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

There are no laws that or rules that children have to be seated with their parents at all. There is “guidance” that children should, not must, be placed in the same row as their parents or not more than one row apart.

Wish PP would read the thread. I posted earlier about being on a flight where parents of a two year old had to walk up and down the plane asking others to move. Crew had tried and failed. Embarrassing and awkward situation for everyone but the child did have to fly with her parents sitting one behind her ( middle seats) and the other elsewhere on the plane.

The crew certainly didn't insist anyone moved and backed off when the mum began to rant at others.

I believe it helps if you do the check-in as soon as it opens. I travel a lot and never paid or have the kids been sat alone.

I have never paid for seats. When easyjet first introduced this payment system I had already booked a flight and was very annoyed they were asking me to pay when that system didn't exit (and wasn't mentioned) at the time of booking the flights. I had a couple of email exchanges with their customers service and they kept repeating that they can't guarantee seats together. In the end I asked them if in an event of an emergency my then three year old was supposed to put on the oxygen mask by himself and locate his nearest emergency exit unaided. I never got a response to my last email so I figured they didn't want to tell me about their safety arrangements so I would cough up the money. I always check in online on the day it opens and have never sat apart from my children on any easyjet, Ryan Air or Norwegian flight. It just seems such a safety hazard to me if there is a real emergency: hysterical children and parents desperately trying to reach each other, ignoring instructions, strangers not bothering with helping children next to them...it seems insane to risk this all when the airlines know full well how many children and adults are booked on the flight.

To be honest I book seats whoever I am flying with whether that’s my DD or with other adults.

I am happy to pay for the choice. If you don’t want to pay that’s equally your choice. But you know the score.

Not read the whole thread but airlines have to sit you with your children even if you've not paid for seats..they will look to move someone by volunteer first then pick who ever

I've always paid to book but the last trip back to the UK British Airways we're going to charge me £289 on TOP of the £1380 we were already paying for tickets so I literally couldn't afford the extra.

BA will now automatically seat you 3 days before and we were sat together both ways. We actually got split up on the way out as we'd been originally put in an exit row so they moved ds but the check in lady noticed and told us to take our pick of the available seats.

There's so much bullshit on this thread.

I've been flying as a disabled person for over 20 years. If you phone the airline or travel company's welfare team they will allocate you seats at the time of booking. A person with a physical or mental disability is not allowed to sit in the emergency exit rows. Neither is a child or a pregnant woman. All aircraft should have aisle chairs to get disabled people to their seats/toilet if needed.

There's no law to say that a child, of any age has to be seats next to their parent/carer.

@Notreallyhappy rtft

What law are people making up? Read the fucking thread!!!! Read the actual fucking LAW that many people have posted.

Ugh!

notreallyhappy that is simply not true at all. They do not.

@TriciaH87 and Notreallyhappy - where is it set out that airlines must sit children with their parents. That isn’t what the CAA say.

Everyone on this thread must send me a ten pound note. It's the law.

I find amazing how many people are selling to pay for something that has been offered for free for so many years. During check in the logic is that the seats will be allocated in order and if an airline spreads a group that did the online check in together they are very likely being malicious.

• willing

Here we go:
Families, children and infants

The seating of children close by their parents or guardians should be the aim of airline seat allocation procedures for family groups and large parties of children.

Young children and infants who are accompanied by adults should ideally be seated in the same seat row as the adult. Where this is not possible, children should be separated by no more than one seat row from accompanying adults.

I really wish people wouldn’t post bullshit about THE LAW that doesn’t exist.

We always book seats and factor it into the cost.we often fly with Ryanair now because 2 kids and 1 adult book free so it works out cheaper for us.

I'd pay op. Personally I couldn't take the stress of the next 2 months worrying about it. Stressing that the start of the holiday may be ruined with my child not sat next to me (you have two toddlers double the stress). Having to walk up and down a plane begging people to move out of their paid for seats? No thank you.
£100 seems like a bargain not to have all that added stress to be honest.

Jet2.com allow you to check in a month before your flight. I fly alone with my 2 young children and use them all the time. I check in as soon as it opens and there is tons of choice of seats to pick. You’ll always get lectured on here just to pay but I travel with them several times a year. Trust me it’s not an issue

Just in case I didn’t make it clear. You pick all your seats free of charge at check in. Which as I said, a month before travel leaves you lots of spaces to pick from

I check in as soon as it opens and there is tons of choice of seats to pick

Last two times I’ve checked in online, ive done it as soon as I’ve got the text (and one time before when I checked on a whim). The only unbooked seats left were singles dotted all over the plane.

Don’t wait for the text. I did mine at midnight on the day it opened. (Well, midnight + 1)

Don’t wait for the text. I did mine at midnight on the day it opened. (Well, midnight + 1)

The text actually came on the day it opened (which is supposed to be 28 days before the flight I think).

This time I checked in 31 days before then three days later got the text to say I could!

Thank you @bubblegumunicorn