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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not pay for seats?

188 replies

benetint · 05/04/2015 19:56

We've booked to go to Spain tomorrow with Dh, Ds (2) and Dd (5) to see my Dad.

Monarch charge £8 per seat to book in advance, which on top of the cost of the trip is a bit much for us. (£72 extra both ways)

Do you think there's any way we could be separated from each other if we don't buy allocated seats? Or would monarch not let that happen? Do they give priority to young children? As long as one of us is with dd and one is with ds I'll be happy.

Or do you think I'm being right risking it

OP posts:

keepitsimple0 · 05/04/2015 22:36

Surely, you just factor this in to the cost of the flight!

surely, that's impossible if the airline doesn't advertise what the price is for such a thing.

sugarman · 05/04/2015 22:40

It is not a myth that children have to be seated next to their parents, it differs for every airline.

starving · 05/04/2015 22:44

We paid to book seats with Continental a few years ago. When we got to the airport for our return flight we were told there was no record of our seat booking. My parents, me, my dh, & my 8 year old were all seated apart as we were told there were no seats together available. We complained and got nowhere. This was over 3 hours before the flight!

I would therefore never assume that prebooking gets you seats together either. My father complained again at the departure gate and was able to get 2 seats for me and my 8year old together. I don't think they 'suddenly' became available either.

WhatWouldFlopDo · 05/04/2015 22:55

Just looking at this myself. There are 5 of us, me, DH, DD(3), mum & dad (dad needs assistance). Mum is under the impression that her and dad will be sat at the front because that's how it always is with the assistance they've had previously. There aren't any seats left at the front of the plane, so we can't pre book for all 5 of us, and the online thingy wont let us book seats just for our family of 3 where there are seats available at the back. I don't know what to do. I don't want to fuck up dad's assistance and him end up somewhere he didn't think he'd be, and I don't want DD to be sat on her own. I'm going to have to ring Thomson and see if it matters where dad sits.

NutcrackerFairy · 05/04/2015 22:57

We fly fairly regularly, around three times a year, with two DC - 3 and 5 years old.

Have never paid for seat allocation and have always been seated next to DC.

We generally fly with Monarch, Easyjet, Ryannair.

Have been told on numerous occasions by check in staff that parents are automatically seated next to their DC. We have never had to ask for this, we are just always given seats together

We always get to the check in desk reasonably early though, I wouldn't leave it to the last minute.

I would risk it OP. Don't pay £60 - £70 extra for something you'll more than likely get for free anyway.

Just make sure you get to the airport nice and early to be one of the first to be checked in.

keepitsimple0 · 05/04/2015 23:24

We always get to the check in desk reasonably early though, I wouldn't leave it to the last minute.

I have never flown monarch. But with easyjet and ryanair you can check in weeks before the flight. What's the need to go early?

tiggytape · 05/04/2015 23:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Marmite27 · 05/04/2015 23:34

On our 9hour flight home from Mexico a 6 year old girl was sat 20 rows from her parent as they hadn't paid. No one would swap as they had paid and the staff said they couldn't force people to move.

Before it's mentioned we paid extra for emergency exit seats where children are not allowed to sit.

I would not take the risk of not booking seats.

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 06/04/2015 00:04

We always book as we want to sit all together. (No way am I risking being stuck with both kids whilst dh quaffs champagne 20 rows away!) I'd say usually you would be ok not to but I have witnessed one occassion of a parent and child being separated and the stewardesses going on the tannoy asking for someone to swap. I looked round the plane and thought "they'll be lucky" as the plane was jam packed with kids!

Fiddlerontheroof · 06/04/2015 00:14

One strategy we used to use in the years before easyjet allocated seats was that DH went ahead to front of the queue and saved us some seats together, and I boarded the plane with the two kids in my own time. We travel special assist now as dd has cerebral palsy, so we tend to board after the people who have paid for seats, and I'm a single parent now, so we tend to find that works for us. Generally, people with you g children board just after us...but people are rather flexible with their definition of young children!!

It's a crappy system, but I think you just have to look at budget airlines, actually not being budget really. By the time you pay for all the extras that come as standard with BA and Alitalia, you really end up paying pretty much the same, unless you book your flights really early.

If it's going to completely ruin your holiday, pay for it. If you're prepared to suck it up and take the worse case scenario, then risk it. To be honest, if everyone didn't pay for seating and didn't allow the air company to make them stress about if they'll get seats next to each other..this issue wouldn't arise nearly half as much. I do despair sometimes in this world that everyone is out for themselves and there's so little give and take....but then, perhaps it's completely rose tinted of me to expect otherwise. Have a lovely break, whatever! X

TidyDancer · 06/04/2015 01:01

In my experience it's very hit and miss as to whether it's necessary to book.

Once when travelling to Italy with three friends, we literally had to run to the departure gate and figured since we hadn't prebooked that we wouldn't end up sitting together, but people had been sensible (or cabin crew had) and the plane had filled up in row order so there was plenty of space for us to all sit together. Wouldn't have been a big deal if that hadn't been the case, but it was a nice way to start the holiday together.

On another occasion when going to Spain, got to the airport/gate with a friend super early and there weren't even two seats together. Again not a big deal as just watched a film on the iPad the whole flight there. Have always prebooked with DP and DCs though, just in case. I have never seen anybody get shitty about where they were seated so perhaps most prebook or are grateful for the peace and quiet away from their DCs for a few hours!

tartyflette · 06/04/2015 01:28

I'M a very bad flyer and am usually valium-ed up to the eyeballs when i fly; I also pay extra to select the seat. Imagine my surprise on my last (and last-ever) ryanair flight when a woman boarded very late with her DD aged abt 9 or 10 and the FA asked me to move so that they could sit together. Would they refund the extra fee I had paid, i asked. Er, no. And the implication was that i was BU for even asking. The reason the woman and her DD could not get seats together was because they boarded so late and the plane was nearly full. And they hadn't booked allocated seats, of course. I stayed put.

Theworldhasgonecrazy · 06/04/2015 01:36

We have seen the latecomers kicking up a fuss and expecting people to move so they can sit with their kids numerous times. Why should people who have paid in advance and/or bothered to boarded on time have to move to accommodate others? Pisses us off! If you want to sit with your kids, pay the extra. If not, be prepared to have to fit in wherever.

cruikshank · 06/04/2015 01:48

Lol at all the people saying they would refuse to move. How on earth could you enjoy your flight knowing that because you needed to sit in your own 'special' seat there were children separated from their parents? Pathetic.

tartyflette · 06/04/2015 01:58

Couldn't give a toss. If i've paid extra for a specific seat of my own choosing, then so can they. (And this paying extra/unallocated seating bollocks is only in shorthaul with budget airlines, whenever i've flown with flag carriers, eg BA, you can choose your seats online when online check-in opens 24 hours before the flight.) Surely you can bear to be a few rows apart from your DC for a couple of hours? I certainly could.

worridmum · 06/04/2015 02:30

I had this problem I had paid for my window seat in an extra leg room row (so roughly £40 pound extra paid being a 6ft with long legs sucks without the extra leg room) and a FA asked me to move to a middle seat normal leg room row

And when I asked if I would be refunded the £40 for my seat booking she basically said no and when I politly replyed then thats my answer then she started quite loudly to berate me for my apprant selfishness

and I politely stated quite loaudly after she ranted why should I be £40 out of pocket and I would be totally happy to move if I was paid the £40 so I would not be out of pocket she went off in a huff (thank god i did not order food / drink as i bet she would done something to it)

cruikshank · 06/04/2015 02:37

Thing is, you've all been done a number on, so I suppose I can see why you're all so defensive. As a pp said, if no-one paid this extra charge, the airlines would just have to seat you anyway without charge. If people pay it, then they'll keep on charging it. So you're all mugs, and you're all part of the problem; the people who don't pay are not.

worridmum · 06/04/2015 02:45

the problem is some people need the extra leg room seats so we would still \need to book them

charlestonchaplin · 06/04/2015 05:52

To be honest cruikshank, I wouldn't trust you to make any important decisions on any subject whatsoever, since you fail to see the blatantly obvious. Without the option of paying extra to secure specific seats, what happens is that special cases (e.g. Disabled and their carers) and self-proclaimed special cases (parents travelling with their children) get the pick of the best seats. Everyone else has to take what they're given, even if they have particular reasons for wanting to sit with their travelling companions and even if they are happy to pay extra (maybe even a lot extra) to achieve this.

This is what really happens when there is no option for people to pay extra to pre-book specific seats. Adult adults just 'suck up' the situation and sit wherever they are put, though they may be very unhappy with their seats, unlike entitled parents under the current system.

The likes of you don't care about the comfort of anyone else. You can't see beyond yourself and the hallowed fruit of your loins.

Now, I don't think parents travelling with children need to pay to secure seats together. You can take your chances, and chances are you'll be just fine. But if it is important for people to be seated next to their children and they will be really unhappy if they aren't, they should stop being entitled twits and pay up.

Alligatorpie · 06/04/2015 06:27

We are flying home in the summer, but can't fly direct. So we are paying £11 per flight per person to book seats (4 people, 4 flights.) That is £176 more, just so that we can sit next to the dcs. I resent paying it, but I did. I am not willing to take the chance.

PunkrockerGirl · 06/04/2015 08:19

My dc are adults so very rarely fly with us now anyway. However, I'm a nervous flier and would really hate to be separated from dh, that's why I always prebook. I described upthread how a family created an almighty fuss because they couldn't sit together and caused the plane to miss its take off slot. Because of the significant delay, the diazepam I'd taken for the anxiety had started to wear off. I was furious I appreciate that delays can happen with take off but this was entirely avoidable.
The cabin crew were so patient with this family. I'd have told them sit in the seats they'd been allocated and quit the histrionics or they'd find themselves offloaded from the plane.

6Musiclover · 06/04/2015 08:25

Cruikshank I really couldn't care less if entitled parents are seperated from their kids because they were either to tight to pay for seats, or weren't organised to check in early enough!
I would enjoy my flight just fine thank you, without giving them a second thought.
In fact I did that just last year in a ryanair flight when asked so move so a family could sit together. I refused, as did the three other people that were asked!

CrispyFern · 06/04/2015 08:44

If my flight was delayed because a family hadn't been seated together I would be furious - with the airline. Not the family.

PunkrockerGirl · 06/04/2015 08:48

Exactly Musiclover
Choose not to pay if you want, nobody gives a toss. But don't then expect people who have paid to move in order to accommodate you and your precious offspring. I certainly wouldn't.

OP, this is not directed at you, I know you've decided to book!

shewept · 06/04/2015 08:51

We always book our seats. Could really give a shit if people think I have been had. It means I don't have to check in ridiculously early. Also because I am a very nervous flyer, I don't have to worry about being separated from the kids and dh. Because tbh, I wouldn't be able to do the flight if I was.

I have flown with easy jet and Ryan air several times in the last 2 years. On every flight there has been a huffy parent asking people to move because they aren't seated with their child. Sometimes people move sometimes they don't.

It's totally up to the person whether they book or not. Risk it, save money and hope people move. But be prepared for people not to move and the whole flight being pissed off at you for the entire flight, for holding it up . Or book in advance and know what's going to happen.

As for the 'if noone paid it it wouldn't be an issue' sorry, that's bollocks. There would still be groups of people turning up last minute who still moaned that they weren't sat together. That's happened on flights I've been with a group of adults who are distressed they aren't sat near each other.

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