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.

@Thebeastofsleep

I can understand it with a cheap airline, but something like virgin? I think its despicable.

Feel free to use a different airline, then.

My point is, there are very few airlines now which do not force you to pay for your group to be sat together. It is no longer the preserve of the budget airline where it is expected.

If so many entitled people are convinced that it's their right to be seated how/where they want, without paying for it, and airlines are arseholes for charging, budget airlines might as well switch to offering discount for random seats and no bags, then.

Instead of:

Base ticket = £100
Seat = £20
Baggage = £30

Make it:
Base Ticket = £150
Random seat = £20 discount
No baggage = £30 discount

The entitled fuckers can't argue then, surely.

To those making the point about him being 12 and independence, maturity, resilience etc....my child is all of those. He is allowed to want to sit next to me in a flight without it meaning anything wrong with him or my parenting!!! I know grown adults who are nervous fliers.

@Volhhg

I flew as an unacompanied minor on long haul flights as a child and it was fine, I'm a really calm traveller now. Ask the air steward to look out for them and make it a positive experience for him. When you fly unacompanied as a child once you're in your seat you are basically left to it but the air steward comes over to see if you're ok now and again and then you wait to be escorted off with the steward on landing.

As an aside and sadly as part of the race to the bottom/need to make money/stay in business many of full the service airlines that used to facilitate this have dropped their Unaccompanied Minor services, either forever or perhaps temporarily.

I know, but it's all about giving people the choice.

Some people want the cheapest possible ticket price so will forgo any semblance of luxury or comfort in return.

The issue is, many people seem to want the cheapest possible ticket price and still think they should be entitled to extras for nothing.

@Blewitagain ignore those people commenting about it being silly that he wants to sit next to you age 12.
It's really up to you and your family to decide what's appropriate and in this case you did pay for that already, so it's rubbish that this potentially not sitting together has been foisted on you.

I don't think you're doing anything wrong, OP, and I don't think it's unusual that a 12yo would want to sit with their parent if at all possible.

@Volhhg I don't know how you managed to not notice the seat allocation in part of the booking since you have to click through it about 4 times?

Not suggesting reading the full thread would be interesting but I have explained several times. Probably would have been as quick to read as to type that long post

Yah airlines won't take financial risk of losing money from fear of litigation. OP your kid can do this! Big him up and he will be a proud independent flier, I got a lot of confidence from this as a child

Just to be clear, my child will manage. But, as I already said, he doesn't need a lesson in resilience/independence. In fact we are looking forward to finally having some decent time together as both my children are rather more independent than is ideal!

I hope you manage to speak to Easy Jet - but on a flight - just remember that lots of adults won't want to swap seats even if you paid the full price (£70) because they've pre booked them.

Me, personally - I'd probably move. On here I'd say I wouldn't but I probably would!

But there is no choice anymore. I am happy to pay more for a more luxury airline. I don't think I should then be forced to pay even more if I want to sit with the people on my booking. So it isn't about giving people choice. Choice is- you can go with a cheap airline, know you have to pay for extras but probably still end up cheaper overall, but without some whistles and bells or choose a more luxury airline and get those things included, for more than the total cost of the cheap airline. That doesn't happen anymore. And most cheap airlines don't operate long haul and yet we pay a premium price for a supposedly luxury airline that still makes you pay to sit with your child. I am not talking about seat selection i.e. choosing a preferred spot in the cabin, or an aisle seat, I am simply meaning that me and my 3yo don't get separated. They aren't the same thing. and there is no way around it, particularly if you have to buy a flight at short notice, such as to see a dying relative, attend a funeral etc.

I actually think that would be a far better way to do it. Why are people “entitled fuckers” to expect airlines to provide something free of charge when there’s no actual cost? It must piss people like you off no end to hear that this “entitled fucker” has never paid to select a seat, yet always gets a pair of seats together - usually seat and window. You’re paying for that and I’m not.

Middle and window.

I actually think that would be a far better way to do it. Why are people “entitled fuckers” to expect airlines to provide something free of charge when there’s no actual cost? It must piss people like you off no end to hear that this “entitled fucker” has never paid to select a seat, yet always gets a pair of seats together - usually seat and window. You’re paying for that and I’m not.

Saying that airlines should everyone to choose their seats free of charge is not entitled.

Saying that airlines shouldn't charge families to sit together specifically is entitled.

but I think it is much more likely that a single passenger sitting in a row of three will not have paid for that particular seat.

More likely perhaps but I wouldn't assume. I pay to get a window seat when I fly.

Saying that airlines shouldn't charge families to sit together specifically is entitled

If you really think that you don’t understand the meaning of entitled. When our kids were little budget airlines had a policy of boarding families first. You’d have exploded with indignation I expect.

Airlines already have a policy to cater for little kids, including at boarding time. No one is questioning that. There’s no need for you to contemplate anyone exploding with indignation.

So who would you approach then, OP? The little old lady with a nice face? Who might struggle out of her seat? The middle-aged woman because she’s probably a Mum? The solo girl because she probably hasn’t reserved her seat?

Or the solo lad who might be tanked? The businessman giving off ‘don’t disturb me’ vibes?

A lot of this is predicated on social conditioning, and women being ‘nice’. That middle-aged woman might be working or have an unseen disability and so might the young girl.

The solo lad would be the best bet. If he was tanked he wouldn’t give shit where he sat.

This is the comment of the thread for me. Couldn't agree more.

You are suggesting that parents should be able to choose their desired seating (next to one another) for free. Yes, they might not get 3A and 3B, but they will get an A and a B without paying for it. By contrast, a couple without children would not be able to do that without paying. I don't think that's right.

I prefer the way it is now: if you want a certain seat (be that in terms of where it is on the plane, or who it's next to) you pay for it. If you don't, you save money.

For those asking about disabled and carers paying to book seats I know on EasyJet if you book special assistance they automatically put you together for free (inc choosing which seats as I always get given the first two rows when I book), Ryanair gave me my seat free but charged my companion (carer) priority boarding to sit next to me (they also put in me last row and wouldn’t help me get on or off the plane).

No. I am suggesting that a group who books together (adults or children, just any group) are automatically allocated seats together. So, me, my mum and my sister (all adults) are allocated row 26, seats d,e&f (e.g the 3 middle seats of a large aircraft). if we want to sit at the front, at the back, have a window seat or any seat other than those allocated we should have to pay. but to pay simply to sit together, is wrong.

There should be no differentiation between groups that have kids and groups that don't.