to not want to pay £100 to guarantee that our kids can sit next to us on the plane

[mumsnit]

DH wants us to pay £25 each to guarantee that we can all get seats together when we go on holiday next month. Aibu to think it's a ridiculous cost to pay out

But I have heard that one airline refused to seat a family together as they hadn't paid the premium and tried to seat a 3 year old alone on the other side of the plane from the parents. We don't go on holiday very often - especially abroad and I'm already nervous about flying so don't want this added to the stress of travelling.

WWYD/WDYD - do you pay the extra cost?

Open why not ring the airline and ask them? But in the grand scheme of your holiday paying for 2 of you to sit together hardly seems like a huge deal - after all a holiday to Mallorca is a luxury jealous

Theas18 and TriJo - I fly a fair amount with work and this is exactly why I get speedy boarding if I'm doing a budget airline. Mind you on BA my hand luggage has flown in business class several times as its the only place with space left!

If you need to be next to somebody then yes, you do need to pay for it.

Open they must have to ask about disabilities somewhere but if they don't for whatever reason then ring them. You should probably be prepared to get into it though over whether or not adhd is a disability.

When I am traveling alone, I never pay for assigned seating. Frankly, I don't have any special requirements, so why bother? I have been happy to move because I never paid in the first place. There must be other people like me on the plane, surely? Why is the scenario necessarily between small children and someone with special requirements who has paid?

Also, I see a difference between paying for a particular seat and simply wanting to be seated next to your small child anywhere on the plane.

BarbarianMum - we will phone them. Before this thread I had assumed that when we booked in and said he has adhd, one of us would be seated with DS2, but perhaps not. Will we have to take his diagnosis letter with us??

It is more the principle - DS2 has a need to sit with an adult, yet we might be forced to pay for that.

As for cost of booking seats - I have no idea what it might be. And yes, a holiday for us is a luxury - it is the first one we've had as a family in 14 years lol! We have saved hard for it and it is a huge deal. We have no spare for unnecessary costs

Open they shouldn't ask for you to have anything with you re his diagnosis but you might get someone quite unsympathetic on the phone so have a gin to hand (not a gun) as predictive text suggested. Good luck and have an amazing holiday!

elderflowerlemonade - what a carefully considered, empathetic response.

fastdaytears - I do hope we don't have to argue about the disabling characteristics of adhd. Put DS2 on the plane without one of us next to him and it'd soon become apparent though

Oh sorry, I missed the part where the OP wanted empathy. I thought it was a question.

Sorry - where you wanted empathy, not the OP!

Open If you have a letter from your doctor/health professional stating that one of you needs to sit beside ds because of his disability, and pre-warn the airline about this, then I agree you shouldn't have to pay to sit next to him.

Having said that, you can hardly argue that it is an 'unnecessary cost' if it's essential. An unfair cost, perhaps.

Does he claim DLA?

Thank you fastdaytears

The irony of this is, is that you have already paid for your seats. You don't pay & stand up for the flight, you pay for seats. Making you pay twice is greed.

The irony is that some people are unable to grasp that you are not paying for your seat twice you are paying to guarantee a certain seat. Something that was never an option before, you just had to turn up to check in and hope.

Something that was never an option before

Yeah it was. I had seats pre-allocated in the 1990s, for flights booked weeks or months in advance. It wasn't common on short haul, but I don't think I ever flew long haul on business (in economy, mostly) without pre-allocated seats. I presume it depended on the fare basis you were flying on. I can't now remember how it worked flying long haul on my own money with family, but I certainly never paid for a seat reservation.

I have four young dc and always pay so we can sit together. Not a chance I would move if someone had not paid and expected to be seated with their children. It's simple if you want to sit together pay. If you don't mind being separated then don't.

just dont pay for it. If the kid cries or gets distressed, then someone will move for them im sure.

I wouldnt pay the extra

elderflowerlemonade - no request for empathy was made . Do people around you have to ask that you apply it then? For many people it is an intrinsic trait. Nevermind, I'm sure you don't care about that!

As for DLA. No we don't claim. I don't like the idea of taking handouts . We cope. And DLA forms are horrid and I don't have the emotional capacity at the moment to go through it.

BarbarianMum - we don't see a GP for adhd (and I'm sure getting a GP to write a letter would cost us too). DS2 is reviewed annually for his adhd meds - we hadn't booked the holiday at the last review and the next one isn't due until after the holiday. CAMHS are so chockablock I wouldn't want to impose on their time by getting them to write a letter. They have so many more important things to do to help vulnerable children than write crappy admin letters.

and if someone didnt want to move and would prefer to sit next to my screaming kid, then good luck to them

Ok, well overlooking the fact my post wasn't rude to you and it certainly wasn't personal - whilst yours to me was both - DLA is helpful not just for financial reasons - it also helps hugely in instances like this.

I had seats pre-allocated in the 1990s, for flights booked weeks or months in advance

And I've flown multiple times and never had the option to choose my own seat until the last 10 years or so I guess. We used to turn up early go get seats together or, in the case of Virgin Atlantic, use their twilight check in the night before as we lived near Gatwick.

Regardless, you are not paying for your seat twice.

I don't see it as an extra cost, I see it as an optional discount if you don't mind not sitting next to your travelling companions.

This is exactly what it is. Years ago it used to be included but to drop the headline rate they made it an added extra and took it off the main rate.

^and if someone didnt want to move and would prefer to sit next to my screaming kid, then good luck to them

Headphones in, book open, job done. If someone can't be arsed to look after their own child, good luck to them.

Anyway, this will just go the same way it always does with some parents thinking that the fact they've successfully bred somehow entitles them to more than other people.