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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Asking someone to move seats on a flight? Aibu ?

816 replies

wearejustfriends · 18/04/2022 14:31

Last week I was travelling to Gran Canaria with TUI.
I had booked mine and boyfriends seats when we booked and paid £22 for both.
I had the window and he had the middle.

A lady sat on the end and her daughter was in front.
She asked could they have our two seats and we have hers /daughters or my boyfriend switch with her daughter.
I politely said no.
Which she wasn't happy about.
We got "what difference does it make"
"Your adults,my daughter is sacred of flying and is a minor"

Anyway we wouldn't move.

Was I in the wrong ?
Surely if she was that bothered she could have paid like us.

OP posts:
LouB76 · 19/04/2022 12:29

The point is that seat selection doesn't cost the airline anything. Nor does priority boarding. Nor does having a bag (though total baggage weight does impact fuel usage and cost).

Airlines are private sector, profit making businesses. They aren't charities.

BronwenFrideswide · 19/04/2022 12:30

@umpire171

that is an assumption she didn't try your making an assumption you adults are not good humans
No, the not good human is the one who didn't prioritise sitting next to their child and assumed other people would fund that.
LouB76 · 19/04/2022 12:31

@umpire171

Yea a child being scared and your more concerned about paying more you aren't a better human I don't care who agrees with you or not. Not one person should pay more to be seated with family very rude and not human caring it was child who was scared you didn't care that is disgusting behiavor
What are your thoughts on the child's mother?
Quincythequince · 19/04/2022 12:35

And the mother didn’t care either.
Her child is her responsibility and her cost, nobody else’s.

HunterHearstHelmsley · 19/04/2022 12:38

@umpire171

Yea a child being scared and your more concerned about paying more you aren't a better human I don't care who agrees with you or not. Not one person should pay more to be seated with family very rude and not human caring it was child who was scared you didn't care that is disgusting behiavor
The mother claimed the child was scared. To tug on the heart strings of fools that would fall for it.

Luckily, the OP wasn't one of those fools.

Also...

Not one person should pay more to be seated with family

OP was sitting with her family. She is not lesser because her family isn't a child.

ExMachinaDeus · 19/04/2022 12:40

No, I’m saying don’t open seat selection until the flight is full, then allocate families before it’s open.

A) totally discriminatory towards people not travelling with children under 12
B) I want to book my seat when I book my flight.

Blossomtoes · 19/04/2022 12:40

I’m way too invested in this! What are the views on giving up our free seats? If we’re asked to swap those, should we? Because we can’t say “No, we’ve paid for them”.

SoggyPaper · 19/04/2022 12:41

@Blossomtoes

Are you saying that nobody should be able to book a seat ever then

No, I’m saying don’t open seat selection until the flight is full, then allocate families before it’s open. Then you can choose and pay for your seat. They have data to show which seats are most popular and not allocate those to families.

Obviously no passengers who paid to choose their seats wanted 18 E and F on our flight so we got them for nothing.

Families are not the only group with needs around seating.

It’s frustrating when people with youngish children think they are the centre of the universe and that their wants should always be the top priority for everyone.

mlj123 · 19/04/2022 12:43

This happened to me when I went on holiday a couple of years ago, there were a cf family that sat in my mils seat which she had paid for, the kid was in her seat. We had a small ds on my knee and we were all taking turns to hold him etc. We politely asked them to move and explained it was mils seat. However they refused to move and the kid just stayed sat there. It ended up with us having to get the air hostess to move him back to his own seat, which they were not happy about.

ExMachinaDeus · 19/04/2022 12:46

@ilovesooty

I already have to pay single supplement for all sorts of things or have my choices restricted by things only being available to couples or families. I'm not keen on subsidising or being inconvenienced by family seating requirements on planes as well.
Absolutely!
Blossomtoes · 19/04/2022 12:47

It’s frustrating when people with youngish children think they are the centre of the universe and that their wants should always be the top priority for everyone

It’s the way it used to be. I remember when Ryanair was all non allocated seats so boarding was a mad scramble. They boarded families first. I thought it was OK. We never joined the scramble and just took whatever seats were left at the end.

ilovesooty · 19/04/2022 12:47

@umpire171

Yea a child being scared and your more concerned about paying more you aren't a better human I don't care who agrees with you or not. Not one person should pay more to be seated with family very rude and not human caring it was child who was scared you didn't care that is disgusting behiavor
People aren't paying a charge to be seated with family. They pay a charge to be assured of sitting next to them.

I'm not shifting out of a seat I've paid a reservation fee for. Are you the kind of person who expects others to move for your children if you haven't paid for a reservation?

Quincythequince · 19/04/2022 12:49

@Blossomtoes

I’m way too invested in this! What are the views on giving up our free seats? If we’re asked to swap those, should we? Because we can’t say “No, we’ve paid for them”.
What do you mean by free seat? Do you mean assigned seat. Or free in that you didn’t pay.

Swapping seats should be at the discretion of the seat holder always.

If I don’t want to move, I’m not going to and Imm not moving if I’ve paid. No way.

Why should families be prioritised in this way?

Quincythequince · 19/04/2022 12:50

And I’ve for four kids and have always made sure we were allocated together (paying if need be) when flying.

ilovesooty · 19/04/2022 12:50

@Blossomtoes

I’m way too invested in this! What are the views on giving up our free seats? If we’re asked to swap those, should we? Because we can’t say “No, we’ve paid for them”.
If I was there first I wouldn't swap unless to an equivalent seat or instructed by a member of the crew.
Blossomtoes · 19/04/2022 12:51

Free as in I didn’t pay, it was allocated by the holiday company.

whumpthereitis · 19/04/2022 12:53

@umpire171

Yea a child being scared and your more concerned about paying more you aren't a better human I don't care who agrees with you or not. Not one person should pay more to be seated with family very rude and not human caring it was child who was scared you didn't care that is disgusting behiavor
Oh well. You’ll cope.
ilovesooty · 19/04/2022 12:56

@umpire171

Yea a child being scared and your more concerned about paying more you aren't a better human I don't care who agrees with you or not. Not one person should pay more to be seated with family very rude and not human caring it was child who was scared you didn't care that is disgusting behiavor
I see that you name changed to launch that diatribe too Grin
FairyCakeWings · 19/04/2022 13:04

@Blossomtoes

I’m way too invested in this! What are the views on giving up our free seats? If we’re asked to swap those, should we? Because we can’t say “No, we’ve paid for them”.
We can’t say that we paid for them, but we might be able to say that we made the effort to check in online as soon as it opened to book a seat or that we got to the airport extra early to try and get seats together.

For me it would depend on where I was being asked to move to, who I was travelling with and how long the flight was. And wether the person who asked was polite and apologetic about it or rude an entitled.

FairyCakeWings · 19/04/2022 13:06

@umpire171

thats on them paying more for seats than whining about them paying extra for those seats
What does this even mean?
HELLITHURT · 19/04/2022 13:12

@umpire171

Yea a child being scared and your more concerned about paying more you aren't a better human I don't care who agrees with you or not. Not one person should pay more to be seated with family very rude and not human caring it was child who was scared you didn't care that is disgusting behiavor
Interesting first post...

I presume you're on on "those" mothers that thinks having a child trumps everything and everyone rise?

Can't afford to pay to book seats with your child..... don't travel.

It's that simple!

HELLITHURT · 19/04/2022 13:13

*else not rise!

Blossomtoes · 19/04/2022 13:18

we might be able to say that we made the effort to check in online as soon as it opened to book a seat or that we got to the airport extra early to try and get seats together

Neither of which would be true because we don’t care about sitting together. I’m quite hoping someone does ask now!

FairyCakeWings · 19/04/2022 13:22

If you don’t care about sitting together and have made no effort to do so, then just judge the situation as it is at the time and do what you want.

Your seat is as much your seat if it’s been allocated to you as it is if you’ve paid to choose it.

TrashyPanda · 19/04/2022 13:29

@umpire171

Yea a child being scared and your more concerned about paying more you aren't a better human I don't care who agrees with you or not. Not one person should pay more to be seated with family very rude and not human caring it was child who was scared you didn't care that is disgusting behiavor
I pay for specific seats because of my disability.

Do you think random lazy/stingy parent who can’t be arsed to pay for seats has some sort of priority over my disability?
I don’t.

And I don’t care if her kid is scared. It’s that or me being in agony for days. No contest.

Yiu want specific seats - you pay for them.

Parent showed she was an arse when she said “what difference does it make?” When told about the price.

£44 ain’t peanuts.

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