Single mum. Do I need to prebook flight seats ?

[Blinkyblink]

Trying to get through to Monarch. The less said about that the better.

I'm travelling alone with my 6 and 4 year old. Our first holiday as a new family of 3. I'm on a careful budget and would rather not have to pay the £30 to prebook us. However the thought of my 4 year old (not a chance my 6 year old would be ok on his own) could be separately seated from me is somewhat concerning! Surely single adults travelling with children are seated with the children??

In the absence of Monarch customer service actually providing any customer service, please could someone clarify.

Thanks very much

requestingsunshine

Ryanair now require you to pre-book seats if travelling with children under 12.

Easy jet sat me separately from my 5 year old and 8 year old ( and they weren't together either) it wasn't across the aisle - they were 5 or 6 rows away
They kindly let my 6 month old sit on my lap though !
This was a few years ago when prebooking seats was not an option

I think a lot of people who say "oh, I've never seen this" don't realise but as a single or sole passenger you are targeted to move.

Now, admittedly, in MN land we would say "no is a complete sentence" and ignore but in the real world, it's harder. I think a lot of the time air hostesses burble about getting a refund, the sole passenger gets stares and tuts of disapproval, the flight can't take off ... so the sole passenger moves. And then the family say "oh well, there was no problem!"

I'd not be moving from my pre paid seat for someone who thinks that they are entitled to my seat because of having children.
Pay the £30,don't run the risk. The person on the phone won't be at check in or be cabin crew. People do get separated from children on flights. Every year this topic comes up. Maybe we should request diagrams like in parking threads.

And where the configuration is 3 by 3 by 3 a family of two adults and two or more children cannot sit all together for £30 each or for a king's ransom. And they will have to manage.

If you're not sat together, and no one will move for you, just hand whoever sits next to your child the sick bag provided by the airline, and ask them to be ready with it, as said child is prone to chucking up.

If you're not sat together, and no one will move for you, just hand whoever sits next to your child the sick bag provided by the airline, and ask them to be ready with it, as said child is prone to chucking up.

Disgusting entitled behaviour. You're responsible for your child, and that means you pay to sit together if you want to guarentee it. It's not acceptable to force people to move because you're selfish and entitled.

It's not acceptable to force people to move because you're selfish and entitled

The airlines love this type of customer!!! Because you reinforce their ridiculous policies for them!

It's not about entitled - it's about practical in the event of an emergency -

The airlines fed on people's insecuries to gain more cash -

Let's say you book your seat - do you get to chose who else sits near you? Can you exclude the larger person or annoying seat kicking child? Or the chatter box? What about the lads holiday group or large extended family on their 'olidayzz'

No - you can pay extra but you don't get to chose your neighbours and it that's a small sick child - where the airline chooses to separate them from their mothers then that's your chance you take.

If you're not sat together, and no one will move for you, just hand whoever sits next to your child the sick bag provided by the airline, and ask them to be ready with it, as said child is prone to chucking up

I'd hand you the bag back and tell you it's not my problem to deal with YOUR child. Then I'd turn away and ignore them.

Astro55 And similar to Fluffyears, I'd put my eye mask on and headphones in and happily ignore said child.

Oh and if that O2 mask dropped you really should have been nice to the closest person to assist your child. After all without oxygen you become unconscious within seconds so you can't help them and I might if I felt like it.

If you're not sat together, and no one will move for you, just hand whoever sits next to your child the sick bag provided by the airline, and ask them to be ready with it, as said child is prone to chucking up.

And if I'm flying solo, I'll hand it to the child, before putting in my headphones, pulling on my eyemask and getting comfy with my travel pillow and shawl/blanket for my usual "flight nap". If I have my DD with me, I'll be too busy dealing with my child - that I paid for a prebooked a specific seat next to me, for - to deal with yours.

If they then throw up and miss the bag and it goes on themselves, the most I am going to do (if I'm awake to see it) is to send them to wherever you are, or call a flight attendant to inform you your child is sick and needs cleaning up.

No - you can pay extra but you don't get to chose your neighbours and it that's a small sick child - where the airline chooses to separate them from their mothers then that's your chance you take.

And I am willing to take that chance ... because that small, sick child is not my responsibility and I have no obligation to interact with a small, sick child sitting next to me in the same way I have no obligation to chat to the little old lady or ladz on tour if they happen to be sitting next to me, either.

You shouldn't have to, but I still would. When I was younger, Thomson sat our family of four in four completely separate seats, despite the fact my younger brother is severely disabled (we had called them in advance to advise of his condition) and unable to fend for himself or communicate in any way with strangers. That was stressful enough for him when we boarded, but it was the attitude of the other passengers that saddened me the most by not one person allowing the crew to rearrange the seating arrangements just so one of us could sit with him (no one had to be separated from their party, they just had to shuffle along one seat). In the end, a lovely honeymooning couple from the back of the plane offers their seats to my Dad and my brother and the honeymooners sat separately for the flight which my Dad was mortified about, but they were beyond kind to us.

Interesting that people that work in the aviation industry say that you'd never get separated from your children, but frequent flyers say this happens all the time.

Don't risk it, even if you do get seated with your kids at the expense of child free people who've prebooked getting split up to accommodate you, is is it really worth the agro, do you really want to be 'that family' for the sake of £30?

I agree with pp that prebooking shouldn't be optional with kids, agree with Ryanairs policy (which they've obviously done because it does cause problems for the plane staff).

Disgusting entitled behaviour. You're responsible for your child, and that means you pay to sit together if you want to guarentee it. It's not acceptable to force people to move because you're selfish and entitled.
This.
I'd happily ignore said child once i'd put my headphones in.
If you Won't pay to ensure you're sat next to your child, it's not up to me to comfort your child if it's upset, sick.

I hope if you are ever in a position to need the help and kindness of a stranger - that they afford you the same custesy as you show your fellow human beings - no wonder we live in an sad society

'If you're not sat together, and no one will move for you, just hand whoever sits next to your child the sick bag provided by the airline, and ask them to be ready with it, as said child is prone to chucking up'.

I'd hand it right back, put on my noise cancelling headphones, the cheap fleece from IKEA I carry that I don't care gets anything on it, my eye masque and wait for the diazepam to do its work. Not.my.problem.

'No - you can pay extra but you don't get to chose your neighbours and it that's a small sick child - where the airline chooses to separate them from their mothers then that's your chance you take.'

And it's a really stupid chance you take by claiming your child is sick with vomiting. That can get you thrown off quickly. At any rate, wouldn't give a rat's about your child because you were too cheap, if I'm traveling solo I take a whacking dose of diazepam and book a window seat, so I will soon be sedated. If I'm with my kids, well, again, I paid up, the fuck I'm moving because someone else CBA'd, my son has ASD, too, so nope, not moving.

I've never paid to pre-book and never been separated from my kids. I fly a lot. I asked an insider friend whether it was necessary after reading a heated thread on here and she said no, kids are always sat with parents. I know others on here have experienced otherwise but I haven't and I have no intention of paying extra for seats in the future.

Yes, but the question is, MsGameandWatch, if you didn't pay to pre-book and turned up to find you were separated from your kids, would you kick up a fuss to be re-seated or would you accept it was the risk you took?

'I hope if you are ever in a position to need the help and kindness of a stranger - that they afford you the same custesy as you show your fellow human beings - no wonder we live in an sad society'

I would never demand a stranger give up £20 or whatnot without offering to at least compensate him or her.

Why are there so many truly vile people on here, who think it is ok to ignore a child in distress?

These threads always seem to descend in an exercise of who is the most callous and selfish.

Why are there so many truly vile people on here, who think it is ok to ignore a child in distress?
You mean the parent who decided it wasn't wortth it to prebook?
If i'm flying i'm concentrating on my own disability, i'm not worrying about anyone else.
Doesn't make me vile.