About pre-booking airline seats

[Jollyphonics]

This is a common topic on AIBU - the dilemma of whether or not to pay extra to ensure you can sit with your kids on flights. The general consensus is usually that it's unfair to expect others to move when they've paid extra for specific seats, and that if you want to all sit together you should just pay the fee.

Fair enough - so I've just done my (compulsory) on-line check-in, and chose the option to pay for specific seats. Despite the fact that the check-in only opened a couple of days ago, virtually all the seats appear to be taken, and the only ones available were randomly scattered around the plane.

I just rang Jet2 as this seemed a bit strange, and was told that most of the seats have not actually been taken, but that the airline keeps aside a big chunk of seats precisely in order to sit kids with carers. So although it may appear that we're in 3 different places, we will actually all be seated together.

This is totally at odds with what I've heard on here! So, if anyone gets moved on our flight so that we can sit together, I apologise sincerely. I really did try to sort it out! I'm still sceptical about what will happen on the day though.

Has anyone come across this before? Would you do anything different?

This whole topic fills me with angst. I cannot check in online or reserve seats as I made the mistake of booking through bravo fly. 2 kids and a flight to menorca in Aug...I'm dreading it if we cannot sit together

Most airlines don't allow children to sit in extra legroom seats.

When we flew to Sweden in February we asked for extra legroom seats at check in and were allocated them. When we got to the plane the flight attendants told us that DD (aged 14 and a height of 5'6") wasn't allowed to sit there so we left OH and went and sat elsewhere. Fortunately the flight wasn't full and we could both have window seats.

I always come on these threads to say that we always fly BA, never book seats and are always sat together. We check in online when it opens 24 hours before and have always been allocated seats together. We usually fly 8 x a year.

i recently flew with monarch and norwegian air and rang up to book seats together as DDs are 3 and 5. they told me not to pay as they always seat children under 12 with a parent and that we may be split i.e. 1 adult and 1 child, they would make sure the kids weren't alone. So i didn't pay and it was fine on both flights

I booked my flight through Bravofly last year (never again because the check in was a hassle) but still managed to reserve a seat. I had to wait until Ryanair opened check in and seat allocation.

BA are always fab and I've never known them not to allocate a family seats together. We fly with them a lot.

Ours was a Thomsons flight to the Canaries so a 4 hours. As we were among the last to board, if we'd refused it would have meant the plane would have missed its take off slot which didn't seem fair to the other passengers. After a LOT of complaining at the resort as soon as we arrived I eventually got the money I'd paid for the extra legroom refunded, but very grudgingly. The reps initial response was 'what do you expect me to do about it?' Seems booking ahead is no guarantee that you will actually get the seat you paid for.

I have never come across this problem I fly with aer lingus twice a year for the last eight years and have never booked a seat. I fly with my dd and mum and the three of us are always together. Nobody must bother pre booking seats with them

I pay for a specific seat because I want to sit there but be chucked elsewhere. I witnessed on entitled woman screeching that she had to sit with her baby (this was a teenage boy) and asking people to move. They told her no chance and flight attendants told her to sit down or she'd be offloaded. If I turned up and someone was in my paid for seat I'd have no problem making a fuss.

Although airlines should ensure parents are seated with kids as it seems a safety issue. If plane crash lands and everyone is making for the exit but a parent is fighting against the flow to get to their kid that would be a real problem.

I am normally the most laid back and easygoing of people, but if I had paid extra to sit somewhere, I would not move either.

There is a campaign on Moneysavingexpert about this at the moment, and I think they have launched a petition. They seem to be pretty influential on these things, so hopefully they will be successful in putting an end to this airline practice.

I flew back from Fuerteventura on Wednesday evening. I am disabled and as such had booked medical assistance seats on the day I booked the holiday with Thomsons. They were bulkhead seats in Row 2, we didn't pay because disabled people don't have to.

When we got to the airport we'd already checked in online, so it should have been just a drop bag situation. It was not. Again. Thomson had moved non-disabled people in to the seats. I believe they had sold them as "extra leg room" as they have done this the last 3 times I have flown with them. I was in tears as we argued, that these seats were ours, it had been checked in resort with the rep who had confirme with the airline they were ours. A senior rep came along and told us he had checked on Tuesday and they had been booked in my name.

Fortunately after very stressful 15 minutes we were allocated those seats, however, the rep did tell us that even if you pay you are not guaranteed the seats you have paid for and they can move you to where they like. I sat for 40 minutes of the flight listening to the moaning cow behind me bleating that I was in her seat. DH wouldn't let me tell her to fuck off what had really happened.

I think the way airlines treat their passengers is beyond disgusting tbh. You should be able to sit with your kids and family without paying. You should be able to pass through the airport and holiday booking process without being stressed beyond words.

If airlines offer a choice of seat and charge extra for that, then they should not be asking people who have paid for that to move from their chosen seat.

I was so slow to type, that was a cross post with FairyCaravan, which puts a different perspective on it.

I am willing to pay to choose my seats if I choose to fly on a budget airline. It's part of the costs. But I will not move from the seat I have paid for because someone else has decided that they shouldn't have to pay for the same privilege that I have already paid for.

DP and I fly with Jet2 2 or 3 times a year. We never pay to sit together and have been allocated seats apart about 3 times. On two of those occasions they have swapped us to a pair of seats at the bag drop off point, without any prompting from us.

I don't understand how they do this, without moving other people as well, as both times the flights appeared to be full.

Like the OP, we check in online early (Jet2 allow this 28 days in advance).

Last time I went to do online check in, for a flight next week, they have given us seats B and E on the same row (so the middle seats of each group of 3 ).

It appeared that there were plenty of seats left so I can only assume that they have given us these seats in order to 'encourage' us to pay to sit together, as it seems such an odd thing to do and leaves 4 other single seats, although the middle 2 are next to each other but across the aisle.

Hopefully, they will have separated another couple in a similar way on the same row so we might be able to mutually agree to swap, although I'm not too hopeful as it would mean people having to give up a more desirable window seat, for the middle seat, which is probably the worst one if seated between strangers.

The last time I went abroad (10 years ago) it was turn up on the day an be allocated seats there. They would ask if you had a preference and would accommodate if possible, this way families were always together. We've just book our 1st holiday abroad in 11 years for next year. We have paid £180 for extra legroom seats (6 of us) as dp is tall, they had better not try to move us from these!

There is usually at least one couple one of whom is happy to split from the other . . .

I say tough.

They have to sit families together - if other people have wasted their money to sit together - tough... go sit with your family - its Jet2 to sort our and enjoy your flights.

I would phone them back and insist on being able to book seats together.

This happened to me in march. We tried to book but no available seats. I got stuck on one end of the plane with a 4m old baby on my lap, my 4yo DD and my just turned 3yo brother. DH, DM and DF all randomly placed throughout the plane.

They had met their obligation towards us by sitting kids with an adult, never mind the fact I asked how I was supposed to get 4 oxygen masks on myself/ 3 under 5s off the plane with a baby in arms!

They were really very rude to me and made me feel like I was being a pain/ troublemaker in front of the other passangers who had "spent money to book their seats" we bloody tried to!!

I would refuse to move and if the staff or the parent wouldn't take no for an answers I'd ask to be off loaded.

I wouldnt give a hoot about missed time slots or the likes. No one is getting any seat Ive pre-booked.

Just because you won't move to accommodate a small child and their parent doesn't mean that you wouldn't be prepared to help them with their oxygen mask in an emergency

OP, the airline is bullshitting you. What will happen is this: you will turn up with dc and they will
A) Sit you apart and refuse to help.
B) Ask people to move until they find you seats together, thus pissing off your fellow passengers.

What annoys me NO END is smug bastards on flights who say, Well that family should have booked seats, so I don't care if a toddler cries their eyes out, this seat is mine and the parents are irresponsible. Often times that family did try to book and could not, or did book and the airline has switched up the seats. We fly frequently and it has happened to us on about 20% of our flights.