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?

We paid the extra just to make sure we were all sitting together.

As it happened we wanted a window seat which had two seats together, so ds and I sat together and dp behind but still sitting by a window (airplane was two, four, two) On the way back there was a young couple sitting behind ds & I, therefore taking dp's paid seat. We obviously told them that one of them needed to move, they explained that the young woman was an extremely nervous passenger, tbh I didn't believe them and they were forced to sit apart. As luck would have it though the plane wasn't full so the airline staff moved them so they sat together. Dp had no one beside him on our return journey.

My thought on this was that if you're that nervous you pay to guarantee sitting next to your partner. As it happens I was very nervous flying and wanted dp close too, he could also help out with ds. I was also annoyed that we were almost expected to just give up our paid for seat.

Even though it seems wrong unfortunately if you don't pay extra don't grumble if you can't sit together & don't expect someone else to give up the seat they've paid for.

Check in really early and you should be fine. YANBU re the cost.

I'm not saying it's right fluffy
I'm saying that if that situation occurs (ignore the rights and wrongs of how it's occurred) should everyone stare at their feet while the cabin crew look for a volunteer to put themselves out and assist someone more vulnerable than themselves? Sadly a sign of the times.

Punish a child because their parent hasn't paid (deliberately or not). Nice.

Not being cruel but their child is their concern not mine. That may sound callous but in general I'm too accommodating so when it comes to my saved hard for yearly or bi-yearly trip I am going to look after myself and my partner and let other families look after themselves.

The thing is MintChocAddict that if there were no pre-purchase of assigned seating, and someone just out of sheer bad luck ended up separated from their party then that is completely different from a parent choosing not to spend a well known and obvious add-on expenses to their airline ticket, then expecting others to inconvenience themselves, just because the parent thinks that their ability to reproduce means they have a special entitlement to not pay for the same things that is offered to every other passenger on the flight. Every person has the choice to pre-purchase their seat, and if you choose not to do so, then you face the consequences of that choice.

So there I am, valium-ed up to the eyeballs, sitting in my carefully chosen and paid-for seat, thinking happy thoughts, tra la la la la, and just about holding it together when the cabin attendant sashays up to me and asks me to move so that a very late boarding woman and her DD (about 11 or 12) could sit together. He couldn't give a flying fuck that I was a nervous flyer, he was just trying to guilt me into giving up my paid-for seat. Then gave me a filthy look when i politely asked if I would be reimbursed the allocated seating fee. Reader, I stayed put.

I would be an unhinged person then!
I wouldn't give up my seat either. Im a very anxious flier, anxious in general so will pay to sit next to dp.
Also suffer with pain so he helps me a lot so i wouldn't move for your child either ruperta!
Doesn't make me a nasty person, just that iv organised things so i will cope.
Were you like you this on the plane because i could understand why the ladies didn't want to move...
There is also the fact either of them could have things wrong with them that you have absolutely no idea about. you have just decided they are horrible and grumpy for sitting in their own seats and not moving.

I wouldn't have moved for you either ruperta!
Im a very anxious flier, well anxious in general so will pay to sit next to dp.
I alao have a lot of pain so he helps me with that.
Doesn't make me a nasty person, just that iv organised things so i will cope.
Did you speak to the ladies in question the way you have spoken to some people on here? Could be very good reason why they didn't want to help.
Or possibly they may have health problems that you aren't aware of, it doesn't make them horrible grumpy ladies just because they didn't want to move from the seats they paid for.

Op yes caa states children under -a certain age should be where possible seated next to parent or responsible person, but next to does mean, same row or in front ,behind, not separated by a row. It doesn't mean next to each other.

Ahhh sorry for double post. phone froze and the post didn't post but has now appeared, ofcorse.

I choose and pay for my seat to minimise the chance of a panic attack, because I am a very poor flyer.

I would not move for someone who had deliberately chosen not to pay for their children to be near them. Because having to have an oxygen mask and a call put out over the tannoy for a doctor is both humiliating and not a great start to a holiday.

There seems to be a misunderstanding that you are paying for the privilege of sitting next to your child. You aren't. You are paying to guarantee seats together for your family group. You never had this guarantee before the ability to pay to pre book seats, it was always a gamble. You had to check in as early as possible to get the seats you wanted.

I wouldn't bother paying. If you get seated separately either....your kid is fine with it and happily sits on its own (SWEET! A nice break to read a mag), kid is so young that NOONE wants it sitting on its own and someone kindly moves so you can be together or kid is so upset that someone kind moves and lets you sit together.

I personally would have no problem moving for a mum/dad and kid unless I had paid for my seat or it would have me away from my travel companion(s). On many flights I would have been fine to change for someone.

So there I am, valium-ed up to the eyeballs, sitting in my carefully chosen and paid-for seat, thinking happy thoughts, tra la la la la, and just about holding it together when the cabin attendant sashays up to me and asks me to move so that a very late boarding woman and her DD (about 11 or 12) could sit together. He couldn't give a flying fuck that I was a nervous flyer, he was just trying to guilt me into giving up my paid-for seat. Then gave me a filthy look when i politely asked if I would be reimbursed the allocated seating fee. Reader, I stayed put.

It's silly that airlines charge for this, but how do you think they're getting away with £15 flights to Magaluf? By building a model where you almost certainly wind up paying more.

It's a bit much to expect others, who have paid for their seats, to move just so you can avoid the fee.

If a parent chooses to chance it, but then is distressed that their game of chance didn't pay off in their favour, they should carry the spare cash and hand over the £30 to the person who kindly moves.

It is completely selfish to say to yourself "I won't pay, but if someone else does, I will make them feel guilty take what they paid for but not reimburse them."

If you're going to play Russian roulette with your toddler, then at least have the decency to give it up ad pay your way when it's clear your plan didn't work.

Everyone knows that airlines charge these extras to make themselves look good (cheap initial flight cost), but it does seem a bit like ticking the box for "no food" and then demanding someone else give you their paid for dinner. You just don't.

If you want to protect your child and DO mind being separated from your partner, then pay for the hidden extra. But if you resent this cost and decide to chance it then you have to accept what chance brings.

I suspect half of the people who claim they would refuse to move would relent in real life. But that still doesn't make it ok.

I also think that its great to teach them independence and to enjoy their own company from a reasonable age (depends on how inherently confident they are I guess) but you don't need to sit with your child unless they are too young to protect themselves or behave. You are only a few meters away and for the majority of the flight can pop over to check on them.

I wouldn't move (unless it was an upgrade to first class). I wouldn't be in a fit state, having just boarded, to even listen to and internalise the question. You need to factor in the cost of booking seats together into the total cost of your flight and the total cost of your holiday.

Would those who refuse to pay for the privilege of sitting together, mind as much if the extra cost was not broken down but automatically included in the ticket price? So a £1000 flight is actually £900 plus £100 for booking seats.

You don't like it because you're paying for an item that has been clearly divided for you to see where your money is going. You feel indignant and resist this cost, a cost you believe should have come free to you.

But you're missing the fact that everyone is in the same boat, and if you rock that boat you're making someone else's life worse, just because you didn't like the itemised bill you (like every else) were given.

Once again these kind of threads bring out people's true colors! People who wouldn't move for a toddler- shame on you!!! I sound like my granny, but what is society coming to? No manners or consideration. Having a young family is such a financial strain and expecting families to fork out over £100 extra because airline companies are trying to make an extra buck and people are too rude too move for young children disgusts me. Seriously what is wrong with people? No parent child parking spaces, not standing for pregnant women on the tube and now this. I dispair
Strangely enough not one person I know would NOT move for a child so perhaps I am living in a bubble or have particularly courteous friends.

I know RTFT but has anyone mentioned this article?

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/travel/2015/06/family-tax-dads-outrage-as-ryanair-tries-to-seat-three-year-old-away-from-family?utm_source=MSE_Newsletter&utm_medium=oneliner-one&utm_term=17-Jun-15-lt&utm_campaign=news&utm_content=2

And just to add, I don't think anyone would expect a parent sitting next to their child to move so that op can sit next to theirs but maybe adults traveling alone or adults planning to sleep etc might not mind moving.

Anotherone seriously?

Do you hand young families money on the street? Do you buy their shopping? Because that's what you're asking.

I don't understand what the extra cost' is

It's just that you pay for the flight - fairly cheaply as a rule - and then anything between &10 and £30 to choose your seats.

If you don't want to choose your seats it's not a problem but if you do, you can.

Do you hand young families money on the street?

Eh?

Another haha. Very good. Shame on me? Really. Shame on the parents that felt money was more important than sitting next to their toddler.

Just to clarify, I pay to sit next to my family. I don't like paying but I do it anyway. And I won't be moving either.