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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not want to have to pay RYANAIR yet another £40+ to avoid my family being separated?

132 replies

ElizaPickford · 04/07/2014 15:38

Oh how I have hated dealing with this airline recently. They have conned me out of £30 which it took me 2 weeks and a lot of aggro to get back, they ripped me off with some stupid scratch card game at the time of booking and now if I don't pay a minimum of £40 my whole family could end up scattered across the plane. I hugely resent having to pay yet another trumped up fee, but my children have never flown before and are very young and obviously I don't want them to end up on their own or sat with strangers. (The kids will be fine but god help the rest of the plane. Wink )

What would you do, anyone been in this situation?

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 04/07/2014 15:40

After seeing many threads on this it will go two ways :

  1. You should pay if you need to sit together
  2. No one wants to sit next to your kid, the airline should seat you together, other folk should move so that you can
SamG76 · 04/07/2014 15:42

Tell them to stuff it. I never pay the fee and always end up next to my kids. Even if the stewardesses don't sort it out, your DC's neighbours will be begging you to swap with them.

DejaVuAllOverAgain · 04/07/2014 15:43

What Laurie said.

Anyone got any chocolate?

Frontier · 04/07/2014 15:44

There are two viewpoints here. Everyone knows you pay extra to book seats with locost airlines so pay up for the peace of mind.

Or, if dc are young they won't be allowed to fry without an adult to stewards will move people as nec to makesure they are sat with/near to at least one parent, even if that means living someone who has paid to book

WaywardOn3 · 04/07/2014 15:44

Do you expect others who have paid to sit together to move for you?

How can you possibly have not known that this happens all the time with cheap airlines?

If you want to guarantee sitting together pay up or get there very early and risk it but don't expect others to accommodate your cheapness if you choose to risk it

:-)

Sirzy · 04/07/2014 15:44

As wrong as it is I also count the cost for prebooked seats in the overall cost as I would rather know that we were all together and wouldn't expect anyone else to move to allow that to happen

Nanny0gg · 04/07/2014 15:46

They start off as ridiculously cheap seats for a reason.

Pay up.

Frontier · 04/07/2014 15:46

Oh, you get the gist - flipin autocorrect. Basically depends how selfish you're prepared to be

ginnybag · 04/07/2014 15:47

When are you flying?

You'll be able to select seats at online check-in, so it may be worth you just making sure you do that the first day you can.

But no, very young children cannot be seated away from an adult, so the worst that happens is you end up in groups.

Original poster
ElizaPickford · 04/07/2014 15:48

I think mainly what pisses me off is how cynical the whole thing is, they're just so money grubbing at every opportunity and then it doesn't even really end up being that low cost.

I haven't done much travelling in the last few years (thanks kids) and I'd forgotten how irritating the whole thing is...

OP posts:
Bearbehind · 04/07/2014 15:48

I don't get this mentality of the low cost airlines ripping you off by doing this.

You can fly with them cheaply with no frills, if you want to have some frills, you pay for them.

You wouldn't pitch up with a suitcase you hadn't paid to check in and expect to get it on for free so why is booking seats any different?

TheListingAttic · 04/07/2014 15:51

This is what it costs to guarantee your family sit together. You can either pay for it as a 'trumped up' extra on top of your ridiculously cheap flight, or you can 'hide' the cost from yourself by paying for a more expensive airline that includes it.

You surely knew this was how they operated when you selected Ryanair!

busyboysmum · 04/07/2014 15:55

In my experience whenever I've flown with this kind of airline the stewardess has already looked at who is flying and saved seats together for families with small children. Which has always devastated dh and I who were hoping for a peaceful flight with someone else entertaining the kids! ;)

AllHailTheBigPurpleOne · 04/07/2014 15:58

I don't pay, I turn up early.
When I've been on flights on my own I'm quite happy to move for a family.

frostyfingers · 04/07/2014 15:58

If you hate them that much book elsewhere, or pay up. It's not like it's a big surprise that there are loads of extras.....

beccajoh · 04/07/2014 15:59

This sort of thing is the reason I've never bothered flying with Ryanair. The few times I've looked at the 'cheaper' airlines it's never really been any cheaper than flying with a more civilised airline.

Frontier · 04/07/2014 16:03

Why is it cynical? They offer a low cost basic product for a fair price and charge extra for extras. Just like you pay a base price for an entry level car and extra if you want a bigger engine/leather seats.

The first time i used a budget airlines i wondered if all the extras meant it wasn't that good a deal afterall, then i tried to book the same journey with BA.....

It cynical to turn up knowing others will be made to move

Chocolateisa7adayfood · 04/07/2014 16:04

Check in early to maximise your chances of sitting together.
I can't believe they would separate young children & their parents - surely for safety reasons they would need each child supervised by a responsible adult? Let alone the disturbance to other passengers having a young child separated from their parents possibly getting upset? Though you might have to be in 2 separate groups.

Branleuse · 04/07/2014 16:04

ryanair are shits. I wouldnt use them. I dont mind easyjet

funnyossity · 04/07/2014 16:04

Having (young) children sitting with parents is an airline safety issue not a "frills" v "no Frills" issue.

EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 04/07/2014 16:06

Just get there in plenty of time then you can go to the front of the queue. They might even put you in priority boarding queue if you have infants.

IckleBird · 04/07/2014 16:06

If your family were booked at the same time in same booking then you will all be designated seats together. Speaking from experience.
Dont pay for seats

angelos02 · 04/07/2014 16:10

Is this a wind-up OP?

They are dirt cheap and then charge extras for the 'frills'. Saves other people paying more (a higher flat-fee in which everything is included) when they don't need/aren't bothered about sitting together.

Amateurish · 04/07/2014 16:11

I never pay to choose seats. We always get seats allocated together as a family. Just check-in online at the first available opportunity (7 days before IIRC?)

Hoppinggreen · 04/07/2014 16:14

Having paid to all sit together I wouldn't be moving to accommodate people who didn't.
Having said that I don't usually fly Ryanair as once you add up extras they aren't always the cheapest