Do I REALLY need to pre book seats on the plane?

[StephenKatz]

Flying to Spain in a couple of months, Thomson have told me I now have the option to pre book my seats on the plane. The last time I went it was just allocated from the very beginning (different airline and quite a while ago to be fair!) It's going to cost £28 for the four of us, something I wasn't really anticipating and I kind of resent paying it. But if I don't, would they seriously sit DC away from us? They are 4 and 6.

Whilst I don't really mind having a couple of hours peace from them sipping wine , I fear I'll be one of those people that Mumsnet whinge about! I won't demand rudely that a stranger give up their allocated seat or anything! But I'm trying to decide if it's worth paying, or trusting that they'll sit us together? I don't mind DH and I aren't sat together, as long as we have a child each to look after? AIBU not to pay?

We were allocated four seats in a row on a BA flight, so I thought no need to change that. When we got to the check in we were told that our seat allocation had been changed. DH and I were where we were, but the children had been moved half the plane away from us, and not even together. I think they were 2 and 7 at the time. We said we were happy to have two groups of two seats but not for the children to sit with strangers so far from us, and were told that we couldn't move. The children had been moved out of the original row because there was an emergency exit alongside, but we were not moved with them. The check in staff said there was nothing they could do, but we should ask the cabin staff to sort something out. We then had the embarrassing situation of standing about while the cabin crew asked various people to move, many of whom refused, and lots of others huffing and puffing and rolling their eyes as if it was our fault, but eventually someone took pity and we got two sets together for myself and the little one nearer to the older child.

I do resent the cost and effort of pre-booking seats as it seems to me a stealth supplement on families with young children, and that it could be avoided for all but the fussiest by having sensible policies about putting a young child with a parent as a priority in the first place.

margarita if you have checked in and your seats are together you will be fine. We never pay for seats with Ryanair and have so far always ended up together.

In fact when they first introduced numbered seats we did not even realise they had done it (we used to take a dd each and sit as two twos, in the days of the free-for-all race for seats). Bizarrely, when we did realise we had allocated seats, we had coincidentally sat in the correct place...

I flew with Ryanair last week, the seat on my boarding pass was the seat I sat it.

I didn't see the point in priority, I kept my hand luggage with me no probs.

Thanks janek and C3pu I am just a bit worried as ds's precious catties will be in his bag. I don't actually think they would take a bag off a 5yo but I am nervous!

I haven't read the full thread so if this info is redundant just ignore. They can and may sit you away from them. My family split up on a plane once to help a woman who was seated away from her 3 kids. She had an 8, 7 and 3 year old DC and they were all in different seats. The 3 year old was 6 rows back from her and he was the closest. It was only us and 2 men who offered to move and tbh I think everyone really resented shuffling around for her when we had paid to prebook and she hadn't. Don't assume that the cabin crew will move people to help you because they have a very small window to get the plane off the ground and if it is going to delay the flight they won't do it. They'd rather put you off than delay a plane, because it has a knock on effect on all the other flights.

They will not sit you separately, don't get sucked into the marketing. You can check in online a week before and it's absolutely no trouble

just do it, think of the £28 as being part of the overall ticket

I flew with Easyjet a few weeks back. A woman got on who was not next to her child (who was about 4 ish?). The stewardess got on the intercom and asked for someone to swap seats as "we are not allowed to take off with unaccompanied children on board."

Don't pay it. It's a complete swizzle to make money on the back of some passengers' anxieties.

When we booked our holiday (Falcon) we were offered the option to pay extra to guarantee seats together. It was pretty expensive. I think it would have added over E100 to the price.
I didn't pay. My kids are 8 and 12 so it's not the end of the world if we're not sitting beside them
Anyway when I went to do the online booking we have been seated together anyway.

When DC were 18 months and 4, we flew with First Choice and I paid to pre book the seats. They booked another family with the same surname into our seats and then told me that me, DH, and each of the two small children would have to sit separately in the airplane in four totally different seats not even near each other!!!

Tempting though this was, I refused and they had to put a message out to all passengers asking them if they would move so we could sit at least two and two with the tiny DC. It was FORTY MINUTES before anyone would agree, and it was clear that fellow passengers thought we hadn't paid and were being bloody awkward.

I was fuming, and FC refused any compensation or even an apology. Needless to say they have never had a penny of my money since.

If you want to sit together you have to pay - and if it's FC even then it isn't a guarantee.....

the couple sat next to me mentioned they had not booked their seats but we're glad to be sat together as he was a nervous flyer and said to my face they didn't see why they should move. He was a grown man for gods sake!

Do you not see the irony of ranting about your entitlement because of your poor, frightened DCs but sneering at someone else who would be extremely distraught to move?

I was once accosted on a plane (0 hour flight, travelling alone) by a mum who hadn't prebooked. I politely said no, as I had chosen my seat for very specific reasons. She tried to threaten me about how her child would be climbing on seats, insisting on me keeping him company, he would 'throw up on me' (she was getting desperate at this point as I was just completely deadpan and silent listening to her rant and threaten and I think it unnerved her.)

After she finally finished her spiel, I smiled sweetly and said none of that would be a problem, as I was taking heavy duty sleeping aids and even if her son did vomit on me, I wouldn't notice and to have a nice flight.

The look on her face was priceless!

20 hour flight! Excuse all the typos and grammar errors

We're off to Europe in 10 days and it's my first short haul holiday flight in some time, we don't need to pre-book as the family are frequent flyers and all old enough to fly unaccompanied now, and in all honesty for under 3 hours in the air where they sit is not that important. I'll just want an aisle seat as I feel trapped otherwise (although if it was impossible I could manage without)

I'm not sure if I am looking forward to the bunfight for seats or not. It's not a low cost airline so seats will be allocated by check in.

My worst example of a plane being held up was on a 5 hour internal flight in the US, and it was a grown woman travelling with her adult son. She was in First Class and he wasn't, she would not accept this and kept pacing up and down an wailing at the crew. Son was frankly embarrassed but the flight was full so not a lot could be done, no one in First Class was giving up their seat and she would not sit in economy. It took about 30 minutes before they managed to get her seated.

If it had been me I would have had her escorted from the flight.