Pre booked flight seats for 2 & 3 y/o's?

[doghelp123]

Not really AIBU, posting for traffic. Apologies for long post.

We are due to go on holiday in 7 weeks time and we have not paid for pre booked seats, the reason i have not paid is because our DCs are 2 & 3 y/o and the travel agent has advised its a £25 fee per seat, so looking at £100 all in for me, DH and DC's to be together - we have saved a long time to get this holiday and if I'm being honest it seems like a very large amount to be shelling out for seats. Me and DH are not fussed about being seated together obviously, but we would need the DCs to be next to either one of us so we did ask the travel agent if me and DH booked our two seats for the £50 would kids be guaranteed to be next to us but we were told me would need to pay the £25 for each of them as well, I then called jet 2 and they have advised that they would not split young children up from parents even if we had not paid for the seats but I have now been seeing things online stating that the DCs wouldn't necessarily be in the same row as either of us, but they could be put in the row in front or behind.

Can anyone who has flew before with Jet2 advise us? I would really rather not be paying the £100 for seats as IMO it is to much and it seems silly to be paying the money for kids that age if the airlines aren't actually allowed to split us?

So any frequent jet2 flyers, it would be much appreciated if anyone in similar circumstances could advise

The only time we’ve had anyone move for us was to do with additional oxygen masks, had our son sat on our knees and for some reason the seats we had chosen didn’t have the requisite masks. But that was a safety issue. Otherwise I’ve never seen anyone being asked to move by air crew.

Airlines do not under any circumstances keep seats free. They are operating on v tight margins. I suspect your TA cant be arsed with the hassle (esp if he knows that flight is now fully booked).

The best u can do is check in the second you are able.

Op I have never pre booked seats for me, dh and dc and in 7 years one of us has never not been seated beside dc. Yes there have been a few times when dh has sat in another row but that's fine. We fly at least 10 times a year mostly on Ryanair, Easy jet and jet 2. I wouldn't pay it either but it seems the agent has reassured you anyway. Make sure you check in as soon as you can so that you can see where you're sitting.

I don't think they'll deliberately split you up, but it's tricky for the airline when (almost) everyone has booked seats.
As with Easyjet you can check in a month before. Personally I would do that and if the system doesn't give you acceptable seats ring them up and be prepared to grovel and/or pay and it will be sorted somehow.

Yes, I think that most of the time paying to prebook a seat so that you can sit together is pointless because you would be able to do it anyway. I have travelled with my kids a good few times now and we have never been split up, not even two and two. I know it's just luck but still.

But I guess people are happy to pay for the peace of mind as well, because it is a risk.

I'd love to know the logic behind a business model that intentionally keeps seats on a flight, most overbook and accept the penalty that they occasionally have to pay

I always fly Jet 2 as they're the only airline that flies from my local apirport. I have never once paid to reserve a seat and have always been seated next to my fellow travellers.

I’m guessing your local airport is a smaller one then thatmust.

Flying out of a small airport out of season will be different to flying out of Heathrow in July.

No way would I put an oxygen mask on someone else's child. What if I do it wrong and the child is injured or dies and I'm responsible? I get sued? Go to prison? Their parents or the crew can do it. I would not in a million years.

Jet 2 do not keep seats free in case families need to move seats to sit in them together . That's hilarious and entirely untrue. But they will do everything they can to sit you together.

@chemenger

How many people on a Jet2 holiday flight are flying alone?

Quite a few more then you’d think. You don’t need to be going on a Jet2 holiday to book a flight and they are good prices. DH will be flying home alone from our villa in Greece whilst DS and I stay on.

I've pre booked seats for this year's holiday but never have previous years and we've always been sat together,must have got lucky.

We’ve traveled jet2 lots of times, only once have we not been sat together, dd was 3 and sat over the aisle from me. The lady next to me offered to swap, I didn’t ask her to. It’s the luck of the draw sometimes.

Hollowvictory you are a cold excuse for a human if you would watch a child struggling to breathe rather than help them. I’m amazed people like you exist frankly.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04m6l3x

Have a watch of this.

hollowvictory there’s a chance the child could die or suffer serious brain injury if you don’t - better to put a mask on and get them some oxygen then not attempt and give none!

Why can the parent sortie next row do it?

I booked a jet2 holiday (today!!!) through an agent. They have booked pre boarding (disability related) as she said we would then be seated together without having to pay.

She didn't tell me price but £25

The only time over ever booked is Ryanair last year because I've heard so many horror stories.

Every other company I've always given the same reply. "Feel welcome to sit my toddler/ autistic ds with another passenger to care for them. You'll upset them more than me"

It's never happened

DD is Cabin Crew with Jet2 and says you have been given misleading information OP, as far as she is aware there are no seats kept free for situations where travellers don’t bother to pre book. They will try to keep families together but you are taking a huge risk .

Didn't pay to book any seats. On the way out we "checked in" some weeks before and got allocated seats together. On the way back we checked in at the airport... and got sat together.

Both with budget airlines who try to sell you seats.

Oh and a few years ago at check in to return to UK the check in assistant seemed to be ok seeing something. Then decided not to do whatever had bothered him.

On plane I discovered issue. They'd placed ds and I together - in extra leg room seats.

Fabtastic! Except he was 12!!! They asked another row behind if one of them wanted to swap to upgrade for free and ds could sit behind.
I actually suggested as our seats had no window - which ds loves and the people in seats a and b behind were together we could just swap as a pair. They literally must have found 100 problems with this and none of them were to do with identification of passengers in case of emergency

We swapped in the end. The couple were a tall gent and a lady who seemed to think I was some kind of saint.

I remember leaving that plane wondering when we became such an unfriendly grabby nation that something sensible was seen as as act of kindness!

At check in I got the option to either have the pre selected seats (across the aisle) for free or pay extra to choose our seats.

See - they had availability elsewhere. They didn't need to charge to seat together.
Back when I first started flying we would be told what we were allocated and decide if we wanted them of go elsewhere. Same as cinema.
You got there early if you cared!

We went with Jet 2 last year - kids 10&12. We booked very last minute - few days before- and when I tried to book seats I found that there were only 6 seats left on the plane and all were singles! I rang them up to explain saying I was trying to book online etc etc and they said not to worry as kids under 10 can’t be sat separate. Elder dd could but on the day we were given four together flying out and 2x2 flying back

I guess it depends on how important it is to sit together - if you aren't that bothered then leave it, take a chance, and hopefully it will be ok and you will sit together.

If having separate seats is unthinkable and no way your children can manage then you can't really afford to take the chance can you?

I’d not book the seats and hand their bag of crap to the man/woman they sit next to thanking them for the free babysitting and wishing them a happy flight. Then get back to my book.

My DH and I have never paid to book seats so that we can sit together with our DS. We check in with plenty of time, have always been sat 3 in a row, and we have never had someone approach us to say that we have been placed in their seats, so I can only assume that not as many people pay for seat selection as this thread would suggest. I think it's outrageous that airlines charge to choose your seat. Fair enough if you are happy to pay - I understand why as I get anxious thinking that our pre schooler could be sat away from us, but my DH is a frequent flyer for work and very casual about it all, so we don't pay. And it's always worked out for us. I wouldn't expect anyone to move for us if they've paid, but surely it's not in the airlines interest to seat a young child that might need a lot of attention for a flight next to two total strangers? If everyone decided to stop paying for their seat then the airlines wouldn't charge and you'd just be allocated appropriate seats together if possible when booking. But judging by this thread that definitely isn't going to happen!