£100 to sit together?

[sunchild77]

Kids first family holiday abroad... BA want £100 to sit us all together.. Kids first flight they are 4, 9 and 11yrs plus us mum and dad.
Would the airline really sit us all separately? Is paying out really a big waste of money?
Plus Im terrified of flying as it is... I need DH nearby!!
Thoughts please? thanks x

I still think it's assholery, but there you go.
Aside from this jibe and some vague stuff asserting morals, we haven't heard why my (admittedly theoretical) seat reservation trumps the OPs £0 one. Could you elaborate since we're all assholes?

I pay to sit with my DP, as I really don't like flying. I wouldn't swap seats for people who hadn't paid to sit together. It's not my responsibility to make sure other people are happy with their seats. Extra hidden costs are unfortunately a fact of life!

Guilty as charged, but my asshole will be sat next to DP's asshole. Because we don't take the chance, and pay to sit together. HTH AdjustableWench

If I've paid to select a specific seat to sit next to my family, why would I move so that you can sit next to your family?

"Together" as already stated on this thread, might mean across the aisle or in the row in front or behind! (CAA guidelines)

IIRR not everyone booked on to a plane CAN always book in advance.

I remember not being able to book seats when we flew to las Vegas one year. It was only a week before when I remembered I needed to sort them - flights being dealt with via Virgin Holidays but you had to go onto VA to book seats. They'd run out of pre-allocation seats. I had to call VA and wait till the day for them to be able to sort it out.

So, not sure what %age of seats can be re-allocated but don't think it is 100%

Has anyone mentioned the importance of a child's joy yet?

Most airlines sit families together. Without charging them for it. If you want to pay extra it's up to you but it won't generally get you much more than just checking in online and choosing a seat that way.

It is your childrens first time flying and you are nickel and diming over £100.

They wil certainly remember their first flight.

Has anyone mentioned the importance of a child's joy yet?

dybil mentioned a bit a go, be I thijnk S/he got away with it.

"Together" as already stated on this thread, might mean across the aisle or in the row in front or behind! (CAA guidelines)

As there are five of them, someone is going to be separated by an aisle as a minimum anyway.

We book our flights online and the airlines we've used allow you to view and select your seats at any time from booking right through to online check in. That means you can view, on screen, what seats have been booked and which havn't. By logging in and viewing every few weeks, you can see how it's going and then you can make the decision to book/pay for seats if bookings are being made. If there is plenty of space still unbooked, we risk waiting until check in opens and then you can select your seats without charge.

I pay to sit with my family - be that my DCs or my DP alone. I wouldn't move for someone who hadn't paid and that would be the case if they had DCs with them and I didn't.

I don't like flying so I like to sit with DP or another family member. Even if I loved flying, it remains that I paid for my seat therefore I will sit in it. That does not make me an arsehole.

Our holiday starts the minute we close the front door, I go on holiday to spend time with my family, I pay for our seats. I do not pay for my seats to underwrite other peeoples parismonious principles.

Not sure Ego147! He is at work right now and hasn't replied to that yet! Check in opens 24hrs prior to the scheduled flight and you can choose your seats for free then if I remember correctly. Maybe people will choose to do this. I guess it's probably a risk you take unfortunately. I would like to think that most people would be kind enough to move and not make a young child sit with a stranger but they have no actual obligation to if they have paid for their choice of seat. At the end of the day you are paying for any seat on that flight. I don't necessarily agree with this but I imagine it stops a lot of complaints from customers when they don't get the seat they wanted...saying they paid the same for a seat but another customer is sat in a better location.

I don't think anyone needs to justify not moving if they have paid to book a seat, especially if it is to accommodate someone who chose not to pay to do that. Moral responsibility does not in anyway enter into it. I would have thought that a nine and an eleven year old could quite well sit away from parents too, but that does of course depend on the length of the flight and the particular child. They might find the independence fun. Not the four year old though.

Yeah they would. On our holiday in April I paid. My sister refused. On the way there all five of them were sat together. On the way back my sister was down the fro the with her one year old on her knee. My five year old niece was in the middle of the plane. Her sister was a few rows back and their dad was on the last row.

They couldnt move them because everyone else had paid for their seats together. My dh and my eleven year old ended up swapping with my nieces because they were so upset and I was with my youngest two and my sisters two across the aisle.

Book it and just always include it in your consideration when booking as a cost.

Pay it if you have to.

Some airlines will actually automatically place you next to eachother if you are on the same booking, and you only pay if you want DIFFERENT seats than the one you are allocated, or if you want to sit together with somebody on a different booking. This is how it is With Norwegian Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines. I think it quite civilized.

Moral responsibility my arse. It's YOUR moral responsibility to ensure your children are sat next to a trusted adult. Certainly not mine. Stick your hand in your pocket and don't be so entitled.

Missbishi. Well said.

Look at it as £20.00 extra on the ticket cost per person for peace of mind that you will definitely sit together. As there is 5 of you I wouldn't risk not paying it as their version of together probably won't be the same as yours.

Ups the Ante and legs it.........

I always pay to choose my seats. Class it as part of the holiday expense. I did see one family on our Florida flight be sat one behind the other. When the dad complained on the plane, the cabin crew explained that as most people had paid to choose their seat, they wouldn't ask anyone to move.

You say it's a charter flight, it won't be if it's BA as they are a scheduled airline. If its half term there may be many families who have paid therefore making seating you altogether more unlikely.