...to NOT pay extra to book pre-assigned plane seats with Monarch

[parakeet]

We are family of four, with our two children, six and eight. It's a 3.5 hour flight each way and we need at least one parent with each child (or one parent with the both of them would also be fine). It would cost us £64 to book assigned seating for all four of us, each way and it seems a bit much. Am I being mad (or selfish somehow) to think "they can't let the children sit by themselves" and let Monarch sort it out somehow once we've boarded, if we have difficulties getting each child with a parent?

I've seen threads on here where people are criticised for not booking their seats beforehand. But to me it seems like this is a problem of the airline's making when they could easily assign seats at check-in, like in the "olden days".

By the way - those prebooking and paying for seats..

Most airlines include in their T&C their right to move passengers from booked seats if they need to. We have also had this happen - on a Virgin flight again iirr. 7 of us booked to travel together and to sit together - ong haul, 3 children wanting to be able to talk and play, etc. At online check in our prebooked seats were moved so our configuartion was different and our sets of seats no longer were next to one another - seperated by a row or two. Was a pain as we ended up having to sit the children separetly so each near an adult.

Also means that with VA - the children were not allowed to be seated together without an accompanying adult sat with them.

Its not a rip off, the people who don't care where they sit get a discount, if you want to choose then you pay more. It's perfectly fair, and YABU for using your children to weasel your way into seats other people have paid for.

Ubik - yes, I never understand why anyone would pay EasyJet for speedy boarding and spend even longer cooped up in a tin can!

Last time we went on EasyJet we were automatically assigned seats anyway.

Or I have flown with DS on the midweek flights, full of business travellers to Geneva, and no-one had pre-booked seats, no-one was competitively pushing past anyone else, or anxiously edging themselves forward, people seated themselves sensibly and DS and I got seats next to each other with no fuss at all. Very civilised.

I wish they would put all the prices up and then give a discount if you sit anywhere. I am not going to be blackmailed FitzgeraldP- you can mention sick bags etc- I shall call your bluff and deal with it. I was quite reasonable before I read entitled people on MN - now I shall sit tight. If I really had to move I would insist that the parent gave me my booking fee in cash before I budged.

Children under 5 have to sit with a carer. Legal requirement.

Eg. On British airways, as soon as your child turns 5yo, you can fly business and leave your DC in economy.

Obv that's mental and I'd never do that (although ask me again in may once we are back from holiday ).

A child over 5 can be sat elsewhere under 5 no way.

My younger sister flew to visit me alone from the age of 6, she saw it as an adventure. Kids have such little freedom these days I think flights which a very safe enviroment are a great way to give kids more freedom.

My ds will be flying unaccompanied soon after he is 5, I will teach him how to take books/snacks/games out of his own bag, I'm sure he will be fine.

Imagine this .
You are in row 10 and your child age 6 is in row 14. The emergency exit is in front of you ,There is an emergency landing . What would you do ?

1. wait until your child goes past you and then go to the emergency exit this blocking the passengers ( presuming you have the aisle seat). THus hindering the exit of the passengers.
2. Go to the exit and hope somebody helps your child
3. Clamber anyway you could to get to your child to make sure he is safe. This hindering all the other passengers getting out of the aircraft?

I know what I would do......

Oh the child is NOt a frequent flyer

I will be carer for your child, MrsFlorrick, I am well qualified and have a CRB check so I shall not need to move.

The chance of an emergency landing is so so tiny. If I really believed that there was anything other than a miniscule chance of an emergancy landing I wouldn't get on the flight.

We're flying with Monarch soon and are paying for our seats, we won't be swapping for anybody else. I don't like paying but it's one of those things we have to do.

... wouldn't find all the books, magazines in their bags,

Wow! How big are their bags??

I would sit the six year old child in row ten and I would sit in row 14 and move forward towards the child. I pre book but also point out exits and we count seat rows to the exit so that ds is self sufficient eg I could be in the toilet when something happens. We look at the evacuation cards, discuss crash position and practise undoing our seatbelts. (I saw a programme which said people panic and think they have a car seatbelt on and can't undo it.)

Surely there are plenty of people who haven't pre-booked? I mean, we never do. This means there are plenty of seats which have not been allocated yet. I have NEVER been allocated seats any distance from my fellow travellers, and as I say, I have never pre-booked.
Just get to to the check-in desk in plenty of time, like as soon as it's opened.

Exactly Rosa, it is a very small chance that there will be an emergency landing, but they do happen from time to time and I'd rather I was beside my DS just in case.

I too am very glad that airlines seem to be moving back to pre-assigned seats, this whole paying for seats seems to bring out the very worst in people.

Until then though I will pay the appropriate fee to make sure ( barring cock-ups) that I or my DH or preferably both of us sit beside my DS. He projectile vomited for the first time on the descent of our last flight ( am never going to get those marks out of my white top) so yes the jolly response to that is that I wish he had been sitting somewhere else, but actually no I wish it hadn't happened but I'm very glad it didn't happen to some poor stranger because I was too cheap to pay to sit beside me and also that I was there to be able to comfort him after the event ( although a bit traumatised myself by my puke covered clothes).

Haven't read the thread but we flew to Portugal with Monarch last year. I assumed they wouldn't split us up as DS was only just 4, but they did. I was 2 rows behind him and DH was even further back. He was sat next to a young bloke who was very nice to him and helped him with his seat belt, but I felt bloody dreadful as it was his first time flying and I couldn't hold his hand for takeoff or see his excited little face :( PRE-BOOK IF YOU WANT TO SOT TOGETHER!

I pre-booked seats for myself,DH, DS then aged 3 in the bulkhead seats so I could put DD then 4 months in an air cot.

A family of three with a four year old then boarded late and try to make me or DH move so they could be seated with their DS, as there was one single seat at the end of our row.

Before we even had chance to refuse the head steward told in no uncertain terms that it would be unfair on one adult being left with 2 small children on an overnight flight. They all had to sit separately for take off as they were holding take off up and then they were moved so that one of them could sit with their DS.

You pay for what you get...

"Seated with" children means next to OR across the aisle from OR in front of OR behind.

As long as you get one of those seats then the airline has no legal obligation to move you or other passengers.

I wouldn't dream of not being right next to my child, so I always pre-book.

Yes it costs. Yes it's shit. Yes you should be sat right next to your children for free no matter what. But you can't, it's tough but you have to suck it up.

Frankly if the worst happens I want my DD to die in my arms with her mum telling her how much she loves her - not sat across the aisle or in the next row with strangers.

DD2 has this adorable habit of reading the safety card aloud from start to finish and then questioning me at length about all the possible scenarios of air crash.

You can see knuckles whitening on armrests all around her.

Hence, why so many people bring iPods on flights.

Frankly if the worst happens I want my DD to die in my arms with her mum telling her how much she loves her - not sat across the aisle or in the next row with strangers.

I assume you don't take her in the car unless you can sit right next to her? Car journeys are afterall much more likely to end in death than air travel.

Surely it's a case of you get what you pay for.. Pay for it, sit where you want. Don't pay and you have to suck it up when you don't get the seat you want.

Car crashes are more likely to happen instantaneously, whereas aeroplane crashes will more than likely have 'dropping' time.

I have managed my concern with regards to car travel by buying the car with the best safety record, most airbags etc that I can afford. I cannot do the same in an aeroplane. But in answer to your passive aggressive question, yes, I do sit next to my DD in the car more often than not. HTH.

YABU, and an entitled parent. At the very least you can prebook 3 seats together, which would save you the cost of pre-booking the 4th seat.

People do understand that if airlines couldn't charge for extras like this, ticket prices overall would go up?