thinking I should have been seated next to my three-year-old on this flight?

[nappyrat]

Cheap (orange) airline. Normally v good when travelling with kids - speedy boarding, say they'll sit you with kid/s etc.

Flew out recently & they said a 'technical error' had mistakenly sat me in a different row(!!) to my 3 year old. They fixed it on board (after much grumbling by several passengers about not moving from seats they've paid extra to book to sit together (fair enough!)). But fixed, fairly stress free.

Return flight today, I was sat across the aisle from DS. Their handling agent told me that this is considered 'sat together'?! Erm...really?! Anyway, handling agent refused to seat us together. Cue quite a bit of 'discussing' with them why this was not on IMO. No budging. Decided to leave it & ask the flight crew when we boarded. Who eventually sorted it - v kind older couple agreed to move seats.

Before I let loose with said orange airline's customer services, AIBU to think that sorting across the aisle from a 3 yr old is not appropriate?! DS was wailing, I had to bend across aisle to comfort, there were good chunks of time during boarding when I couldn't see DS because ppl stood in between us in aisle. Just bloody stressful quite frankly. And not what I'd expect from this - or to be bloody honest - any - airline.

Opinions please mumsnet!

Tbjd3
Could you translate that please?

The entitlement culture is alive and well I see.

Have kids, book a seat. Don't have kids don't need to book a seat.

It's easy and stress free.

Having to be pleaded with to give up your priority seat (that you paid for) because some parent didn't is something I will never do. Sorry about that.

But it's ok. Ryanair now insist that you pay for your child's seat next to you.

I love Ryanair. Always did.

www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/travelling-with-a-child-on-ryanair-youll-be-facing-a-new-charge-from-september-1-34920955.html

Russian airline (begins with an A) once sat me, my DH and our 4 DCs literally dotted all over the plane in singular seats. The nearest 2 were 6 rows apart. The youngest DCs (twins) were just 2 and DS was 3. Certainly not capable of taking care of themselves. Oh and it was a 9 hour flight. Definitely not in line with CAA laws/rules. When I realised I went straight to the air hostesses and asked for help. They could see the DCs were infants. I was holding their hands. They refused and shrugged their shoulders. I sat my 2 year old DD in her seat next to a Korean man who spoke no English and asked them if he would be feeding her, taking her to the toilet and helping her get off to sleep. Same with her DS twin who was seated next to an elderly Russian lady with very limited English. They eventually huffily agreed to ask other passengers to move and blamed me for not checking the boarding cards. I hadn't thought in my wildest worst case scenario that infants would be separated from parents.

Orange airline should make this policy better known. Unfair contract terms have to be highlighted and this is similar. It's all very well to tell the OP she should have booked seats but this is £10 extra per seat each way and I think it is reasonable to assume you will be sat next to a very young child - they do after all know all the children's ages at booking.

I had a similar situation with another cheap flight, I was flying out in an emergency ( parents that bloody live in the back end of beyond being ill thing). I had no time to pre book seats, as then they only booked the first three rows ? ( this was 8 yrs ago)
Either way after the crush for the plane I found myself sat 4 rows away from toddler !! People did not want to move but they soon did after toddler started wailing ...

On a recent flight I had to sit in a row in front of a woman who was sat with her two dc's aged around four and seven. Safety at the forefront of her mind?? I think not - she allowed them to jump about, constantly banging my seat and making masses of noise. When I asked her very nicely to please desist she had a go at me for 'moaning' all the time😳 I hate this sense of entitlement parents have nowadays. When did having children mean you needed a special parking space? If I'd paid for special seats I'd only have swapped if you'd offered to reimburse me. Pay up like other passengers have to next time or shut up.

Are we not allowed to speak the airlines name here?

I agree about Russian airline with an A name. Horrible flight with them.

Canda, good point. Airlines seeking to have it both ways. This has happened to me when the DCs were older and I sat some of them in front of us. The children were behaving fine but the airline said an adult had to sit next to them as policy.

Queenliz i wasn't sure!!!!

Flying in the face of my smug 07:33 comment, I have booked flights this evening and NOT booked seats for us. I have spent a fortune over the years as I have always booked seats (including with our Orange friends, with whom I have also booked this flight).
Went to book seats, saw the plane was almost empty, thought of this thread and rebelled.
Does everyone get a seat when they check in online now? Is there not the weird rugby scrum any more? It is so long since I didn't book seats, I am very out of practice.

All flights we've taken in recent years with the 'low-cost' airlines have had our seats allocated at check-in so you know where you are going to be sitting on the plane.

Have never paid to reserve seats.

There is still a bit of scrum as people rush to get on the flight...we always hang about towards the back as there is no point getting your knickers in a twist, with allocated seats you already have your reserved seats!

The crappy orange airline which incidentally I'll never travel with again after they gave our seats away should not charge anyone to sit anywhere unless they are actually better seats, between the ridiculousness of luggage costs and seat bookings and giving your seat away it's just a crap airline

I also nearly got knocked over while 6 months pregnant in the scrum for seats. Awful, if they just let everyone choose without paying it would be far less stressful. The cost of luggage is extortionate too.

Less stressful and far more expensive for everyone whether they want hold luggage or to select their seat.

The 'crappy orange airline' has allowed me to visit my family far more often than I'd be able to afford otherwise. Why? Because I don't mind the lack of frills. I travel without children and carry hand luggage and can forgo a complimentary bag of dry roasted nuts.

If you want a premium service, either stump up for the added extras on easyjet or travel with a different airline where all that is bundled into the (higher) headline price.

I frequently fly alone, back and forth across the Atlantic, so around 9 hours. I have a favorite Windows seat that I book and pay for every trip.

A couple of trips ago, I arrive at my row to find a Mother sitting in the middle seat and a child about nine or ten sitting in my seat. I said excuse me he's in my seat, she promptly told he I could sit in the aisle seat, because snowflake wanted to look out of the window. I once again told her he was in my seat, she just pretended I wasn't there. Called the stewardess who made them move.

First hour or so I got nothing but passive aggressive comments about the mean lady that was ruining snowflakes trip. A young fellow across the aisle got fed up of hearing her moaning and told her to shut the fuck up. She complained to the stewardess who basically told her the same thing, but more politely.

Peace for the rest of the trip.

YANBU

I think expecting a child of 3 to sit in a different row or across the aisle is a bit much! I get people pay for seats but really ch often should sit with parents. my 4yo would be hysterical if he couldn't sit with daddy!

I recently booked a flights with 2 different airlines, (I paid to pick seats for both) after booking I added on a seat for my 1yo as it was apparent he would not sit on a lap for any length of time! one airline were super accommodating about this and didn't charge extra to have him sit next to me and in fact refunded me the 'on lap' subsidy I had already paid. the other made me pay extra to have a 1 yo sit with me!! I laughed down the phone, and was like 'would you let a 1yo sit on his own?' apparently no they wouldn't but I still had to pay to secure the seat or I might end up with him on my lap despite buying the seat.

I would still write to the airline, not for compo or anything, but if enough people say actually your system isn't ideal, and really children under 10 need to be sat next to the adult responsible for them, or the airline needs to take responsibility for them, they might make a change.

Yep, I believe they are making a change- with one airline if you have a child under 10 you will have to pay to book your seats.

I read on the Thomson holiday Facebook page that they refused to depart until someone moved to allow a father and son, who hadn't booked seats, to sit together. In the end they gave an upgrade to Premimum economy to the mover.

I'm not sure holding a plane full of people to ransom like that is the right thing to do.

This happened someone I know recently with a well known cheap blue and yellow airline. First holiday with her boyfriend and two smallies 18 months and 5, he booked seats and the four of them were scattered all over the plane. In your case you were lucky someone moved for you, she had to stand in the aisle with two upset kids for the four hour flight because no one would move. She was livid, boyfriend got no brownie points as you can imagine!

if they change it so you HAVE to pay, then so be it, most people seem to think that that's what the OP should have done anyway. I personally would feel my 3yo was an imposition on the people he was sat with if he was next to, in the CAA sense of in front or behind or across the aisle from, me. equally I would be horrified to find that I was sat next to both my child and someone else's! I would feel responsible in part for ensuring the well being of their child, and that would make me feel very stressed and anxious. especially say if I had both my 4yo, my 1yo on my lap and then another child next to me!

What do you mean she had to stand in the aisle? Surely he had to?

"I found out this week when booking flights through a tour operator that if flights for Monarch are not booked direct then you can't check in on-line and therefore select your seats."

I have had this problem before when booking through an agent to fly BA or Qantas. The booking number they give you is not one that will allow you to check in online. The last time I used an agent, I asked them specifically to give me the BA booking number so that I could check in online, which worked, but if you don't ask, you don't get.

Thing is, it comes down to consideration.

The people saying 'you CAN'T expect a 1/2/3 yo to sit alone!' are correct but that's just the point. Using that fact to force people to move is just inconsiderate and really rather unpleasant.

I always book the seats. I also strongly dislike the cheapest airlines unless it's a very very short flight.

MLGs it was evening flight, they were tired, kids just want their mum when they're tired. He has no kids himself, I think he's still learning this parenting stuff.

Harsh!

I agree, you should be sat next to a child this young. Surely this is for the benefit and safety of all.

It shouldn't be someone else's responsibility to be sat next to (and feel responsible for) a child this young.

Orange air line are at fault, I agree it's unfair for people who paid to choose their seats to be moved but that only happened because of hen airlines failure to properly accommodate the parent and child.

You shouldn't HAVE to pay extra to choose your seat.

What if this had been a disabled person and carer...... Would he view be the same.

I avoid that airline because of their poor customer service.