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?

Melty the thing is, it is the sense of entitlement that gets me: -

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what to do. When I booked the flight there were no seats available to book together" or

"I'm so sorry, there was an accident and we're really late for the flight"

is so vastly different from

"I have a potent and misguided belief that I dont' have to behave as other people and people should bend over backwards to accommodate my children, mmmmkay?"

Yes Lady, but people are generally a bit stressed when travelling with small people. You are not going to know if they are being a bit arsey because they are entitled sorts, or because they have not been allowed to bring the buggy to the gate or the toddler vomited in the departure lounge or whatever...

I like an aisle seat. I generally get one, but I wouldn't dream of not swapping to assist a parent and child.
I dont bother paying to reserve seats either.

We flew with Ryan air last summer. Their policy at many airports is to charge for priority boarding. What this actually means us that you are first to get on the bus that takes you over to the plane, once off the bus it is a total scrum to get your seats. Not, in my opinion, worth paying extra for! This year we are traveling with Thompson and are more than happy to pay to choose our seats, infact after sitting up half the night waiting for the allocation screen to open I was first to get onto the booking screen this morning .

Oh definitey 'I'm alright Jack'... and that's from the parents of the unaccompanied children.

| would move - and have done so numerous times when I'm flying for work. I move for anybody, child, adult, all the same to me but it's my decision. If I came across some of the entitled posters here I wouldn't move - and I'd let them know why. Disgusting.

Everybody has the right to consideration you know... extend it a little yourselves and stop expecting the moon on a stick from people just because you don't want to book the seats. That's YOUR lookout, not theirs.

Maybe they should have compulsory seat pre-booking so that situations like this don't arise.

Also, to the people complaining. This is part of life. If you don't like it, don't fly. In the same way that if you disagree with Amazon's tax avoidance, don't buy from them. My opinion is that you can't fight all these companies, it is what it is unfortunately and in my experience booking a flight just the other day, the ones that didn't charge extra for pre booking seats were simply more expensive overall than the likes of Easyjet etc, even with seat booking.

Also, you do not always know why a stranger may not want to move seats and may have a genuine health (or other) reason (not that they need to justify not wanting to move for someone who hasn't pre-booked). If you are against paying for pre-booked seats but your morality/tightness potentially impacts on the rights of others who have paid, then perhaps you need to accept what you get and not expect to have your cake and eat it.

Great post Ophelia

At the end of the day, if you think the airline is morally corrupt - vote with your feet. Don't vote by placing your child on some poor unsuspecting adult.

And if you're still willing to fly - well then the objections aren't that great!

There will be people on most flights that have chosen not to pay for booking seats together. They can be asked to move before anyone who has paid is asked to move.

Passengers with children are unlikely to be asked to move. If two adults have gone to the extra expense of booking seats together, then sitting together obviously matters to them.

Ask them to move for your children if you want to, but take cash so that you can reimburse them what they have paid. Don't expect them to do it for nothing.

I can do human decency, but not for people who would expect me to pay for them to sit next to their child.

I haven't read the whole thread, but think it is cruel to children to sit them away from a parent, if they are young or would be distressed. Also not fair on another passenger to sit next to an unaccompanied (so to speak) child. So would advice choosing another airline or booking a seat if that's what you need to do. Why can't everyone be allocated a seat ? like theatre bookings?

When you make theatre bookings, you can't always get three or four seats together unless you book a long way in advance.

I would do what I needed to do to ensure they weren't a nuisance

Everything except pay to ensure you were sitting together.

I look forward to the time when the Internet system collapses either permanently or temporarily and no doubt it will one day.

Who would have predicted flights being cancelled because of volcanic dust?

Yes because that will prove... er nothing.

Firstly, it is clear that it is the airlines who are causing this situation, by the way they are charging for allocated seating.

However, to those like impecuniousmarmoset and differentnameforthis, who are saying 'if you don't move out of the seat you have paid extra for, then you will have to deal with my child, and will have a nightmare flight', I would say that that that is blackmail.

I also think tomorrowisanotherday is getting a very hard time. She obviously has very real anxiety issues around flying, and needs the security of knowing where she and her family will be sitting. She is. It just saying she wouldn't move to be difficult or selfish - it would be a real hardship for her.

Simple answer to all this: Never take your children on holiday. Hope that helps everyone!

Air France expected my DD to sit on her own when we were transfered onto their flight as our KLM one couldn't take off.

It was a 11 hour flight and my DD was 4 years old at the time!

Luckily my DH managed to persuade someone to swap seats with him. I was on the other side of the plane with my DS. Thankfully they'd seated us together as even though he was under 2, we'd paid for a seat.

I'd never take the chance on not being seated together. Imagine if there was a problem, wouldn't you want to be with your children?

We were on a flight recently which had to turn back due to 'cockpit control problems' and the little girl behind us was hysterical. If her parents hadn't been there, there's no way she would have calmed down.

Holidays involving flights anyway, DarkWinter.

Or even better dark never get on a plane at all then you're not even filling the fat cat airline companies pockets at all.

Or you could just factor in all the costs before booking.

It's morally wrong to expect young children to sit apart from their parents and unfair on other passengers. I said to DH that I won't take the children on a flight unless we have reserved seats. It made for a stress-free flight at Xmas with Easyjet. They are more family-friendly. Ryanair are all about the £££££. DH seemed to think that people would be moved so young dcs can sit with their dps. I will make him read this because I told him this is not the case.

Afternoon all

I don't get why people would pay for flights and then get all huffity about paying a bit extra for the convenience of sitting with your loved ones. If you don't want to pay extra because you are against capitalism/profit making by the airlines then you need to go the whole hog and not book any flights whatsoever. I find it a bit strange that people take a moral stance over paying a few pounds to pre-book a seat (for their own convenience and comfort) but are happy to pay hundreds for the flight in the first place. Once again, if you don't like the airline policies you can choose not to fly or take alternative routes such as by car/train (to continent) or by ship (although all these will also have their bugbears).

I don't travel on these airlines with my family.
I am struggling to understand why people think it is reasonable for the airlines to place toddlers away from the people they are travelling with, from a safety POV.
And I am saddened that there are people who have stated that they would do things like taking a 2yo out of its seat and send it away, not assisting with oxygen masks, or refusing to call a steward if a child was distressed, ill or needed the toilet.

That kind of summarises where I'm coming from.

i think it is really awful that if someone found themselves next to a distressed 2yo they would simply unclip their belt and put them in the aisle. That is really dangerous and just mind-boggling. I feel a bit shaky reading that. It's a huge safety issue and just so unbelievably callous.

Exactly! And people have dared to question my parenting because I refuse to be a sheep & pay extra for what is essentially a safety aspect on all flights!

I would say that that that is blackmail

My daughter has the right to sit in a seat that I have paid for. Where else do you suggest I put her? In the hold?