To expect Easyjet to help me?

[amprev]

We fly on a 4hour 15 min flight on Sat with our two dc's aged 11 and 8. The holiday was a last minute decision, and I booked it last Sat with Tui. I was aware at the time that the flights were actually with Easy jet and not Tui. I wasn't particularly bothered by this either way. Reading through all the booking details in full this evening I learned that it is online only check in for EJ flights so I checked us all in.

Turns out we have been allocated seats randomly all over the plane - there are ten rows separating two of the seats from another two, but no two seats are in the same row. I realise this is because many people have obviously checked in before me. I would pay the extra for seats together if I could but this isn't an option, the plane is just full.

I'm gutted and I know the Dc's will be when I tell them. We are downloading films to an iPad for them and they watch it together using a headphone splitter. This obviously can't happen if we are all separated. I'm not expecting they can magic us all together but do you think they could at least have the dc's together with either me or DH less than 10 rows away from them? My eldest suffers with bad ear pain on flights and I normally have to do some soothing at take off and landing because she gets upset.

Any tips from anyone who has been in this situation? We only booked it so late because we didn't think we would get away this year but decided we would last minute.

I'll ring customer services when they open but I'm expecting them to tell me that I'll just have to persuade someone to move when we board. According to the civil aviation authority, airlines have to take reasonable actions to ensure a child is near to their adult so that it is less disruptive in the event of an evacuation. Not sure what EJ can do if there are no seats though? I realise some people will have paid extra for their preferred seats.

They probably will move the 8 year old but this is what happens when you book things late after people have already reserved seats.

If people have already checked into those seats online EasyJet can’t un-check them in, so no it’s pointless asking I would have thought.

Yes your only option is to speak to people on board and try to persuade them to move. You’ll be lucky though as the seats are in rows of 3, so if you’ve got the last one of the three it’s likely the other 2 people want to be sat together. Also with so many people just having hand luggage they may not want to be sat far away from their bag or faff around moving it (or be able to move it if flight is full and over head lockers are too).

That's what you get for using a budget airline.

Fingers crossed the call to customer services yields resorts, you never know sometimes airlines hold off a portion of the seat map for unbeknown reasons. Otherwise you can ask people if they wouldn’t mind swapping but unfortunately there’s not really anything you can do about it if they decline. The CAA thing of seating adults with a child is very loose and airlines are following the policy if the child is across the aisle and/or in the row in front or behind, it doesn’t mean that they have to seat you side by side. So sorry to say be prepared to sit apart, if you don’t have a spare tablet then get magazines/books for the kids. And don’t let it ruin your holiday.

I hadn't considered the implications when I booked with Tui that it was an EJ flight - you live and learn. Never booked with a budget airline before. I assume if you book direct that the importance of checking in asap is emphasized. This didn't come through clearly on the Tui confirmation at all or I would have checked in last week and paid the extra for reserved seats. Will see what they say anyway.

I'd be satisfied if behind or across aisle or a row - eye contact would be something!

Buy a few disposable sick bags and some baby wipes, if people don't want to move just hand the baby wipes to the person next to the child, and give your child the sick bags and say please at least try to get most of it in the bag this time. Then say sorry they get very air sick. I guarantee you they will swap with you.

I would pay the extra for seats together if I could but this isn't an option, the plane is just full

As the mother of 4 children, three with special needs, I always dreaded not being able to sit together. When they were small there was no reserving seats in advance, and was so nervous at check in.I hope it works out for you.

However, please bear in mind if hoping for someone to move seats for you they WILL have paid the extra for sitting together. So it's not just a matter of them being asked to move, and agreeing to be pleasant/kind but also them having wasted their money on a service they are no longer receiving (and they will not get their money back from the airline). And I guess from their prospective, why should they have paid extra to reserve seats, and then move for people that have not paid, and hence receive that service for free.

Love the sick bag idea!

I don't think everyone will have paid a reservation supplement for their seat though will they? Won't some people just be in seats they have been allocated and will have no preference? That's what I'm hoping anyway - I'm not suggesting I remove a child from its adult so my child can be with me. I know I would move for a child to be with their parent or sibling even if it meant I wasn't next to my DH. If I'm struggling I will just start having to wave sick bags or handfuls of fivers around I guess. That should clear a few seats.

I’m confused.
Are you saying all four seats are separate, so nobody is sitting together?
Or have you got two sets of two together, but there are 10 rows between the two pairs of seats?

I suspect it’s the latter and if that is the case then it’s disappointing but I don’t really see the issue.
I can understand if it’s the former and you don’t want to all be split up,
But kicking up a fuss and asking people who probably paid to reserve seats to move when you already have two pairs of seats together would be ridiculous.

Each of you sit with one dc, take it in turns to use the iPad, or swap seats half way through so that they can sit together for a bit and watch a film.

All 4 seats are singles dotted randomly through the plan over 11 rows. Two sets of two wouldn't warrant my post.

Ok, I apologise, it’s late and I couldn’t work that out from your op.

In that case I would be reading the airlines policy on children sat alone, then ring them with their policy to hand and argue that the DC’s are very nervous flyers, have a history of travel sickness and can not be unsupervised.

Children under 12 should not be seated away from a parent (unless the parent wants it that way 😆)

Yes people will have paid a reservation supplement. I wouldn’t move if I had. Sorry.

CAA guildlines are "aim to sit parents close to children", or if this isn't possible, they should not be separated by more than one aisle and one seat row.

But they're just guidelines.

I had one flight where my two were together and I was in the row in front in the middle. I didn't ask the bloke sitting in the aisle seat to move as I know they had more room and he didn't offer. A couple of hours into the flight as he got up for the hundredth time to let one of them go to the bathroom he was looking very fed up and saying again. I think next time he might offer to swap for his sanity.

Batman- will every passenger have paid a supplement? Genuine question, I'm new to this. Surely some will just be in their allocated seats?

I don't think the CAA guidelines will hold any water unfortunately because they're only guidelines, just like the airline only 'aims' to keep children near to parents. Basically, you're fucked on a budget airline if you book late - you can check in 30 days before the flight so I had no chance from the outset. I didn't know this and Tui didn't think to mention it which would have been helpful. We don't not use budget because we're loaded, we just don't fly very often - only 3rd time abroad with children. I'll know for next time, just a bit gutted and annoyed.

There are loads of daily mail sadface stories online about this issue but unlike a lot of these, I would have paid to reserve if I had had the option.

It is worth asking people if they’d move. I’d never see a child sat on their own if there was something I could do about it.

That's what you get for using a budget airline

Many people don't have much choice. The availability of BA etc outside the main London airports is extremely limited. For most airports your choice to most holiday destinations is 2 or 3 of Ryanair, EasyJet, Jet2, Flybe or the package holiday companies like Thomas Cook.

Sympathies OP. We often book late so have limited seat choice but most of the time, they keep a block of seats back and once most people have their seats, they suspend online check-in and you have to do it at the airport so they can resolve issues like this, but this doesn't appear to have happened in this case.

Problem is that some people book and choose their seats months in advance and as you have found, if you book late, there aren't seats together even if you are willing to pay for them.

You can only try contacting them to see if they can do. They might be able to move someone else to at least make 2 pairs. Sometimes this can be fairly inconsequential for whoever they moved, eg moving a couple from row 6 to row 8 or whatever.

On a easyJet to a AI type destination, you will be hard pressed to find others to move. It is all families or groups. Even a single will be a parent with a child across the aisle.

On a business/city type destination, very easy to get volunteers. It’s 90% single adults who don’t want to sit next to a child.

So depends on where you are flying to.

if people don't want to move just hand the baby wipes to the person next to the child, and give your child the sick bags and say please at least try to get most of it in the bag this time. Then say sorry they get very air sick. I guarantee you they will swap with you.

Zommum Nope. I still wouldn’t swap. If you did that to me I’d give them to the child and let them deal with it themselves, regardless of age (although the two in this post aren’t young kids).

I always reserve seats on flights, and I have never (despite being asked) and will never move.

This really surprises me. Normally they dont offer all the seats for booking for this reason. Airlines really don't want to breach CAA guidelines (which are actually rules) on undee 12s www.caa.co.uk/Blog-Posts/Are-you-sitting-comfortably-/

I flew EasyJet recently with 3 kids under similar circumstances, last minute booking, plane almost full. At time of booking, few days before the flight, the system showed 8 seats left on the plane, all dotted singly about the plane. We needed 5 of them, 2 for under 12s. When I pressed check-in, it put 4 of us in row 1 in seats that you would normally pay £30 something each for and the over 12 in row 2. The row 2 seat was one of the single ones that had shown up as bookable, but the other 4 has previously shown up as non-bookable.

So we were allocated 4 premium seats that the other 2 people in the row has paid £60 something for, which ahows how ludicrous seat booking is. We also got 5 bags in the hold for free as well as, when we got to the gate with out cabin trolley cases, they were asking for people to put their cabin bags in the hold as the racks were already full.

The above happened both on the way there and back. On the way back all 5 of us were seated in row 22 by the system in seats which had non shown up as available. Bags also put in the hold for free when we volunteered at the gate.

This doesn't help with the seating issues but has your DD tried Earplanes? They do kids one or adult ones are age 12+ They are fab, said as an adult who usually used to cry in pain during landing!

Also I would call TUI personally as feel they ought to help you having sold you the holiday.

The sick bag and wipes trick wouldn’t work for me either - it would make me less likely to move in fact as I’d immediately think CF and I don’t take kindly to being manipulated. I would think asking politely wood be more effective.

I wouldn’t like this situation either. All you can do is ask EasyJet - if you don’t try, you won’t know.

If you can’t sort it, try and stay upbeat about it so your children don’t pick up on your nerves. Sonetimes our fears are a lot worse than the reality and they will more than likely be absolutely fine - they may even enjoy the independence. If I had to do it I’d work on framing it positively for them, even if I was nervous as hell myself.

They’ll have to share the iPad so arrange a swap after two hours. Can you not upload a film to one of your phones and they can swap half way and both get a go with the bigger screen? Maybe pack them a surprise bag each to keep them upbeat and occupied too.

I can’t imagine that every person would have paid to reserve a seat so you may get lucky. I can’t imagine anyone normal (who hadn’t paid) not offering to swap, it’s only 4 hours after all.

Mind you, my 8 year old would probably love it. He’d try to engage the people around him in hangman, discussions about singers, cars, films, fossils, Captain Underpants vs other superhero’s. Anyone next to him would be begging to swap after half an hour of that.

My younger one though I would have to do the sick bag thing - sometimes he’s air sick, sometimes not. Last time not even we made it to the sick bag in time (he said “that was a surprise mummy!”) so I wouldn’t wish that on a stranger.