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?

This thread is about holidays. All of the replies are about holidays. People drive and take trains to funerals as well as fly. It is a shame bad things happen but not something that wins an argument about holiday flying.

Nor does claiming budget airlines are unsafe without evidence or boring on about how you can/like to pay for a "proper" plane.

I wonder about the program they use to seat people who don't pay. We are going on a family holiday of 7 people one of which is dd who is 3. We don't care where the other 6 sit so long as one person is next to dd. But you can't buy seats for only two people. It has to be the whole party. So we gambled that in a largish party such as ours at least 2 people would be together. Which was right. But DD and the other child (10) are sitting by the selves flung all the plane. We checked in as soon as possible and noticed that over 3/4 of the flight had available seats. Of course we'll just organise the seating amongst ourselves but it is odd.

The thing is, if these airlines make it difficult for families to sit together, they are more likely to buy seats next time...

Yes, alrayyan - I mentioned my MIL's funeral in order to 'win a thread'.

I , for one, am happy with the pricing structure of the budget airlines.

I keep hearing people say with all the add ons you may as well fly with one of the bigger companies but that isn't necessary true.
For a start not all the bigger planes go where I want to go and secondly I don't need all the add ons. I don't care where I sit, I always take hand luggage, pay by debit.
When my kids were younger I did pay for seats together and didn't begrudge it. It was part of the pricing policy and I paid for what suited my needs at the time.
These days I can fly to a European country for the price of a decent foundation. It is cheaper for me to fly return to Europe than it is to. Get a single ticket from Lancashire to London or Edinburgh!

Long live the budget air line! ( although once or twice a year I do push the boat out and travel in style!)

I got it! Pay 50 and book both kids in the same block of three window seat close to the back of the plane. Put one by the window and the other one on the aisle. Noone wants to sit in the middle seat at the back of the plane, especially between two children. It would be very unusual to not have that person begging to switch with you.

Good idea Spoony - unless the person in the middle seat needs to be by the loo (often found at back of plane) due to limited mobility and the OP and her DP are not near a loo.

Any suggestions as to where the best parts of the plane are for OP to place DCs and gamble to pay off?

I shall call anyone's bluff if they try that on me and stay put.

Well if they don't want to move you can always switch the older child with one of the parents.

airayyan if your reason for flying with BA is that you think it is safer, than you are paying for something you aren't getting.

I dont understand Alrayyan's reasoning if her username is an indication of where she lives and the 25 minute journey to Bahrain. But truth be told I dont understand it full stop what with the ref to second rate pilots and crew and everything else.

I think she just likes a wind up