that airlines charge you extra to sit together!?!?

[Dollygirl2008]

I mean, after a totally shitty year, I have scraped the money together to take my DC away for a weeks holiday to Menorca- possible the last foreign holiday we will have for a long time. And now, the sodding, well reputable tour operator want more money for us to sit together!?!? I mean, do pepper early do this!? Are they really going to split us up (DC is 7)??

Interested in others views or experience, thanks

The present day reality is you do not buy a guarantee of a certain seat when you pay for an allocated one. Airline staff can and do move passengers for safety or other reasons; this is clearly spelt out and you have to accept this before paying the extra for a seat which is only 'yours' if it is not needed for someone else (e.g. To keep a child safe).

Of course airline staff can order anyone to move in extreme circumstances but I assure you they will not do so arbitrarily to accommodate entitled mooches who failed to properly plan and purchase the services they need.

If you think invoking the ultimate authority of the captain/crew to move passengers is a valid way to justify being an entitled cheapskate, you are mistaken. Airlines expect parents, as well as other passengers, to purchase the seats and services they need rather than come aboard no-frills and then whine for special treatment.

I do understand the business model for economy airlines, cheap flights etc.
But I still think it's a bit rich when you're paying thousands to get from Australia to the UK to then have to stump up extra (another £120) to sit in the same row as one's small children for the entire 22.5h flight.
Yes we get free meals and drinks (I would happily forego the meals, tbh and bring our own, as I have to bring our own food anyway) and we get free hold and cabin luggage - but the seat thing is new and really quite upsetting.

So youre happy with that then blaeberry then are you? I'll keep your child safe (vulnerable an' all) by moving from the particular seat I've booked and paid for because you've decided not to pay to sit next to your child... if everyone had your mindset, air travel would be a nightmare, crews would be spending all of their time placating entitled parents, trying to move people who had paid like a jigsaw of seats, take off time slots would be missed, safety would indeed be compromised. Thank god you are in the minority and most passengers make sure they keep their children in their care.

And luckily aircrew are sensible, I've been asked to move for very genuine reasons before and have been happy to do so. (elderly gentleman, leg siezed up, needed aisle seat)

I think this is all a symptom of lazy parenting and preciousness. I made it my job to make sure my children were safe and with me when travelling, whatever form of transport that was. I didn't rely on others good nature or the aircrew of an aeroplane.

They'd rather ask nicely (because they want you to book with them next time) but they can make you move if they have to

Well yes. But if they approach me - a passenger who has paid extra to ensure she sits where she needs to sit, expecting me to put another passenger who has not paid (but is demanding preferential treatment) ahead of myself, then the answer will still be no.

What do you think they will do under that circumstance? I would assume they would threaten being kicked off the flight - but who do you think they would kick off? Especially these days when social media is still fully operational on the Tarmac.

I don't get the problem. You book together. You sit together. This is how it was for decades. It was impossible to not sit together for Christ's sake!

Exactly. This is a problem created by a faulty business model chosen by airlines who think the extra profit margin is worth the hassle to cabin crew and the occasional delayed flight.

You book together. You sit together. This is how it was for decades

Maybe. But times have changed so you need to change too. No good harping back to the good old days of expensive travel that was only for the wealthy. This 'faulty business model' has been in force for at least 15 years and probably more - it obviously works so they aren't to going to change it unless they are forced to. Until that time suck it up, pay for your own child, don't expect others to care.

They won't be changing how this works, agree. They have seperated out all the bits that were once part of the fare. It is perfectly clear on the economy carrier websites.

No meals unless you pay for it, low cost airlines make most of their money on overpriced pringles and watery coffee.

Ground services cost a fortune so taking baggage in the hold is not the norm. If you want to do it, you pay for it. Personally I think that is totally fair, you pay towards the ground service staff.

Seats the same - take pot luck and sit wherever, think of it as a discount for being flexible. Ensure you are sat with your children, husband, mother, sister, friend - pay for it. This is not a safety thing or a vulnerable person thing because no one who thinks this is outrageous has yet answered why their need to sit by their children should be free and yet I would have to pay to sit by my elderly and slightly immobile Dad. So you have to pay like the rest of us. .

This "faulty business model" has been in force for at least 15 years

This is absolute bollocks. I fly at least 20 times a year on both national and low cost airlines. It's only in the last 2-3 years that airlines have been attempting to scam all passengers into paying extra for seats, and really only in the last couple of years that it's been ubiquitous.

The original low-cost model was no seat allocation at all. They later started selling the seats in the front few rows - regular Ryanair passengers from about 5-6 years ago will recall a time when the front five or six rows were routinely left blocked and empty because no one had paid to sit in them. In the early days, it was also commonplace to board parents with young children first - for no charge.

On national airlines, asking passengers to pay to choose seats (via restricting early check-in to those who pay a supplement) is even more recent. On BA I can only recall being asked to pay for this in the last year.

It's always been the case that you can pay for a better seat (in business class, in premium economy, in the exit rows) - the difference now is that ALL the seats can be chosen, leaving the airlines much less flexibility in seat allocation.

Well, I for one am glad they have seat allocation. I remember when EJ played around with no seat allocation, it was a complete and utter bunfight at the departure gate with people stood there hours before, literally. Then a mad dash to the plane, it was ridiculous.. Now you can pay £3 and get the seat you want. Far far better.

This is absolute bollocks

15 years ago this summer I went to Cuba with then DH. We were seperated on the flight over (by one row) as we hadn't pre-paid allocated seating. Whilst we were there we took part in a wedding of a lovely couple from Essex. On the flight back DH and I were seperated again at check in. DH paid a $50 'bribe' to the check in bloke and we were seated together. The honeymoon/wedding couple were seperated front left to back right of the plane and kicked off once boarded.

Two years later, going on our own honeymoon and mindful of this experience we paid for selected seating. We were asked to move by a steward for a mum, dad and child. I politely refused, explaining we were going on honeymoon and had paid extra to be seated together. Steward went away.

My elderly parents have always paid for selected seating as my mum is an extremely nervous flier. They didn't stop going on holidays until about 8 years ago, so were certainly paying at least 8 years ago.

By the way, inncase anyone is flying with BA, I flew long haul a month ago and did not pay to sit together. We decided to check in as early as possible instead online.
Imagine my delight after all the gloom and doom of threads like this, to discover we had all been allocated seats together all the way through.
I did not have to pay extra.
Wahoo!

Oh and I've been a parent for 11 years now. We have taken DD abroad since she was 1 year old. We have always paid to be seated together - being sat next to my child on a flight is essential and I wouldn't dream of choosing to be seperated from her.

wooohooo Dingbats! I'm flying longhaul with BA but chickened out and have paid for our seats, but it's the A380 and upstairs it's a 2-4-2 configuration and I desperately want the 2 so I can give myself the best chance to sleep (14 hour overnight flight)

i always pay extra to be able to sit with my family....i would feel sorry for a child left sat on their own.....but that is the fault of the twattish parents for not booking seats together.....why should someone who has paid for their seat be moved to accommodate someone who couldnt be bothered to do the same .....theres always someone on a flight who hasnt done this and causes a hoohaa because they think they should be catered for regardless of anyone else...pay for seats together to avoid being the parent who gets the dirty looks for holding up the flight!

When I was young we always travelled stand-by so were often split up from my parents (we were all 10+ though), sometimes we were in different classes. The adults we sat next to were always lovely and it never bothered us. We often ended up with gifts and spending money from them! However, my DD who is now 13 has learning difficulties and I wouldn't want to be separated from her. Sometimes the airlines will allocate us seats for free because of that and sometimes they won't so I pay.

I would move for a parent to sit next to a child IF the parent in question reimbursed me for any seat booking fee I had paid.

Seems fair!

It is the parents responsibility to take whatever steps are needed to be sat with their DCs if necessary. Do not push that onto someone else.

It's like me driving a Mum and her 2 young DCs somewhere, and making it my responsibility to make sure they have their seatbelts on whilst Mum just sits there.

Actually I don't think I would move for just reimbursement (if not to a better seat). I book a seat because I want to sit in that particular seat. If I didn't care and would rather have the money, I wouldn't have booked in the first place.

This is an interesting thread. What hasn't been resolved by the non-payers with children is why they think that a payer should be moved for their benefit. Not one of these posters has responded to say exactly why someone who has paid for a seat should give that seat to the poster and not be compensated by them for doing that.

As others have said, there is absolutely no other set of circumstances in everyday life where anyone would think that was reasonable, whether children are involved or not. The restaurant analogy is a good one - imagine choosing to supersize in McDonalds, the person behind you pays for regular then asks you to swop your supersize with their regular simply because they don't want to pay the extra, or they want it for their child? . Wouldn't happen.

I think you're better off trying to find the money. The holiday flights in school holidays are packed, with people who have paid for their seat allocation, so IME you won't find anybody will move to accommodate you. The majority of them are families who also want to sit with their dc. We went to Majorca, I think it was actually October half term but there were several families with upset dc, arguing with the stewardess because they'd not booked seats. One dc was refusing to sit on their own and put their seatbelt on so they were looking to take the whole family off the flight.

But yes, it's the thing now and it's a shocker really. And check out what's allowed in hand luggage if you've not been abroad for a while.

What irritates me is that the flights aren't cheap in the school holidays, at all. So then to add on seat booking and luggage is crap really.

Why is it crap? You aren't owed a holiday

People who begrudge business profits - how do you expect airlines to invest in new planes and safety equipment if they are not making a net income? Try to think a bit before you demonize "greedy" corporations.

Isn't one reason for more problems with seating that you didn't used to check in till at the airport, so no more than a few hours before the flight, so by that point, the airline would mostly know who would be on the flight so could shuffle things round more. But now you can book in up to a month ahead (which I don't fully understand - I thought the point of check in was to know who was definitely flying - though these days with better IT and passes scanned at security and so, they presumably build the passenger manifest that way - typing as someone who's failed to make a flight she was checked in for in the past.)

Anyway, if I've checked in 28 days ahead and have been allocated seat 6A, that does build an expectation that I'll get seat 6A, not just any "window seat preferred", and if I've paid for allocation, my expectations are even higher.

Not that this is a new problem in theoretical terms - it must be what theatres have had to deal with for pretty much forever, and if you book late, you might just have to put up with having a restricted view or being right up at the back of the gods, rather than front middle of the dress circle, because that's all that's left; no one in that case would dream of trying to get theatre staff to move people around (someone's now going to say, "I went to a show, and...") - you accept you get what you pay for out of the availability at the time you book, or you choose not to book at all.

What irritates me is that the flights aren't cheap in the school holidays, at all.

Because the cheapest flights are when they're struggling to fill a flight. That's not an issue with flights to popular destinations in the school hols. Supply and demand.

i think nowadays if you cause a problem you will just be removed from the aircraft....better to just pay for your seats together than to be off loaded and not go at all