it is for people to expect others to move because they believe they are entitled to sit with their children without having to pay.

It is shit that the airlines charge for this but some do and you just have to get on with it. Why should someone with children expect their seating requirements to be accommodated above those of say a nervous flier that wants to sit with their partner or feels the need to seat by the window or aisle.

Some people's crushing sense of entitlement is truly unbelievable.

differentnameforthis. Given that you have a 9 year old who would have such an extreme over reaction to being separated from her parents; why would you object to paying the extra charge to ensure it doesn't happen?

You seriously imagine it's up to someone else who has paid the charge to facilitate it for you? Why?

So would all those who happily pay for their seats twice, be happy if hotel rooms started to charge you more on top of what you pay already, so you can share a room?

"yes we can give you a room for $300 for your stay, plus we charge an additional $15 per bed, per night if you want your children in your room, otherwise we will put them in any room that has an available bed"

Yes, I can see LOTS of people willing to do THAT!!!