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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

542 replies

Dollygirl2008 · 26/04/2016 23:20

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

OP posts:

lalalalyra · 27/04/2016 00:32

Some of the airlines take the piss now. DH took our 8yo and our 2 1/2 on a flight last weekend and choosing allocated seats cost over £100. When you book with an 8yo and a 2yo they should just book you 3 seats. If people want to pay extra for the extra legroom seats then fair enough, but they should just allocate people a row when they book 3 seats.

MidniteScribbler · 27/04/2016 00:42

If not then tell than they can deal with your dd's requests

If you think I'm not capable of putting in headphones and ignoring your whiny kid for the duration of the flight, then you're delusional. I get paid to look after children all week, I'm not obligated to do it on my holidays as well.

cruikshank · 27/04/2016 00:50

It's bullshit though, isn't it?

I mean, you're not paying for the cost of booking a seat, which is a job that takes a nanosecond to complete on a computer. What they are doing is having a headline price and then adding to it as though it were an optional extra but actually you only find out the full price after you've booked. It's a fucking con, and not liking it doesn't make you entitled or whiny or whatever, it just means that actually when you're buying something you would like to know how much it costs before you pay, not after.

cruikshank · 27/04/2016 00:51

And am I the only person who hopes that MidniteScribbler gets seated next to an unaccompanied child who fills their nappy as soon as possible after take-off?

VashtaNerada · 27/04/2016 01:18

No you're not cruikshank I'd feel really quite sorry for a child who couldn't sit next to their parent and unless I had a very good reason why I couldn't move (fear of flying, very tall so need the legroom etc) of course I'd swap. And if I couldn't swap I'd apologise politely and explain why.
I remember what it's like to be seven, that's still pretty young.

VashtaNerada · 27/04/2016 01:19

(missbishi said the same thing too so it's not just Midnite)

cruikshank · 27/04/2016 01:33

I would swap too, Vashta. After all, it's not as though in the absence of considerations such as you mentioned that what seat I sit on has any bearing whatsoever as to the quality of my holiday - the flight is just something I have to do to get there, and as such can be undertaken from any point in the cabin.

kali110 · 27/04/2016 02:27

It is the price. If you want to sit together though you pay for it.
I have disabilities and am a nervous flier so i pay to sit next to my dh.
I don't get it for free even though i may need his help!
I wouldn't move for you either. I'm not nasty but i pay for my seats for a reason.
Deal with your childs requests?
No, i may help your child get a blanket down or do the seatbelt up but that's where the help ends and my headphones go on.
If it's that important that you sit next to your child, then pay, don't expect others to move or help.
Some may have disabilities ( you wouldn't know it to look at me), be scared of flying or just not want to monve from their paid seat.
I've seen countless posts from people complaining that they haven't gotten their money back when they haven't been able to sit together..,

cruikshank · 27/04/2016 02:38

But it's nonsense. Clearly, it doesn't cost the airline more to sit groups of people together. Clearly also, it doesn't cost them more to click in a box and book a seat. It's a con. Your seat isn't worth any more than any other seat just because you've booked it. And I suspect that a lot of people saying 'well I've paid' know this, and just don't want to admit that they've paid for nothing.

MidniteScribbler · 27/04/2016 02:53

Well for one thing, I wouldn't get stuck next to an unaccompanied child, because I actually pre-book my seats, which means we take up a whole row to ourselves.

But it's that attitude which is why people dig their heels in and refuse to move.

"I'm so sorry, but the airline couldn't seat us together and my daughter is scared of flying so I'd really like to be next to her in case she gets upset. Is there any chance we could change seats and I'll buy you are wine/coffee when the trolley comes around for the inconvenience?"

Gets a very different response to:

"You need to move so I can sit next to my kid. You want to stay in the seat you've paid for? Well I'll make sure she annoys you by puking and making you fix her tv for the whole flight."

It's all about how you ask.

TerrorAustralis · 27/04/2016 04:00

Spot on cruikshank. It's a con and if everyone refused to pay for it the airlines would stop doing it.

FishWithABicycle · 27/04/2016 05:33

We have a free market economy which says that the value of any product or service is the price that people are willing to pay for that service. It doesn't matter what it costs to provide.

Airlines have two products which have different monetary values. A ticket where you have no control over where you sit or who you sit with has one price, and a ticket where you can make these choices has another price. Imagining a flight which is mostly full of families and every seat is booked, it is unlikely that the perfect tetris-game solution exists where every family gets to sit together, so it is quite right and proper to have a two-tier price so that those who pay more get their preferred seating options. If people exist who are happy to pay for this preferential advantage then it's not unfair or overpriced. The best solution to packing the plane is to have a mix where the premium price people choose their places and then the people who want to pay the basic price fill in the gaps - their flexibility in not caring where they sit is helpful to the airline and is rightly rewarded with a lower price.

It is not true that it costs airlines nothing to give you a choice of seat allocation - they could only offer this for free if they choose not to sell every seat and leave the odd single seats scattered here and there empty, and only run the flight at 80% capacity. Instead they sell the odd single seats cheaper - nothing wrong with that. The seat-choosing service has to have a price point set so that not everyone will choose to pay it because if everyone pays then you re-set to the original problem, it's supply and demand and there's a limited supply of the "choice" option.

The system breaks down because airlines persist in giving the premium service to people who pay the basic price, even by inconveniencing people who have paid the premium price. That's not fair - if you don't pay for the service you need then you shouldn't get it. Airlines should be required to state that any advertised headline flight cost is for a seat you don't choose, if you book a seat for a child too young to not sit next to a parent then you should have no option but to pay the higher price. Otherwise you should have to tick a box saying that you understand and agree that you are paying a price that means you don't get a seat choice. Anyone who isn't happy with what they get allocated should not get to disrupt fellow passengers for free - they should be required to pay an enhanced shuffling fee which includes the cost of champagne/chocolates for whoever moves to accommodate them (and I'd at least double what they should have paid in the first place)

Air travel is not a human right. You are not entitled to a stress-free travel experience. If you want a luxury commodity that is expensive because it is in limited supply then you pay for it. End of.

LarryStylison · 27/04/2016 05:52

Airlines are a business famous for making losses

As a business, they need to make money, and this is one way of doing this. If they were a givernment or charity, then you'd have the right to be pissed.

totalrecall1 · 27/04/2016 06:01

BA want to charge me £70 EACH WAY PER PERSON to book my seats. that is £700 quid. I can't see how they can justify that. I am not paying it

totalrecall1 · 27/04/2016 06:03

BA want to charge me £70 PER PERSON EACH WAY to book our seats together. There is no way that amount is justifiable. I am not paying it.

Mia1415 · 27/04/2016 06:16

If they didn't do this then the price would increase on all seats! They are a business.

ihatethecold · 27/04/2016 06:18

I'm flying economy with Thai airways this summer. We have allocated seats but there wasn't an extra cost.

Rosa · 27/04/2016 06:18

It should be law CAA law that up to the age of 12 children should be allocated a seat next to 1 adult. For safety reasons more than anything else. If I was in row 15 with my nearest exit behind me and my child was 5 rows in front with their nearest exit forward there is now way on earth I would get off the plane without ensuring my kid was safe - probably hindering the escape process for others in the middle.
If the whole family wants to sit together then yes they pay .
End of

cleaty · 27/04/2016 06:28

Rosa - I have been in economy with children aged about 7-9 years old on their own, while the parents are in business class. So clearly not all parents feel it is essential.

IceMaiden73 · 27/04/2016 06:30

If I had paid for an allocated seat and ended up next to a child without a parent it would be tough really. Why should you not pay to sit together and then expect people who have paid to move for you? That's the risk you take

Also I wouldn't be looking after someone's unaccompanied child on a flight, not my problem

I know BA you can wait until 24 hours before and then allocate seats for free, but obv you take the risk that you don't all end up sitting together

1angrydwarf · 27/04/2016 06:32

I don't like paying as much as the next person but have to agree completely with FishWithABicycle's points.

However I also think what Rosa says should be the case from a safety point of view and to save the stewards/other passengers from having to deal with the fall out. That is to say under 12s should be attached to one adult, not that whole families should get to sit together for free while others pay.

Last point for OP. If your airline is Ryanair, they sometimes half the seat booking price a few weeks before the flight compared to what it would have cost at time of booking. I'm assuming they do this on flights where less people have pre-booked but having noticed this, I now won't book seats at time of booking, instead remember to add them on later.

greenfolder · 27/04/2016 06:33

Last time we went to Florida Virgin wanted £50 each to book seats together. In reality I was only concerned that one of us would be next to the smallest dd who was 6. I just could not stomach paying £250 extra and we could only pay for all of us or none of us. I read through the website and it did state that children under 12 would be seated with a parent. I actually went on to the site the day free booking was available and managed to get seats together after all.

Thebrowntrout · 27/04/2016 06:36

I don't personally see it as a con.

It doesn't tend to be a huge amount extra, and I tend to see it as a saving for people travelling solo / who are not arsed who they sit with.

cleaty · 27/04/2016 06:39

I have read posts on here where an OP wants her and her DP to fly business class, and put the children under 12 in economy. The OP is always told by a lot of people, that that is fine.
Either it is okay for children to sit without their parents, or it is not.

Obviouspretzel · 27/04/2016 06:40

It's really not a problem.

I have never booked seats on any flightime, and providing you check in together and do it early, you'll be sat together anyway due to the way the seats are allocated. That's how it's always worked for me anyway.

Easyjet allow you to check in online 30 days before departure. If you do that, chances are you'll be sat together anyway. That's why it's a swizz to pay for seat allocation in my opinion (although I can see why you would want the peace of mind of being sure). In the days when you had to check in at the airport then it was obviously different.

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