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

We've just flown with jet2 with a 3 and a 5 yr old and didn't book seats. They said there's no need as they would move people around and make sure one adult is with each child. They will never let a small child not sit next to its parent. In fact, they sat all 4 of us together.

Wow this is interesting - we’ve only flown a couple of times since DS turned 2 (and both WestJet and BA sit parents with their children free of charge). I had no idea that some airlines would sit a parent and a toddler apart, so I wouldn’t have booked because I would not have known I needed to - I assumed the booking charge was to get an aisle seat or particular row (which I couldn’t give a toss about), not for the privilege of being able to look after my own child!

I’d care less about sitting apart from a schoolchild (who can presumably feed and toilet themselves), but a lot of two year olds are still going to be in nappies, and will need help feeding themselves. Completely unreasonable of the airline to move people to opposite ends of the aeroplane, and it’s definitely just to make money - other airlines manage it fine. You book a child seat, you get your seats allocated there and then. Maybe it’s a CAA thing, I’m in North America.

And no, people saying it is parents’ responsibility to pay - if a passenger has additional needs (as two year olds do) the airline should accommodate that by seating their career next to them free of charge.

Can not get over the horrible responses

While I would obviously help a small child in an emergency situation, I wouldn’t be spending my entire flight babysitting. Nor would I be happy if I had paid to book a seat and got turfed out because some entitled parents think “ah, we don’t need to pay to sit together like everyone else, we’re special because we’ve reproduced”. If you have children, understand that there are extra costs associated with that, and stop inflicting things onto other people.

“And for what it’s worth I would move so a family with young kids could sit together.

The thing is though, I’ve paid for seats together for a reason - literally, I’m on holiday now and flying home on Thursday.

I’m travelling with my DP and my adult DS, my DS has AS... he’s fully capable of travelling alone, however I paid for seats together when I booked the flights so that he knew he’d be in between us and not having to sit with strangers.

So firstly he’d be stressed on the flight, yes he’d manage, but not in the same way I would.

And - I’d then have paid extra money for the parent of a child to get the seat that suits them instead of them paying for it.

I've definitely seen things kick off on a flight where a kid has been seated away from his dad and the dad was yelling at the flight crew and it was getting really heated as the flight crew were going around pleading with someone to change. I don't know how it was resolved though.

I also have a friend who pre-booked her seats as she suffers from anxiety and needed to be by her OH. The flight crew ended up forcing her to move and sit apart and told them it was either move or be kicked off the flight. It was shit for them and not a nice start to their holiday, and of course they never got their money back.

It's up to the Op what she wants to do. Obviously it's a lot of money, but it's a lot of extra stress if it all goes wrong.

Please precook your seats. It’s neither nice nor fair that the person who has gone to the trouble of picking and paying for a particular seat should have to move because you are cheap and did not preplan. Unless you are Blanche DuBois you really shouldn’t be relying on the kindness of strangers.

Going against the grain, I wouldn't pay just yet. With Jet2 you can check in 28 days in advance and the earlier you check in the more chance you can get seats together, or at least two pairs, for free. They're not Ryanair so they don't deliberately split you up to 'encourage' you to pay.

So I would note down when the 28 days is, I think you can check in for your return flight then, and try checking in online and see what you get for free.

If you don't like it, you can pay, but I don't think it's £25 PP, I'm sure it's less than that so it sounds like your travel agent is adding their own charge on top too.

ah, we don’t need to pay to sit together like everyone else, we’re special because we’ve reproduced

ODFOD. It has nothing to do with that. If I went on a flight with my husband, it would be nice to sit together but not essential - we would both be fine separate but if it really mattered to me we would pay to sit together.

My twins are 2.5, they have ASD and other disabilities. It would be essential that each was sitting directly next to a parent. It’s not comparable to two adults deciding they’d quite like to sit together. It’s a safety issue. Same goes for disabled older children and adults who need a carer with them.

If anything it’s a £100 penalty for having reproduced if you pay their ridiculous fee because those who haven’t reproduced can choose to sit together or save the cash.

It should be mandatory that kids under a certain age get a seat immediately adjacent to their parent. Or at the very least, if you book a specific seat as an adult, you should get to reserve the adjacent seat for a child for free.

All this money grabbing, bare bones bullshit really pisses me off. It’s in an airlines best interests to let people pre-select seats, it makes boarding quicker and easier. The money can’t be essential since there’s no guarantee that all or some passengers on a plane will pay it.

Just please don’t be like the arsehole who was sitting next to me on a flight recently

I paid for a specific seat (I fly a lot, and I know if I’m in economy on that type of plane, there’s a huge amount of extra room around one seat in particular. I paid £25 for it). I boarded and there always a bloke sitting in it. His girlfriend asked if I would move so they could sit together. K asked where he was - in the middle of the 4 seats in the center of plane as opposed the my seat with a row of kids behind him, huge space between me and the window, and a back row so nobody kicking my seat for 9 hours. I apologized and said I wanted the seat I’d paid for.

The girlfriend ‘accidentally’ managed to elbow me every time she got up for the loo, played her phone without earphones (that got stopped by the cabin crew all three times she tried it) and ‘spilt’ 3 drinks on me.

Cabin crew managed to get me 15,000 airmiles credited as they could see the problem and every time they tried to address it, she’d just carry on.

So, if someone won’t move for you from a seat they’ve chosen and paid for, accept it and don’t be an arse.

@Whytho the model that European budget airlines use for charging has changed. Back in the day no-one paid to sit in specific seats in a plane, but airfares were much higher. Nowadays airfares are much cheaper and only get you a seat. If you want a specific seat, to take hold luggage, a meal during the flight they are all payable extras.

I flowing Jet2 and when booking the cheap seats are about £6 each, each way. When we flew home last year an elderly lady wanted to sit with her daughter. They stood up the front and wouldn't sit down, they hinted that they would like our seats, I said to the stewards we have paid for these seats and won't give them up, they tried to seat them together but failed they was told to either sit down or leave. At the same time there was an woman at the plane door screaming that her case was not going in the hold she wanted it with her, she hadn't paid either and was late so there was no room, we actually missed our slot due to these people.

My kids would have been distraught at that age if they had been separated from us and had to sit next to complete strangers.

Don't risk it. Cough up.

It’s a con.
We have these threads every year and they bring out the worst in people.
‘If you can’t afford to pre-book seats you can’t afford to go on holiday’
yeesh

@BarbaraofSevillle it's 12.50 each seat so if you book 8 (4 going out and 4 coming back) it is 100.

Yes it's a con, it's shite. But it's not going to change any time soon. If a traveller doesn't care where they sit, then they don't have to pay. If they do care, then they need to pay. It's quite simple really.

If you can’t afford to pre-book seats you can’t afford to go on holiday Well, duh. If and extra £100 is going to break the bank, then going on an overseas holiday is a terrible idea.

Of course it's not a con. It's absolutely clear and you are paying for an extra "service"

The people whinging about paying to pre-book seats would be the same people whinging about having to turn up at the airport really early in order to get seated together as it was in the Old Days and how they should all be together even though they were at the back of the check in queue because they have children.

I'm amazed at all those saying they'd rather sit next to a distraught toddler than move a seat for one flight. Absolutely amazed! If I were flying with only other adults and had no medical issues meaning I absolutely needed a particular seat, I'd move to reunite a small child with their parent in a heartbeat. A teenager? No, but a child visibly distressed or under ten yes, it's no question.

I don't pay to book particular seats either, Norwegian Air always sits small children next to one of the parents.

Even in the Old Days of agonising 'race to the seat' allocation (hated it), the families would always be called up front anyway so..

I remember back in the day you'd book your tickets and you'd all be sat together
Yes. Also...
I remember back in the day when you were served a meal, all included, in the fare price, even just on a flight to Spain.

I remember when a huge suitcase in the hold was included in the price of the ticket

I remember back then when a flight cost as much as it did now. I've just paid the same as I did for a flight back in the 1980s. £140 then, £140 now. Taking into account inflation, it would be £480 now. Same destination. Same price. Included was all the above.

I am sure you all would prefer to choose what to include in your cheap airfare. Pay for your seats! (or your meal, or your suitcase etc). It's cheap. It's flexible.

I wonder if a parenting site could come up with a list of airlines who sit children and their parents together as standard (British Airways, Norwegian Air etc) so that parents could make an informed decision.
As for the pre-book crowd. It wasn’t always this way, and by pre-booking and not standing up for yourselves you are feeding this monster of a practice which disproportionately impacts women and single parents.
Yes, you.
Another flip of the coin and this might be you. Wise up and stand up for yourselves.