To not pay for seats?

[benetint]

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

We dont pre-book...
But we get to the airport super early its part of the excitement then smile sweetly at the checkout person whilst booking in
Just watch this year we'll all get separated!!

Uk to Spain is something like 2-3hrs max in the air. Seriously why bother paying for such a short time and so what if all 4 of you are not next to each other considering you will together throughout the rest of your holiday. I could understand it it was a long haul flight but I just can't even comprehend why its such an issue for a short flight.

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

Easily.

The pathetic ones are the ones bleating about a situation they could have prevented but didn't.

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.

No, we haven't been "done a number on". Of course you would be seated (duh) but you still wouldn't be seated together would you? Which is the point. The charge guarantees you seating together.

In the past, you couldn't reserve seats, you had to turn up early at the airport and take your chance. If you weren't early enough then you still could be separated from family and people who could be arsed to get there early enough could still refuse to move for someone lazy.

CrispyFern - why would it be the airline's fault if take off was delayed by an entitled thick family who hadn't paid and who assumed other passengers should cover the cost of them sitting together?

It would be the airline's fault I suppose if they didn't make them take their allocated seats or get off the plane.

Ah, I see what you mean, thanks Sooty. Apologies Fern if I misunderstood what you were saying

Thick!? Steady on punkrockergirl

It would be much easier if the cost of pre-booking seats was included in the price and you could just book the seats. I hate the way airlines have exploited this situation to squeeze extra money out of people and end up causing a lot of hassle in the process.

benetint chances are is that the plane would be a 737 with a 3, 3 seating format, so you wouldn't all be seated exactly next to each other in a row of four as you would be separated by the aisle.

I think it's a ridiculous extra charge and have never paid it. Have took our chances and always sat together. I'd never expect anyone to move for us.

But bunbaker that means everyone is paying for the option of choosing a seat when in reality it only matters to a proportion of travellers, not every single one.

It would be much easier if the cost of pre-booking seats was included in the price and you could just book the seats. I hate the way airlines have exploited this situation to squeeze extra money out of people and end up causing a lot of hassle in the process.

People would be then whinging about the cost of the flights. The whole point of cheap flights is that you get no frills - you have to pay extra for those. So, pre-booked seating, food... all stripped out of the price so you can pay for them if you wish

They have exploited nothing. You were never able to pre book your seat free of charge (or indeed at all in the past), it is an extra.

I often fly monarch and don't pay for allocated seating. I know you said you'd book but I'm pretty positive you and dh would be sat with a child each. It's genuinely never been a problem and we take 2-3 holidays a year and have 4.5yo and 1yo. I think we've mainly flown Ryanair, TC and monarch perhaps jet2.

Am surprised how vitriolic people got to this so quickly.

I've got experience pre dc of paying monarch for allocated seating so we can get the legroom and this being taken away from us when moved to a different plane than the scheduled one. It was a PITA to get a refund, but a group of 4 of us so. Worth it even one way.

I don't do school holidays yet though so maybe it's different. For £140 I'd risk it!! I wouldn't expect people to swap though. I'm positive you'll be sat near enough. But that's just an opinion not guarantee

I used to commute regularly by plane and the vast majority of travellers were similar business types with just a flight bag/laptop case. But one evening we were all held up by a woman who couldn't bear to be separated from her Christmas shopping as it wouldn't fit in the locker above her head and she didn't want it moved to the next locker along! no one could sit down and the crew couldn't get to her as everyone was still standing. She kept bleating "but that's MY seat and that's MY locker and someone else's stuff is in it!"
The entire plane was almost chanting "JUST SIT DOWN!!!"
Air travel brings out some very entitled behaviour!

So people would be happier sitting next to someone else's unaccompanied 2 year old than moving? I would move like a shot to avoid someone else's child.

What happens about pre-booking seats when you book a package?

I have booked BA flights as part of an Expedia package, and a no point in the process has there been an option to choose seats, extra charge or not.

Marmite - 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.

Were here parents sitting together or near to each other? Why couldn't one of them move?

I've never paid extra to prebook seats together and every time I've flown with my family, I've checked in online as soon as it opened and had seats together. I wouldn't pay an extra 70odd quid I didn't have to if it could be avoided.

That said my boys are now 7&8 so if we were to be separated I am sure they'd be fine. The unlucky person next to them might be a tad pissed off by the amount of stuff they would unwillingly learn about Minecraft though :)

"But bunbaker that means everyone is paying for the option of choosing a seat when in reality it only matters to a proportion of travellers, not every single one"

I know, but I can't think of a better way round it. Some airlines don't charge extra for booking seats though.

I never pay extra to book seats. When my son was small enough for this to matter this didn't happen anyway, you checked in at the airport.

Now this is standard it really doesn't bother me if I'm not sitting next to whoever I'm travelling with. I don't mind moving, will move if asked and do offer even if not asked.

I flew this morning with two children, one who isn't quite 1.

I would personally no more ask someone to move if I hadn't prebooked my seats than I would throw a drink over them. It would be extremely rude to put somebody in the position of feeling they had to move - and they would, if you have a baby or a toddler.

Glad to see the op is doing so.

I really don't see what the big deal is in which cramped, uncomfortable easyjet seat I sit in.

Some people like the emergency exit ones but they can't be moved to accommodate children anyway but every other seat is just the same.

I never pay for a seat, am happy to take what I get and happy to move.

I've moved to accommodate parent and child and grown ups who can't bear/don't want to be parted.

I'm often travelling with my grown -up son, and we tend to assume that if seats need to be rearranged we will be amongst the obvious first choices for the cabin crew to ask. We always agree.

I never move from pre-booked seats. I care not about those who are too tight to stump up. I put on my headphones, but a blanket round me and go to sleep (I book window seats).

if it doesn't matter to you then you don't have to pay for it :)

If it does matter to you, and you pay as such, then you reserve the right to be extremely pissed off should somebody try to boot you out!

We once travelled with a large group, with a pre-booked block of seats and we were the first in the queue to be checked in. They gave me and my two DCs seats on three different rows! Luckily someone swapped with us once we were on the plane.

But why does it matter? All budget airline seats are equally uncomfortable.