To not pay to choose seats but expect to sit together?

[Peachpicklepie]

I'll be flying with easyjet on a short flight (just over an hour) soon. It will be me, my toddler (2 years 4 months) and my baby (four months). Baby will be on my lap. According to the website they will sit children near an accompanying adult - surely in the case of a two year old this means next to?! I really don't want to spend another £20 on choosing seats if it's unnecessary.

Next online article: A thoughtless tight mother does not book a seat for her children and expects everyone to move to accomodate her.

I've always found that we're sat together anyway on BA and Virgin.
Ryanair deliberately split groups up I think. Not sure about easyJet (but you can choose seats at check-in).
I thought TUI was a cheap airline, for cheap package holidays.

BA don't always, I'm not sure about Virgin, but in any case that's an example of the fact that over the last 25-30 years many legacy airlines have had to alter their business model to get/keep their headline fares anything close to that offered by some of the LoCos who introduced, for want of a better expression, menu pricing.

There's very little "full service" to be found anywhere these days.

No, it's the airline being unfair. It's a made up charge that never used to exist.
If anything, it's unfair on anxious people as I've never paid, and always been placed next to my child- most recently last week.
I've been on three flights this month-two we didn't pay to be together- and were together. (Easyjet.)
On the last one (BA) we had to make separate bookings when we were buying the tickets, so were given different seats. As it was a short flight and my son was with my partner, I didn't say anything, but my neighbour jumped up and offered to change anyway.

@pleasehelpwi3

No, it's the airline being unfair. It's a made up charge that never used to exist.

Sort of. Once upon a time any costs associated with passenger wishes for seating were imbedded in the price ( if there was any choice at all..those were the days).

The market deregulated and charges for seat choice, amongst other things, all had to be "made up" as you put it, in order to allow the basic price of the ticket as seen on TV/website to be kept low.

Get rid of that "made up" charge (e.g. by legislation) and the basic price of most tickets will go up.

The only person lawfully being thrown off a plane should be the person refusing to use the seat they chose.

A person who doesn’t want to give up their paid for seat shouldn’t ever be thrown off a plane.

Can you imagine if you were in a restaurant and someone said they hadn’t bothered to buy their kid a meal but he was hungry so they’d be having yours please, and the restaurant not only allowed that but demanded you pay for it and then threw you out?

Nobody would say that was OK, but many seem to think that they can disagree with the rules and force someone else to give them what they want, and if that person don’t like it, they should be removed from the plane.

Bonkers level of entitlement.

Absolutely this.

And if you choose not to pay, sort your seating issues out directly with the airline rather than leaving it to chance that some other passenger will move for you - in effect, paying for your seat choices whilst relinquishing their own.

I am one passenger who will not be moving.

Christ this thread is like banging your head against a wall, no wonder the OP has legged it.

To clarify some of the most frequent misunderstandings;

• easyJet as a rule allocate bookings together IF they can. They can't always. You can't get a family of 4 into a row of 3 seats.

• easyJet offer check-in and your seat numbers one whole MONTH before travel, so plenty of time to contact them and change your seats before you're actually onboard the plane, in the unlikely event they're not together.

• Seats being greyed out at time of booking doesn't mean they've all been booked already. It may mean the airline are managing the weight allocation until such time they're sold a high enough percentage of seats to not have to.

• outside of MN, there are many many many people who couldn't give a flying one where they're sat on a plane, nor if they're asked politely to switch.

Is this fact or is it what we are made to believe in order for the airlines to justify charging for extras? Did anyone see a significant drop in basic costs of flights once they started to introduce these extras? See my previous post with the link showing easyjet bumper profits.

The standard airlines have now adopted menu-pricing, whilst still charging the more expensive base-line seating costs. Some have a more generous model: a nominal cost for increased baggage/check-in luggage plus choice of seating.

But one basic ticket-price with all that included is now a rarity, if it still exists at all. Some people prefer menu-pricing, the ability to pay their money and buy only what they want. Being a lazy besom who wants it all done for me and CBA with the ins and outs, I find this a headache.

There is little choice on many of the routes these days and I regret seeing that choice removed. But it's by no means only the budget airlines. They introduced the model and the industry adopted it.

There is little choice on many of the routes these days and I regret seeing that choice removed. But it's by no means only the budget airlines. They introduced the model and the industry adopted it.

When EasyJet first started they didn't allocate seats at all. You just got on and the plane filled up. It was great - 200 seats - 200 passengers, first on went to the back of the plane, didn't hold others up whilst stowing luggage. They brought in seat allocation in 2012.

I think you're right that even the "proper airlines" try to make you do it. I booked flights on KLM and Austrian Airlines recently and I think they did. I don't pay to book seats- as long as I'm on the plane I don't care where I sit.

They will seat the toddler next to one of the adults automatically.

If you check in at the first available opportunity (30 days ahead I think) it won't be a problem, you'll all get seats together, that's what I usually do

As has been said multiple times, no - they won't.

"Next to" in aircraft terms could mean in front of, behind, diagonally to or across the aisle from.

Out of interest I just checked my last 'it's almost time to fly' email from easyJet that they send a week ahead of travel or thereabouts. It had a link in it to 'change seats' even after we'd long ago checked in and been allocated ours. So check in (as soon as it opens) and if you don't like your freely allocated seats, pay to change them.

Ha ha. I remember boarding a Jet2 flight, I paid for front row seats 1A & 1B, window and middle.
When I boarded a man was in 1B and a I said that's my seat, he said he had to sit next to his wife in 1C as she has a fear of flying.
My husband who was a few people behind me, boarded and just said to the man you're in out seatd, plese move before I ask the cabinet crew to move you... he moved without a word.
Bloody coward.

No. We didn't even ask.

Well there you go. YANBU to not pay now until you see what seats you have been given, but say your toddler was behind you and that wasn't acceptable to you YABVU to expect someone to change on the day rather than just paying for seats now.

Pay. It’s a cost of parenting. I’m a single mum and I always paid for my son, and on two occasions when I had a rare holiday on my own I paid to choose my own seat and on both occasions I was asked (read ‘pressurised into’) changing seats because of parents who were too tight to pay. I chose that seat because it was a rare treat and because neurodiversity means I chose it to minimise my own stress, but that was blown out if the water by selfish parents. Pay, suck it up and don’t be so entitled.

Pay the money if you want to guarantee your child is next to you. That’s what the fee is for. If you don’t want to guarantee it, and your child might be sat near you then that is also your choice. I don’t think you can expect anyone to move to accommodate you and your tight wallet.

This is what we do.

I haven't flown in ages, but surely, you would want an a child sat next to one of there parents, in case of an accident.
I don't get why they cannot look at a party and go 2 adults 2 child, then put kids next to 1 adult and put the other adult over the aisle. I don't a stranger would want to sit next to someone else's kid. But if your child is that young, I would probably pay £20 to be on the safe side.

The OP from her posts isn't your usual CF.

She was genuinely asking would the airline seat them together regardless.

The consensus suggested "maybe".

But I'm definitely in the camp of "I paid extra for this seat, no I'm not moving", and I think the majority are of that opinion now.

If toddler ends up sitting away from you, offer to pay £20 to whoever is next to them. A decent gamble. And doubt many people want to sit next to someone else’s small child 😊

You should just pay.
I won't move for anyone any more because I have paid extra for my seat. Others should do the same if they want to guarantee a seat next to their child (ie. really next to the child and not "next to" as the airline sees it)

I am genuinely amazed by how many people pay to choose their seat allocation. Amazed I tell you!