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.

So if you;re really excited about a long awaited holiday and you have booked and paid for seats with your DH to share some sandwiches and a drink and a chat about your forthcoming break, you're being selfish not to move for someone who has not paid for seats for their party and want you to move?

No way!

Good luck op,hope you have a fab time

Time and tide wait for no man.

And I will not move for anyone.

I'd move for a family in this situation - if only because, in the event of an incident or an accident, I wouldn't want to be the adult sat next to an 8 year old on their own.

OP, you may find that there are some premium seats upfront that are free, but whether you'll get them to change your seats once you've checked in I don't know. It may be that the flight is genuinely full, but that's not necessarily the case. I rarely book seats and last time I travelled on Ryanair with my teenagers, all four of us were allocated to different rows on a flight that was definitely not full.

I am surprised at the vitriol being directed towards OP. She didn't know it was EJ and has approached the situation she finds herself in without sounding entitled and uppity. Yes if i'd paid for a seat that I wanted, I'd be a bit put out to be asked to move, but I think most grown decent grown adults would be happy to move on a short flight. You can pay to reserve seats with EJ, but i think most people check in as soon as they can and accept what they're given tbh.

On the day OP, handle the situation with grace and politeness, without any undertones of entitlement and I would expect things will be fine.

Love I hope your mother is proud of you.

I've heard if you ask the airline at check in how they are going to ensure they safeguard your child, do they know they are putting rhem next to a safe adult that's got no convictions etc then they will panic and put you together....not sure how true!

Yes I know it's not a long flight, yes the girls can read a book and entertain themselves in a variety of ways. No, I haven't said that they cannot fly alone, just that I would prefer they didn't have to if there is a way this can be avoided. Don't intend on demanding tha
t anyone leaves their seat. Do intend on trying to appeal to people who may not be arsed about moving from the seat they've been allocated meaning a small change for them could make a bigger difference to us. Then intend on buying their on board drinks by way of thanks. Yes, do realise that in an ideal world I should have booked earlier and reserved seats, would have been happy to do so, but I couldn't. I do believe the current model is a ballache, designed to generate revenue from seat reservations by exploiting people's understandable desire to not have shit seat allocation like I've got. It doesn't even work because even a reservation isn't a guarantee when situations like mine emerge - I don't even think the cabin staff would want lone children travelling. I think it's poor that they are left to resolve it. I hope that's covered all the points.

I rang Tui as well and I've bought fast track boarding now (I've probably been a mug), but it makes sense to me that it will be easier to have a chat with staff if we are outside of the main scrum for boarding. Easy jet have sent the email as promised confirming what they would like the cabin crew to try and do for us, so hopefully the pp who said I had just been fobbed off is mistaken - they seemed genuine enough but we will only know tomorrow. Girls are prepared for worst case scenario and disappointed but not upset. Told them I'll give them cash so they can buy what they want when the trolley comes round which seemed to appeal. Thank you again - I hadn't realised this topic would arouse such strong feeling. Off to email the hotel now to see if the rooms have penis beakers as standard.

I've flown probably 5 times where we couldn't book seats together and at the gate or check in they've always swapped it around so we can sit together.

This is Delta/BA/Virgin though.

The one time we didn't bother asking as one of us was with ds the air hostesses offered to move us together and a passenger did but I was happier alone.

I would move for an 8yo.
10+ I’m not sure, especially if the new seat is less desirable (middle seat, next to the bathroom...)

But please don’t do the sickbag trick. Honestly if someone did that to me I would refuse to move and will make it clear that I also won’t be responsible for their child either.

But please don’t do the sickbag trick.

Are you sure that is always a trick? My dd threw up every landing and frequently at take offs as well until she was old enough to take drugs that actually work. Once she threw up into dp's shoe with absolute precision, luckily it was only milk still pretty yucky though.
One reason whe we always tried to book direct flights even when flights with conenctions would have been cheaper.

seated

So some people genuinely think that it's ok to force someone who has paid for their window seat out of it and shove them into a middle one at the back of the plane?

Fucking ridiculous.

Can I just pipe up here in defense of people who would not move.

I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and IBS. I always always book very early in order to book an aisle seat near the front of the plane by a toilet. I faint very easily, and anxiety can, as others with IBS will know, cause severe digestive issues.

I would not move for an 8 year old. I would pay double the cost of my flight in order to have a seat at the front on an aisle.

Just wanted to say that not everyone who refuses to move is selfish, and many people will have personal reasons for pre-booking specific seats. To assume someone who refuses to move is selfish is very unfair. You do not know what their reasons could be.

@Igneococcus My DD has transport sickness as well, but if someone was trying to have me change seats and then passive agressively gave a sick bag and wipes etc I would suspect it was a bullying tactic more than a genuine concern.
A parent calmly explaining the situation, I would take seriously.

Surely only the people with extra legroom seats will have paid, that’s what I recall from the Tui booking system.

EasyJet do early check in as part of their cost reduction process. I’d bet money they’ll sort this when you check your bags in.

Unless I had paid for a legroom seat I would swap in this situation. Try the folk nearest the loo first

Oops my suggestion wouldn’t work with poor Cheesefield though.

I would happily move to another aisle seat to allow young children to sit with their family! But I could not move to the middle of 5 or a window.

I’m afraid this is what happens with budget airlines. You have to ensure you check in as quickly as possible. DP and I were ‘sat together’ but we both had aisle seats adjacent to one another, that was sitting together to EasyJet ... They’re not the best but you pay a lot less for that. There’s nothing that can really be done unless another passenger is willing to move but I would guess the two people sitting beside your DC will be together.

Sorry Cheese I was referring to my comment about people being less keen to be near the loo. As you rightly said, in my ignorance I hadn’t considered some people would book those loo proximate seats on purpose. IBS sounds particularly nasty, poor you

I was on an easyJet flight earlier this week and they asked a couple to swap with an older couple who were in the exit row for take off and landing. It was very non-confrontational

The problem on planes is always the 3-3 configuration which rarely suits most traveller groups

My dc are younger than yours (6, 4, 2) but we recently flew easyjet and my dh checked us in on line and didn't realise we were all seated separately. I noticed as we queued to board the plane.

When we got on the plane there were two other families in the same position. The cabin crew said it happens on every flight and they just got on with sorting it out. We ended up with two lots of two and my 6 year old was a few rows down from me. She was well looked after by the family she ended up sitting with! It was a 4.5 hour flight too...

It will probably be fine but it is a massive stress that you could do without. My 2 year old is really tricky and I'd have been quite happy to have someone else deal with her for the flight

I fly alone a lot for business, reading things like the sick bag trick make me a lot more heartless to such situations. If I am politely asked to move so a young child can sit with parents 9/10 times I would. I have however had many rude people demanding I move, my favourite was the time I had pre booked a window seat for a long haul flight so I could get some sleep, a couple (adults) had been split and the rather intimidating husband came bounding over demanding I and the person next to me move to his and his wife’s seats in the middle of rows of 4 so they could sit together. When I said no that I didn’t like being crowded and had chosen my seat he got extremely angry. I couldn’t believe a grown adult would scream at me (was only 20 but looked younger) over being seperated from his wife for a little while.
As an aside the flight was full of lone business travellers and i think he asked me and the person next to me as we were both young and female and he was banking on intimidating us.

I have just flown back from Italy where a family with 5 children where people on the plane were moved around to accommodate them so they could sit together. they hadn't booked seats so took their chances (i can see that you have actually booked). It peeved a LOT of people off and some even refused to move. They did end up sitting together in the end which is great for them.
I suggest speaking to the stewards when you get on the plane and see what can be done at the time. i'm sure there will be some people more than happy to move so you can be sat together x

Op don't worry too much, it's unlikely that no one will move. Most people are reasonable and can see a young child needs to be next to a parent. If no one moves then get off the plane.

No selfish( and entitled) is booking a flight last minute( a week ago) for a lot less money and expecting other passengers who booked in advance paying the full wack and booking seats for whatever reason to simply give them up regardless. If we all did that it would be chaos. I'd love to fly by the seat of my pants,get half price tickets last minute and a guarantee of sitting with my children. Travel doesn't function like that.

that's exactly how it works except that a) last minute flight bookings are virtually always more expensive now, not less and b) EJ don't force people to give up their window seats, or eject people from seats they have booked.

The algorithm the booking system uses will, as others have said, simply find people who have not paid for particular seats, when prompted by the check in staff, and issue them a new boarding pass which will be given to them before they board the plane, if necessary, although they can often address it by giving the family the ludicrously expensive premium seats that people haven't paid for.

People are talking out of their absolute arses on this thread about something they know nothing about (also worked for an Airline recently - on the IT systems that control bookings)

OP - you have done absolutely nothing wrong. Like you, we booked a last minute holiday because we are both self-employed and can't book a year in advance like some people do as we don't know that far in advance whether we can take time off, or even if we will have money to go on holiday. That is an absolutely acceptable thing to do and isn't entitled in any way. In fact, the airlines rely on some people booking last minute to fill up planes and maximise profits, it's part of their business model.

Like you, we paid slightly more for our holiday by booking last minute and would have been perfectly happy to book seats for the under 12's (although it does stick in my throat a bit as I know that there is absolutely no reason to do so for children and that it is simply a clever marketing ploy on the part of airlines to maximise profits). There were simply none to book. The computer booking system sorted it out. Everyone that had paid for seats sat in them. Even adults with back problems etc who hadn't booked would be accommodated at the gate. The only people who might get moved are people who haven't paid for seats, aren't under 12 and don't have a medical problem or disablity i.e can sit anywhere and don't massively care.