Would you give up your plane seat?

[Tinkerblonde1]

https://www.heart.co.uk/lifestyle/man-refuses-swap-plane-seats-mum-baby/?fbclid=IwAR1sZIyQoCtwBcGd5iCtn7U6YLstt_H9sPDd9UkiSej-6Qwq2qWvvB0xqL4

It has been done before but with holidays happening again this seems to keep appearing over the last few weeks.

To me it depends but if its an airline where you pay for seats and you choose not to. Then surely its on you if you are seated away from husband/wife while you have the kids.

No. I pay for my seat to sit where I want to.

Thankfully another ‘would you give up your plane seat’ thread. With only eleventy billion this month alone I was worried another may not be able to slip in before end of month tomorrow, so phew.

Travelling back from Aus we were once asked if our 7yr old would swap for a couple, one of whom was deaf and needed her partner to sign for her. My DP offered in stead. About an hour into the flight, previously mentioned 7 yr old in her beautiful clear voice when the steward was nearby, so impeccable timing, asked why Daddy had to sit away from her, as the 2 ladies were talking to each other normally. Furtive 3-way glances. I re-assured her 'don't worry, we'll never swap again. They've spoilt it for everyone'

Why would people want to sit next to a baby if there was the option not to?

There is likely to be noise and fuss and dirty nappies to change, things to be fetched etc., so the parents are likely to be up and down like jack in the boxes the entire flight. Absolutely no peace to be had.

What's the plan if it does fall off?!

Why couldn't the woman with the baby have swapped her seat with whoever was sitting next to her husband. She's then next to him with baby and the person next to him gets a nice extra legroom.

I don't see that people who've paid extra should move and presumably this man wanted to sit next to his wife too, not some random stranger.

No, their lack of planning is not my problem. I don’t mind if I’m no worse off, but why on earth should I put myself at a disadvantage for complete strangers? Having a baby does not make you special.

No way, we've done it before on cheap holidays where I sit with the children and DH gets pot luck - he loves it!

Sorry but same. Why should more organised people who have paid for this, move?

Well we booked our holiday a month in advance and when we pre booked our seats at the time of booking the holiday there was none together for the return journey. So If you’re booking a relatively last minute holiday this could happen to anyone.

However, I wouldn’t expect anyone who had paid extra for their seats to move.

myself and DS3 were sat next to an elderly man and I was hoping he’d offer to swap with my husband in front so we could all sit together. If I was in his position there’s not a chance in hell I’d sit next to someone else’s toddler if I didn’t have to. However he didn’t, and that’s fine. We managed. We swapped seats half way through.

I'd swap if a child was left alone but they I wouldn't bother paying extra to choose a seat so I suppose that doesn't count. I did have a lovely little boy of about 7 sitting with me on a flight to Poland, his mum was across the aisle with 2 toddlers. He asked me to help with somethings, like air conditioning and his seat belt, no problem helping a child.

Why not swap the other way and she offers up her extra leg room seat so someone crammed next to her husband?

Nappies should be changed in the lavatory, not at the seat!

No.
Also on BY long haul most parents book yto have those first row seats with the pull down cots and they book it in advance.

Occasionally we have as a family switched on request but not from a seat for which we have paid extra and only when it was an okay switch to do eg one of our teenagers more than happy to sit alone so someone else's 5 year old is next to a parent kind of thing.

I know it's cheeky from the airlines but who goes on a 10 hour flight without booking seats in advance? I wouldn't swap, my son gets anxious on flights, we always pay the extra to sit together. Its factored into the price and I've never taken him on such a long flight. I'd be paying for extra comfort without a doubt if we had to do a long flight.

Nope. Their circumstances wouldn't move me even 1%!

No. I have a young DD and am also terrified of flying, so our seats are chosen with military precision after I book the flights. I can be a pushover who can’t say no in some situations, but not with this

Doesn't stop babies being smelly in their nappies or have poonamis!

It would depend on how they asked and the situation. If I felt my seat meant more to them than me, I'd be happy to swap. And if they asked nicely. If they were being a CF though, I might not.

In the circumstances in that article, nope.

I would probably do it on a shorter flight, or if it was a primary aged child who would otherwise have to sit on their own, but I would do it grudgingly and assume the mum was badly organised/a CF.

In the man’s shoes I wouldn’t have swapped.

If you don’t book seats, or book flights early enough to book them together then you take your chances.

I think it’s rude to put people on the spot by asking directly. When my youngest was offered a last minute cancellation for an operation that required a last minute flight so we couldn’t book seats together I asked the cabin crew to ask over the tannoy as I didn’t want to put anyone on the spot.

If I ruled the world, anyone trying this and involving cabin crew would find themselves with the choice of using their booked seat or being removed from the aircraft on the basis that they were refusing to travel. It’s a shame than in this case the mum’s ploy worked as her husband was found a better seat than the one they’d paid for (and quite possibly the person who had paid for it had been turned out of it). Booking a seat on a long haul isn’t cheap, either.

I wouldn’t move, not for a ten hour flight. I haven’t flown in years but when I did, I booked a particular seat for a reason. Parents (because it’s always parents) have become so entitled about this issue.

I wouldn't move

I once paid extra to sit in an exit row and someone next to me was randomly assigned the same row at checkin. She asked me to swap with her boyfriend as they needed to sit together. He was in a centre seat several rows back. I declined and she said she needed to sit with him as she was scared of flying. I suggested in that case she moves back and offers the extra leg room seat to the person currently sitting next to her boyfriend. She didn't.

It's funny how these people always want someone to moved out of the 'better' seat but don't want to do the same.

This actually happened to me on a flight once. I paid extra for the extra leg room seat and a woman with a baby wanted me to swap seats with her husband in the row behind.

I just said no, I have bad knees and need the extra legroom. Think it would have been hard to argue against that!