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?

I have done both. Booked and taken a chance and it was fine.

I think it's abit of a money making racket tbh but it's up to the individual.

And I wouldn't do this anyway as I knowingly took the "risk" and would have been happy with the outcome regardless.

They won’t sit a child next to an adult if everyone else has paid to book their seats. It cost us (x6) over £200 to sit together for a return flight to Spain recently but there were two families in front of us who ended up all over the plane because they hadn’t paid, they were obviously whining and moaning about what a disgrace it was and the airline put them as close together as possible but they didn’t make others who had paid move. I rang to ask prior and they said they’ll try to if there are seats but there is no guarantee so we didn’t chance it. You know your children and whether they will behave well and not to anxious next to a random. It wasn’t easyJet but a similar low cost airline.

I’m surprised the airlines were all allowed to get away with this even during covid. I mean, having to pay extra to sit with your household is literally the opposite of social distance compliance.

We did it in May and it was fine. But there are only 3 of us, and it was out with school hols so we were prepared to take the risk that one adult may have to sit elsewhere.
On the way back there was one extremely drunk lad who was part of a large group. He was warned to calm his behaviour or he was off the flight. Thankfully he did. In your situation no way would I risk the 10 year old being sat next to someone in that state.

@luxxlisbon

Flights were almost empty during lockdown. I flew easyJet Alicante to Gatwick in Feb’21 with just six other passengers. An easyjet return flight to Spain with 40 (out) snd 25 (return) passengers in March or April that year, when you had to justify the reasons for going abroad. I fly regularly to Spain and Italy and full planes have only made a “comeback” from April 2022. The only more or less full plane during this time was a BA flight to Madrid in June 2020, 75% I’d say, but this was when most airports were closed and there were no daily flights, so that one would have had all passengers flying to Spain that week as the low-cost airlines were not operating.

I've also done both, once we were lucky, the other time we were scattered across the plane. I now always select seats and pay for them as I like to sit with whoever I'm going away with, yet some people make snidey remarks about this too.

There's 2 options really

1. If you're bothered about sitting with the people you're going with then pay and pre-book
2. If you're not then don't but be aware you may not get seats together

Neither is wrong.

If only everyone would just refuse to pay this profiteering nonsense would just stop

Yep. Plays in peoples anxiety!

I don't pre-book seats on the grounds that people were always sitting close to their party before pre-booking seats for payment was even a thing. I have just got to the airport early (or checked in online as early as possible) and have never been sitting away from family. An aisle between us or in 2 x2 at most. I then spend the money saved on something nice on holiday.

I was on an easyjet flight recently where a mum had taken the gamble and not been placed anywhere near her 3 year old. Lots of scrabbling around and moving people around when boarding as it clearly wouldn't work. Don't assume they will.put you together. They assume that if it matters ro you, you will pay

FFS. 🙄

Rosiestraws I'd agree with this re Ryanair. I booked our seats within 24 hours of the flight as I didn't want to pay extra. We were seated away from each other even though there was an empty seat on both my and DD's row. I'm not sure if it was to do with weight distribution but people were swapping seats quite a bit and my 2 DDs ended up sitting together anyway

My husband and I never pay to sit together and I do agree, it's 'profiteering nonsense'. However, I'm going on holiday next year with my (adult) daughter and for the first time in decades, we have booked a package holiday and opted to pay to sit together. It's a 7 hour flight and would just be more fun to sit together and chat and get excited 😊 Plus she's a nervous flyer and she would feel better if we were guaranteed seats together.

Not something I would normally do. I will definitely be refusing to move though if anyone asks if they can swap 😬

Glad you got a good outcome OP. Enjoy your holiday!

The government if it wanted to could put a stop to this very simply. Double tax where you charge for seat allocation, or preferential airport slots if you don't.

Consumer protection law needs updating in many areas and stopping rip-offs is one.

What would probably happen in that case is that there would probably be a return to how it was done in the olden days - allocating seating at check-in/free for all at check in, no fee.

The consequent loss of the revenue generated by "pay to chose seat if you choose to do so" would be replaced by everybody paying a bit more on the basic ticket price.

In case people haven't noticed most airlines have earned sod all revenue for over two years and even though there are signs of a (perhaps brief) return to profit many are are in a parlous state ATM. They are not going to blow off a revenue stream and not try and replace it somehow.

As for "profiteering", even the long time proponent of using ancillary revenue to drive fares down has suddenly had an epiphany and recognises ticket prices have become so cheap it is not sustainable...proving that sometimes even a stopped clock is right occasionally.

fortune.com/2022/07/02/ryanairs-oleary-says-airfares-will-rise-for-next-5-years-ft/

Your choice, but you'll end up paying one way or another

We always pay to sit together. 64 quid is peanuts compared to what has already been paid for a holiday.

If I had younger kids i wouldn't want to wait and risk the 'algorithms' of one sat behind and one sat in front. I wouldn't want to sit next to someone else's 7yr old either, probably bored and incessantly shouting across to their parents for snacks or whatever.

With Easyjet I have never ever paid for a seat. I've always checked in online as soon as it opens - and with Easyjet this is 30 days before the flight, unlike 24/48 hours with some airlines - and I've always been allocated seats together in the same row.

Ryanair is a different story and I would always pay (in fact it's mandatory for one adult to select and pay for a seat next to an under 12).

In short, not all airlines follow the same procedures and it is airline dependent on whether you need to pay prior to check in to guarantee that you will be seated together. Personally with Easyjet if you can check in 30 days before and you're not fussed about exactly where in the aircraft you are sitting, I wouldn't bother paying.

It’s cheap to reserve on easyJet. I’d personally pay for at least the child and one adult to sit next to each other, as next to can be another row - fine if you’re happy with that but for £30 or so I’d just reserve

@Darbs76

Why would the OP do this when she has already checked in online and been allocated seats together WITHOUT paying any extra?

Because that doesn’t always happen. As we see on here all the time people complaining

'Because that doesn’t always happen. As we see on here all the time people complaining'

Exactly! Just because the op risked it and it all ended happily doesn't mean everyone else who posts about it in the next few weeks will get lucky. Just pay the few quid for peace of mind. Nobody wants to sit next to your young dc without a parent on the other side.

Congratulations on the most sensible post on the thread. I can’t believe how many people are happy to be ripped off.

In my experience they will make other people move to put the 7 year old with an adult. Even the 10 year old probably the same. It is not worth the risk of something happening - the air hostesses can't expect another traveller to supervise your child and cant do it themselves either so they have no choice but to seat your child with you. I never pay to reserve seats when flying with my young kids, it's never been an issue.

I do the same. I check in as soon as they tell me I can, so usually within 2 hours or so depending on work. Always had a sensible seat allocation usually half way back on the plane, so I assume there are other rows left. I suspect the issue arises more if you are later to check in.

I can think of few things worse than sitting next to someone else’s 7yo without a parent on the other side. Just book the seats.