£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

[Oysterbabe]

Do you have to pay extra if you want to guarantee that you're not sat with your husband or children?

[Justmuddlingalong]

We flew with BA in the summer. It was a plane chartered by Thomsons so it was classed as a charter flight. If the OP is still about, could I ask what percentage of the holiday over all would the £100 be?

[gillybeanz]

We pay to sit together and wouldn't move for anyone, I'd just ignore somebody else's kid, tell them to stfu if they were being annoying.

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

Paying to prebook a specific seat does not exempt a person from the moral responsibility to move if a child needs to be seated with their parent. I find it astonishing that anyone could think this way.

So deliberately not paying and expecting people to move to accommodate them out of seats they have bothered to pay for is morally ok in your book.

Sorry, I paid for the seat for a reason. I'm not moving.

[expatinscotland]

Pay up. We pay to sit together so am not moving for anyone. I don't have a moral responsibility to accommodate tight-fisted people. And, if travelling alone, book a window seat so I can drink some wine whilst my diazepam kicks in, put on my headphones and go to sleep. My son has ASD, I'm very good at tuning out things entirely, including someone else's child sat next to me. They might tag me once, whereupon I'll tell them they need to call the air steward because I've taken prescription pills that will soon make me sleep.

[M0nstersinthecl0set]

If the parent puts a measly few quid above the priority of sitting next to their child. Their priorities are clear. I wouldn't move. Especially as seats suitable for me on a plane are restricted. Why should I place their child as a higher priority than myself?

[TrickyD]

We have flown a lot with BA. They are generally rubbish but they have never split our family up.

OP, with BA you can check in online 24 hours before your flight. You will see which seats they have allocated to you and if you don't like them you can change them for free at that point. Obviously you can only choose seats which are unreserved, but it is certainly worth looking. Be ready to do this the moment online check in opens.

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

I'm going to Florida in a few weeks and haven't pre booked my seats. Firstly, it's ridiculous the amount of extras you have to pay for nowadays... And secondly, I spoke to BA and they said that there's no way they'd separate me from my very young children.

(And actually, if any of you were seated next to my three year old, you'd beg me to switch with you!)

[Cocklodger]

I won't move for someone just because they're a self entitled twat. I've no problem with people choosing not to pay so long as they're happy to be seated away from their DC's. I fly many times a year in varying classes and get asked at least once a year to move.
Erm, no.
I'm not moving away from my DH so you can sit with your DC's. if that makes me an asshole then so be it, I think you're an arsehole for not paying and expecting people to move for you.

[expatinscotland]

'I spoke to BA and they said that there's no way they'd separate me from my very young children.

(And actually, if any of you were seated next to my three year old, you'd beg me to switch with you!)'

Then I hope you're okay with being a row behind or in front of or across an aisle because that is considering seating you together.

And no, I wouldn't be begging you to switch. I would drop my tablet, drink my wine, curl up in my paid for window seat and crash out. There's not a chance in hell I'd take over looking after your kid. Been there, done that, that's what the call bell is for.

[mixety]

I never reserve, mostly because I generally fly alone. I would swap seats to let a family sit together. I think on short haul flights between European cities there will often be people travelling alone will swap. On "sunny holiday destination" type routes people are probably travelling in groups or couples so there would be less potential for swapping and more risk of getting split up if you hadn't paid in advance to reserve.

[JustCallMeKate]

(And actually, if any of you were seated next to my three year old, you'd beg me to switch with you!)

Nope, I wouldn't. Noise cancelling headphones, a few little bottles of wine, films on my iPad and I can happily ignore anything around me.

[gillybeanz]

Mary
I would discipline how I saw fit if i had to be seated next to a child that wasn't mine and I'd paid. I'd certainly not be asking you for permission.
Look after your children, be responsible.

[VeryBitchyRestingFace]

And secondly, I spoke to BA and they said that there's no way they'd separate me from my very young children.

If BA have told you you won't be separated that is one thing.

However, what if the price if keeping you and your kids together is that they have to ask people who have paid extra to advance book their seats to move? Do you think that's fair?

[HunterHearstHelmsley]

There's always one who thinks others will look after their DC/be begging to get away from them. Erm no. I will fast asleep with family/partner on the other side so no worries there.

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

Expatinscotland - across the aisle you're right about, but behind or in front you're not. I spoke to about 8 different people at BA about this, they said they 'obviously can't say we guarantee you'll be sitting with your children... But we guarantee you'll be sitting with your children.' And I went through all that stuff with them.

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

Gillyb etc - of course I wouldn't want someone else to look after my child. They wouldn't be, I would be seated next to my child. That's the point I'm making.

(And if I wasn't, you would be made to switch - she's a nightmare! )

That's a joke!! Don't go crazy.....

[VeryBitchyRestingFace]

I spoke to about 8 different people at BA about this,

Eight people? Blimey. Surely it would have been cheaper/less hassle just to pay up?

they said they 'obviously can't say we guarantee you'll be sitting with your children... But we guarantee you'll be sitting with your children.'

That makes no sense.

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

It actually makes perfect sense. Not sure what you're missing.

[expatinscotland]

'However, what if the price if keeping you and your kids together is that they have to ask people who have paid extra to advance book their seats to move? '

And the people might not move, particularly if your children are behind, in front of or across an aisle from you. I pay to sit next to my children if I'm travelling with them (my son has ASD) and if alone long haul I pay to sit in a window so I can sleep as I'm nervous. So nope, not moving for you or looking after your kid.

[Hulababy]

MaryPoppins:

From BA's own website:

If you don’t reserve your seats in advance, we’ll do our best to seat your family together a few days before your flight departs. However, the seat selection may be limited at that time and your seats may be split across different rows or the aisle. We will make sure each child under 12 years sits next to an adult from your booking but children over 12 years are booked as an adult in our system and may sit separately.

Different rows means in front of or behind.

[m0therofdragons]

BA told me we would be with our dc but it may be dh with one and me with the other two. It's a long flight and imagine they'll be plugged into the films or playing on their DS. As a family of 5 it's unlikely we'd all be together and even if we were in the same row we'd be either end. 12 years of marriage I think I can manage not to speak to dh for 9 hours. When we travelled with our dc when our dtds were 22months and dd1 was 4 we couldn't sit together as the babies were on laps and they only have extra oxygen masks above certain seats. It was fine.

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

Yeah, I've been on the website... But they told me that given the very young ages of my children, it's just not going to happen. Didn't book seats the last five trips we've taken and have never been seperated...

[gillybeanz]

can the staff insist you move though if you have paid to sit together.
There could be various reasons people choose to do this, not just because they want to sit together.
For us it's mix of reasons, some have fear, others sickness, one ADD? Aspergers, and of course without these issues we'd just like to be together. It's part of the cost of flying.

I can understand where Mary is coming from though, if there are only the two of them and one is a preschooler, they will be sat together, maybe across an aisle though.
Whether this is fair on the others in the same row as the child depends on the parent i suppose. if there's only 2 of them, they'd be sat next to someone else anyway.

[Haroldplaystheharmonica]

My brother, his wife and my niece were all sat separately as they didn't pay for pre-booked seats. Niece was 3 so it does happen.