AIBU to offer cash to other passengers for their seats on flight

[Blewitagain]

I am going on holiday and have discovered I haven't pre booked seats on our flights. I'm traveling with two children. This was an oversight. I can get two seats which would leave eldest sat alone.

Would it be weird to take cash to compensate anyone willing to move seat? No one might be willing to move but I'm hoping.

I once travelled last minute in an emergency and no one was willing to move seats.

I have never paid to reserve a seat ever. I refuse to out of principle. I think it’s airlines gouging customers to be honest. When the DC were young, they always sat them with myself or DH even if we were split into two groups. Now they are older none of us care if we are seated together. Besides, during online check-in I can usually select seats for free that have us close together. Usually in pairs.

My daughter would love to sit on her own with her headphones in (I would give her the dog as well 😂). And I would enjoy my flight. Bliss.

I would laugh to ask to move for a 12 year old. My 6 year old is sitting separately from us this weekend as Easyjet flight was full. She will have her ipad and snacks and is excited to have a window seat.

a 12 year old can sit alone for 2-3 hours! If not maybe a good opportunity for some independence from mum.

It’s not entitlement. Its the fact that you didn’t use to have to pay extra to select seats on a flight that you’d already paid for. And it is an additional charge, so no you didn’t used to pay for it indirectly. And certain airlines are engaging in discriminatory practices against young families and disabled travelling with careers in order to make them pay these extra charges.

It’s a relatively new practice introduced by the airlines to increase profits and it’s gotten to the point that people like you just accept it as a new normal.

The dog ?

So did you book and pay for 3 seats together? If so call the airline. Call anyway if not and say you're happy to pay for 3 to sit together.

If you get no luck I'd casually mention your 12 year old to the passenger next to you in a conversational way and see if they volunteer to move. I wouldn't ask directly. If your 12 year old is sat next to 2 adults in a better space they may prefer it to sitting next to you and a young child. You might get lucky and be next to a single passenger on business.

I feel for you OP, if it helps I'd have definitely moved for you

Actually it was included in the price so you paid whether you wanted it or not. I was sorting through some stuff yesterday and came across some details I had kept from a trip to Berlin in 1996. I was shocked how much we paid for flights as I could easily get a cheaper flight now and at the time they were bargain tickets.

Tbh my contempt for budget airlines has put me off flying full stop. We booked flights recently and from here on we're doing packages or nothing. There is nothing budget about budget airlines any more and they've made flying utterly joyless.

It’s a relatively new practice introduced by the airlines to increase profits and it’s gotten to the point that people like you just accept it as a new normal.

ATM it's more like .."to reduce their losses"

Bottom line is (SWIDT) the airline needs x amount of revenue to operate a flight profitably, and I suspect that amount is a lot more per sector per passenger than many people think.

I guess the airlines could go back to the days of getting the revenue by making everybody, across the board, pay x hundred quid for full service travel, including hold baggage allowance and choice of seat at (physical) check-in, or,

...break the package down to the individual components and these that want the extras pay for them...

Anyone who takes the money to move is a tight arsed skinflint imo.

But if they paid for an allocated seat in advance why should they move and why should they be classed as a "tight arsed skinflint".

@countrygirl99

I was sorting through some stuff yesterday and came across some details I had kept from a trip to Berlin in 1996. I was shocked how much we paid for flights as I could easily get a cheaper flight now and at the time they were bargain tickets.

Yep, people do seem to have forgotten how much flying shorthaul across Europe used to cost before the LoCos arrived on the scene.

Tbh my contempt for budget airlines has put me off flying full stop. We booked flights recently and from here on we're doing packages or nothing. There is nothing budget about budget airlines any more and they've made flying utterly joyless
I disagree with this post.
Flying is relatively cheap , if you have flexibility. I like paying for what I need.
So far this year I have paid £34 for a return flight to Malaga and £28 return to Prague. I have just booked for Spain again for £16 return.
There's no rxtra flight costs. I dont care where I sit, I don't want to pay for cases as I always travel cabin bag only unless I'm away for more than 2 weeks.
I have paid for seats twice in the last 15 years.Both times it was because I was with a nervous passenger so I was happy to pay an extra 10 quid each way to make them feel comfortable.

No the specific item of choosing a seat was never part of the price you paid until it was introduced as a separate charge. Airlines used to have a policy of passenger Tetris where they would automatically try to keep group bookings seated together. Now they have a policy of deliberately splitting up all bookings as much as possible specifically so they can then charge extra for seat selection. This disportionately affects young families and disabled who can least afford the extra charges.

Airline tickets have been steadily getting cheaper since the 1960s due to competition, the advent of online price comparison sites, increased fuel efficiency in the newer aircraft, and so on. So the fact you paid a higher price in 1996 is just part of the general trend and not evidence of how their pricing structure was back then.

Yes, we have a small dog. A dog up to 8Kg is allowed to travel in the cabin. We have taken our previous fog on flights a few times. Dog can sit with my daughter and I am happy to sit on my own 🤣🍹

Feel free 🤷‍♀️

dog*

FWIW Dogs in cabin allowed or not depends on the airline/national rules...

To be honest I wouldn't change my seat last minute. I know it's a small risk but my name would be allocated to that seat and in the event of an accident it helps trace who some people are very quickly if they're in the correct seat.

orangeisthenewpuce
Anyone who takes the money to move is a tight arsed skinflint imo“

don’t be silly. They’ve paid extra for their seats. You’d effectively give up to £50 to a stranger who wanted your seats?

Exactlyy

Ignore this, replied to wrong thread!

YANBU, I would swap seats in those circumstances and I wouldn't take any money off you. In fact, if I was sitting alone beside a mother and a young child, and I noticed that she had another child or teenager sitting apart, I would offer to swap. The same way I would offer a seat on a bus or a train to someone who was more in need, except on the plane I still end up with a seat.

I don't know what is wrong with people on mumsnet. While there have been some valid reasons mentioned for not swapping, such as being neurodiverse and needing a particular seat, most people just seem to be trying to competitively out arsehole each other.