To wait to select flights seats til we do online check in?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

2x adults and 2x dc flying at the very end of August with easyjet. We've only reserved tickets, not specified seats, and added some hold luggage.

Aibu to think that there'll be time to select vaguely close to each other seats when I do the online check in?

We've a 7yo so one of us adults will sit as close to him as possible (hopefully next to), and the 10yo is happy sitting wherever - though of course if she is close to one of us that'd be good.

Does everyone pay the extra to get their seats allocated at the time of booking?

”.its a weird MN thing to pay for seats!”

Not really. A man hit the headlines recently because he wouldn’t move seats for a woman with a baby. He paid for his seat. The lady wanted him to move so her husband can sit next to her (so not even a child). Funnily enough, she didn’t ask the person in the (cheaper? Less desirable?) seats next to her husband to move.

£8 per person per flight

I paid when the kids were young. I don’t now because it doesn’t matter if we are seated apart. We always check in first thing, on the day it opens, and we’re normally seated together on easyJet, which is our preferred airline.

I get paying for seats if you want extra legroom etc but generally parents are allocated a seat with their child. The scenario you site she was clearly unreasonable, I don't think anyone would disagree.

I’ve never pre paid for seats and with three children we’ve never been apart.

Generally we get seated two in front two behind and one across the isle

I’m not sure how some of you would actually cope with this configuration.

If people didn't prefer the choice of whether or not to pay for seat allocation and baggage, they'd put ticket price up £50 and then you'd get to choose seats for free and bring a suitcase.
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If you're not happy paying for extras, use a premium airline.

Even a "premium airline" (by which I presume you mean a national carrier) can charge extra if you want to choose your seat at the time of booking. I know this from personal experience.

I don't think I've ever seen a Y code ticket that had a cost for seat allocation, other than specific extra legroom seats.

You sound nice. Most people have a strong sense of aggressive entitlement over the childless. You sound as if its not the end of days if you don't get them. I bet your kids are lovely. Such a refreshing aibu 👑

Personally think it's selfish to risk someone else having to sit beside your children.

I had to do this recently, and the child was clearly anxious and uncomfortable the entire time. Also kept kicking the chair infront whilst they were playing their switch, and swinging earphones about. Obviously just small things, but things a parent would be able to aware would be annoying to others and stop. Instead the parents were sat at the opposite sit of the plane happily sipping their wine.

Personally think it's selfish to risk someone else having to sit beside your children

Suggest you take they up with the airlines, it is cheaper to let someone else babysit the kids for a couple of hours - Mine always got compliments on their behaviour!

The other thing to consider is speedy boarding. I paid for seats with my kids last week, and because of the ones I chose, got speedy boarding. I hadn't planned to, but when I say the massive queues at bag drop I was delighted I had it!

We were travelling with bmibaby, and doing online check-in for the first adult, I was asked if I wanted to pay to select a seat or just be allocated one. I opted for the latter, and when I did so for the second adult, they were allocated to a different row. Then to check in the child - old enough that she would be fine sat away from us for an hour's flight - so I decided to see what happened if I didn't pay the extra. She was allocated a seat next to one of us. When we boarded, it was clear that this was the policy - every family was split - and quite a bit of swapping went on! The allocation of the adults to different rows was clearly designed to frighten people into paying to select their children's seats.

This wouldn't work as you need an equal distribution of weight through the plane - generally not an issue if fully booked but there was a plane ( think it was in Russia) a while back that almost crashed and had to make an emergency landing because they'd failed to realise a school group contained an unusually large number of children and seated them all at the back.

I would with those ages - last time we flew the kids were 8, 14, 16 and 17 (I think - roughly, older 3 were all teens) paid for the 8 year old to have a seat next to me and took random for the rest (including husband) - one was one row in front of us but across an aisle with her sister in front. The other two were other end of the plane but directly infront/behind each other.

Reserving them doesn’t guarantee your seat either. We have just came back from holiday but we’re contacted in January to say our hotel and flights had changed, our flights were now a 3rd party charter flight with BA and seats would be allocated on check in. No online check in was available so we were refunded our payment for the reserved seats.

I wouldnt worry with easyjet as I agree that they would seat you near each other and probably one with each child. I didn't pay for seats when I travelled with them last week with a friend and the flight out we were aisle seats behind each other and I had an exit room seat (which my fellow passengers had clearly paid for from their discussions!). On the way back we were across the aisle from each other (so same row) and the "up front" seats which again are usually paid more for - row 5!

Ryanair however are rubbish and intentionally sit you apart from each other if they can!

The same thing could happen if that group paid to have those same seats all together for their travelling group, though. I've never been asked my weight when selecting my own seats online...

It's happened to me twice - once on Singapore Airlines and once on Etihad.

Not for a Y code ticket it didn't.

Done - checked in online and been allocated a row - 3 together then one across the aisle. No need for us to preselected and pay for seats.

8 pounds - OMG that is nothing.

Please don’t be one of those people who doesn’t book seats and then moans when they can’t sit next to their 7 year old and / or tries to make some innocent person move. We call these people ‘idiots’.

You will not get to chose when you check in.

Go back in now and at least book an adult and the 7 year old to sit next to each other. Everyone else will just get randomly allocated apart.

Well done, we did the same with easyJet, didn't pay for seats and we all got to sit together. Ryanair however, who we have our return flight home with today, is another matter. We couldn't get any free seats until 24 hours before the flight, so they have randomly selected 4 seats away from each other. 2 seats are a few seats apart so me and DD (12) can sit there and adult dd1 and OH will have the other 2. I begrudge paying extra for seats when easyJet did it for nothing a few weeks in advance

Result- bet you would not have got that with Ryanair!!!

It’s not nothing. It’s £64 for the return trip. Good for you @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz. If only everyone would just refuse to pay this profiteering nonsense would just stop.