Aibu re booking sets on the plane

[Yeaididthat]

We (2 adults and 3 kids) are due to travel with jet2 for the first time for a family holiday in just over 3 weeks. When I tried to reserve seating this morning it appears as though all seat except exit seats are already booked, and these can only be booked by 14 years+. DC are 10, 8 and 3. As cheeky as it is, surely Jet2 aren't going to turn us away over this? I'm aware that this is expecting others to take seats they didn't chose and have paid for but it is the front row etc which is still available. Aibu? Do airlines provisionally allocate children seats and this doesn't appear?

pretamum - I agree with lots of what you are saying but in the case that the parents and children book seats later when the child friendly seats (and accompanying parent seats) have already been taken, then what? Some parents won’t join flights until many seats have already been booked and ore-selected by other travellers. It’s not just a case of allocating automatically on booking, it depends when the person books you (ie full choice of seats/choice of half the seats left/very little choice as seats already allocated).

*wont book flights

I have paid £240 to reserve our seats with Virgin Atlantic. I am a very nervous flyer and I need to be near my family. I have always reserved seats and I factor it in to the cost of the holiday. Hope no one wants to swap with me who hasn't paid to sit together.

It should be cheaper though or free for families with children.

But the issue is with the airline - you should not have to pay to ensure you are able to sit with your child so that they are safe for the duration of the flight

But i am happy to pay to get the seat I want. You’re not, which is your call. But your needs don’t trump mine when you COULD have paid but chose not to.

@Spartacunt - seat allocation was NEVER free - it was bundled into the higher ticket prices, along with food and hold baggage, so you paid for them even if you were happy to sit anywhere, didn’t want the food and just had hand baggage

Thats not true. seat allocation was free when prices were often lower than they are now. Paying for seats is a new thing. Having you believe its not a new cost is part of the scam.

The thing is everyone has their own reasons for wanting (or indeed not caring) which seat they have.

Those that don't care might be happy to move, those that do care - and are happy to pay for that seat - shouldn't be expected to move, otherwise you get into a hierarchy of need which isn't helpful to anybody.

But no matter all that, surely you, same as me, would prefer that we pretty much all got the seats we wanted for free, rather than paying?

But i am happy to pay to get the seat I want. You’re not, which is your call. But your needs don’t trump mine when you COULD have paid but chose not to.

100% this.

But no matter all that, surely you, same as me, would prefer that we pretty much all got the seats we wanted for free, rather than paying?

Honestly no - I'm quite happy to pay for the service I want and actually I think I should pay for the service. If I want to guarantee a seat, I believe I should pay more than someone who doesn't. For me that is the point of a low cost airline - you get the basic flight and add the frills you want.

I remember the good old days when you didn't have to pay to be sat together. Check in opened at the airport 3 hours before most flights and it was first come first serve - if you got to the airport early you would be sat together and if you were later you may not.

As with all things, lots of airlines have moved check in online, to save time and money (as they don't need as many check in staff if the queues are not as long with people checking themselves in) and they decided to allow people to pick their seats at the same time and pay for the privilege.

JacquesHammer - But you are mixing up your want to sit where you'd like, with my child's need to be safe. Wants and needs are not equal. Last week my child consistently took his seatbelt off during a flight and I consistently had to put it back on and ensure he kept it on until he finally fell asleep. Were I to not be sitting next to him, then if there is severe turbulence and his seatbelt is off because he's not got a parent next to him to keep an eye on him, then he's at risk of getting seriously hurt, or worse. Parents shouldn't pay to keep their child safe when the airline is duty bound to seat young kids with a parent for legitimate safety reasons. I have no issue with you paying to choose your seat, but like I said earlier, if kids were automatically allocated a seat with a parent prior to opening seating allocation up to people wanting to pay, then this wouldn't be a topic up for discussion. This is an issue with the airlines choosing to charge but not putting a system in place to prevent these avoidable problems. I appreciate that you would be pissed off if asked to move when you've paid to choose a seat, but I'd be mightily pissed off if the only way to ensure my child's neck didn't get broken in the event of bad turbulence was to pay £150 for the privilege of picking my seat. If you pay £600 pp for a flight, you shouldn't then have to pay this fee for your child's safety, it's insane.

I appreciate that you would be pissed off if asked to move when you've paid to choose a seat

I wouldn’t be pissed off. I would say “no” and wouldn’t move.

I don’t like flying. I’m not prepared to allow my daughter to miss out on experiences because of my feelings so I mitigate that by choosing the seats I want.

Your child’s safety isn’t my responsibility

I didn't say my child's safety on a plane was your responsibility, it's mine and also the airlines. We aren't going to agree and you're not going to change my mind.

@Pretamum and yet you're willing to make ME deal with the consequences of your gripe with the airline, THAT is the issue.

By all means take it up with the airline, complain, make points, write to your MP, write to the travel authority - but don't expect other customers to be inconvenienced by your wishes.

Actually may I ask two questions @Pretamum

Would you be happy to sit apart from the other members of your party as long as you were beside your child?

And what happens if you get on board and nobody is willing to move, what is your contingency?

Honestly no - I'm quite happy to pay for the service I want and actually I think I should pay for the service

Now you are just being ridiculous. You would rather pay for it than to get it for free. Sure, you keep working hard on that cognitive dissonance, youll get there eventually!

I wouldn’t be pissed off. I would say “no” and wouldn’t move

and bringing us right back to the start of the thread, if airline staff told you to move, you would move, or be removed from the plane.

Now you are just being ridiculous. You would rather pay for it than to get it for free. Sure, you keep working hard on that cognitive dissonance, youll get there eventually

Hang on, so you know more about YOUR circumstances but also know more about me

I don't know how to explain this anymore clearly. I am happy to pay. It is a service I require therefore believe I SHOULD pay more than people who don't require that service. It isn't about "rationalising" or all the other nonsense.

@Iron - that's funny because as I said earlier in the thread I was asked to move and said "no" and took that flight. Nobody would move. The family in question were offered the option to disembark or to fly in separate seats.

Guess which they chose

I don't have a gripe with the airline - like I said, they have a duty to seat one of us with our child, so we will either get moved seats, upgraded or put on a different flight. As long as I am sat with my child I do not care, so this issue doesn't massively affect me. But for the people who do get moved when they have paid, they are the ones who have a gripe with the airline. It clearly states (at least on BA's website) that seats selected by payment are not guaranteed and you may be allocated a different seat at check in - BA will then refund the money you paid to pick a seat. This is made very clear. It is also made very clear that children under 12 will be sat with a parent, regardless of whether you have paid to choose your seat or not. The system doesn't work well for some people, yet I have no issue with the system as it works for me. But for the people who are annoyed that they may be asked to move, they are the ones that are unhappy and should consider taking the actions that you have suggested, or take their business to a different airline that doesn't charge for seating selection.

To answer your questions - I'm perfectly happy to be apart from my husband for a flight if needed. The best bit about travelling is being able to switch off, read a book or watch films - not that this is easy with kids.

My contingency would be that I'd either be uprgraded if there was space, or wait for the next flight. But airlines policies work in favour of families with young kids, so this is unlikely. We got our seats changed at check in anyway, so it wasn't a case of getting on the plane and hoping someone would swap, the airline changed our seats automatically when they printed out our boarding passes.

👇

I don't have a gripe with the airline - like I said, they have a duty to seat one of us with our child, so we will either get moved seats, upgraded or put on a different flight

if you're happy to be put on an alternative flight then you're being reaonable.

As long as I am sat with my child I do not care, so this issue doesn't massively affect me. But for the people who do get moved when they have paid, they are the ones who have a gripe with the airline. It clearly states (at least on BA's website) that seats selected by payment are not guaranteed and you may be allocated a different seat at check in - BA will then refund the money you paid to pick a seat. This is made very clear. It is also made very clear that children under 12 will be sat with a parent, regardless of whether you have paid to choose your seat or not. The system doesn't work well for some people, yet I have no issue with the system as it works for me. But for the people who are annoyed that they may be asked to move, they are the ones that are unhappy and should consider taking the actions that you have suggested, or take their business to a different airline that doesn't charge for seating selection

Again a refund is reasonable.

But other airlines don't work on that basis - and indeed CAA guideliness state "with a parent" isn't necessarily sat next to.

So in fact we're all happy. You're flying BA and I'm not so we'll never collide and we'll all have the seats we want .

@pretamum thanks for answering

Pretamum I have been asked to move, twice. Both times I have refused.

As has already been repeatedly stated and you have ignored, “next to” means different things to an airline than it does to a parent. “Next to” includes the row in front or behind or across the aisle. If you’re happy to sit that far away from your child, crack on.

Your child’s safety is your responsibility, nobody else’s. Stop trying to shift it onto someone else.