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.

As previous people have said - some airlines took everything down to get to the cheapest price & then you pay for what you want above that. Alternatively they could just add £20 onto the price and your child gets a guaranteed seat next to you . If you take the cheapest seats , then I reckon you are gambling - not the airline's problem if you did not pay to get a young child to sit next to you when you had the option. But this isn't the first post about this and I am sure it won't be the last 😊✈. Personally I would stump up £20 but I am a bit more cautious & I am not going to argue on a plane

How can the ‘alternative’ be to add £20?

If there are 100 seats per plane then they sell 100 tickets - and people get on and sit down.

Or those who want seats together now have to pay for he privilege of an extra staff member to allocate seats.

Maybe if you all refused to pay we can go back to getting on and sitting down like we do on buses.

I suspect there's been a contributor here who may work in loading, hopefully they'll contribute, but in the meantime as I recall load and balance there can be serious problems (serious as in dangerous) in some circumstances with literally going to bus style "free seating", most especially on flights that are not full... your example of 100 tickets sold on a 180 seat aircraft might almost be the worse case if people didn't sit where you'd expect them to sit...

You always needs somebody who, if not allocating seating, is monitoring what's going on to ensure limits aren't breached.

Example of what can happen if seat occupancy isn't controlled or at least monitored here:

https://simpleflying.com/alitalia-a320-tail-strike-passenger-imbalance/

With subjects like this I usually refer back to a pal who's worked for years as cabin crew for a couple of the majors, and interestingly, she said that she's quite literally never seen anyone offer to make up the loss of those being asked to swap

Apparently they'll talk a storm about all the "good reasons" they need the seat instead, but compensating those they expect to move ... no, that seems not to occur

But that’s the problem isn’t it. We’ve paid £32 each, each way for our forthcoming trip for upfront, extra leg room and additional overhead bags.
Completely our choice as both of us will need to work whilst away and need laptops etc in hand luggage.

But I would be deeply miffed at being asked to move. Yes our extra luggage would still be in the overhead locker but who is going to chuck £64 at us to change seats for one leg of trip.

I don’t have a problem with menu pricing as it means you select what you need/want. I have no problem at other times of not selecting a seat or hold luggage.

I do see the point that people make about travelling with say a 2 year old but where does the cut off come into play if it’s always assumed that families sit together.

But I would be deeply miffed at being asked to move. Yes our extra luggage would still be in the overhead locker but who is going to chuck £64 at us to change seats for one leg of trip

That's exactly what I meant, friendlycat; if a non-payer expected the airline to seat them together and they haven't, by all means take it up with the airline

But they don't ... suddenly it becomes a "crisis" which someone else is expected to solve, and the issue that other passengers have paid for their seats and that the least they might expect is an offer seems not to occur

Forgot to update - didn't pay extra for seats and checked in the minute check in opened. We were allocated the window and middle seat both ways; perfect for containing a toddler! Still had the option to buy seats if we wanted to, but no need.

That’s for the update. This is what I do and we’ve never not sat together.

Being 4 or 5 some random often ends up next to the kids and usually they’ve paid extra - to sit next to an annoying kid!

You could also choose a window and aisle seat paid for and end up with an annoying kid in the middle.

Paying doesn’t mean you choose your neighbours!

We’ve recently flown and a family of6 got on the plane and asked immediately if they could sit together, no was the answer unless people were willing to give up their seats, majority of people pay & book specific seats so why should they have to give up their seats for others who want free seats?
This family adults & children were all scattered around the plane 🤣🤣🤣

why is that hysterically funny though?

We flew home from Turkey tonight via Easyjet. Although the plane was full it appeared that everyone had pre booked seats so no problems.

Because they didn’t pay for seats and still expected to sit together, so it’s their own doing that they wanted to sit together but were unable to!
so yes it is funny!

sorry, I don't find it hilarious that kids are dotted all over the plane from their parents but to each their own

I'd pay.
Or you could easily end up in this situation.

Other people pay to ensure they can sit next to their family / travel companions - so don't assume that, after paying for that privileged, they would move so you could do the same after choosing not to pay...

It wouldn't be funny either if the planes crashes and less people are able to survive as the parents are running the wrong way, trying to locate their children, hindering other passengers leaving.
It should be free. It always used to be free. It doesn't even cost the airlines anything extra. It's as if TFL started to charge passengers more to sit next to family members on the number 1 bus to Tottenham Court Road.
What's weird is how people on this thread have been brainwashed into wanting to pay more for something that used to be free, and then thinking it makes them a morally better person compared to others.

What's weird is how people on this thread have been brainwashed into wanting to pay more for something that used to be free, and then thinking it makes them a morally better person compared to others.

I don't feel morally superior to pre booking a seat. I find it amusing that someone feels entitled enough to ask me to move from my seat because they checked in at the last minute online or at check in.

I did move seats a few months ago for a couple with a newborn as they were really polite. It was a firm no to the French woman who was travelling with a friend asking me to move to a crappy seat at the back.

If you don't purchase a seat, then you need to check in online when it opens and be prepared that you might not sit together.

What's weird is how people on this thread have been brainwashed into wanting to pay more for something that used to be free

The mechanism behind seat choice was never actually free, they are always going to be costs to administering it. once upon a time there would have been administrators of some sort looking at seat plans and bookings, nowadays there will be a small cost due to the electricity and whatever else is needed behind the scenes to run the seat choice bit of the overall booking IT.

Was has changed is that once upon a time that cost, small or large, was invisible, contained within the overall price….nowadays it’s tacked on as an optional, pay for, extra.

I would choose seats otherwise you are going to end up in one of those terrible articles "I didn't move seats for a baby everyone applaud me" that are everywhere right now 😂

This! ⬆️

So bloody annoying when people with kids can't be arsed to pay to sit together but expect everyone else to just accommodate them. Why should we? So entitled. Just pay the extra 20quid!

I'd pay for the convenience of being able to just get on and sit down without any messing about. We recently got a flight where a dad with two young children hadn't booked seats and the staff started trying to move people so they could sit together...no one wanted to move. In the end the older child (about 5 or 6) was actually sat on her own next to another couple no where near her dad which I was surprised about as I didn't think it was allowed. She'd obviously done it before as was completely unfazed.

We paid for extra leg room on a ryanair flight.
A family were split and i had the whole of the flight with my elbow being banged by this kid running back and forward to its parent. So bloody annoying.

Just pay. Nobody wants to have to swap seats they've paid for because you're a cheapskate. (Or get stuck babysitting your kid.)

There will be plenty of people who haven't paid for their seat. People always seem to assume that everyone except the person who wants to sit with their child/children will have paid for their seat.

Once upon a time you just got on the plane and found a seat. It seemed to work fine.