Ryanair seat issue. Another airline seat one...sorry

[thinkfast]

Just returned from holiday today. We had booked and paid for tickets including reserved allocated seats in December. Me, Dd8 and DS11 in a row of 3 with DH over the aisle from us.

Board the plane to discover that the layout of the plane has changed and we have somehow ended up in the emergency rows. I ask one of the air stewardesses are we allowed to sit here and she says no...once everyone has boarded she will find someone to swap with us, as children aren't allowed in the emergency row. She finds 2 people to swap with DD and DS- 5 rows ahead of me. I explain she needs to ask a row of 3 adults to swap so I can sit with my children and she says no. I ask several different rows with 3 adults in will they please swap and explain why (and that they would get extra legroom) and they all look at me blankly. DD is crying. Air stewardess insists that I have to sit in my allocated seat and the kids have to be moved. Refused to ask any rows of three adults to swap. The third person in the row the kids have been moved to is an elderly lady so I can understand not asking her to swap, but there were plenty of rows with 3 adults nearby who could've been asked to move.

Previously, if I've ever sat in the emergency aisle I've been asked if I feel able to open the door in an emergency, and been instructed how to do it. None of that today. If they'd asked me I'd have said no. Currently suffering with a knee injury and reduced mobility so I don't think I should've been next to the emergency door anyway!

Luckily, just before take off very kind man across the aisle from where they have moved to eventually agrees to swap with DH.

Aibu that Ryanair shouldn't allow this to happen? Any chance do you think of getting back the extra we paid for allocated seating?

It’s a budget airline they don’t care.

Frankly the last two times I’ve flown the flights were cancelled just as we boarded and customers were left entirely abandoned to find themselves emergency overnight accommodation or sit in the airport all night and to scrabble to find and book new flights home - so getting upset about this seems rather wet!

Strange. We just gor back too and we have a 10 year old. She wasn't allowed to sit without an adult in our group so was separated from her sister and the ipad! We were told 10 is too young to sit alone.

I wonder if they expected the old lady to volunteer to move because she didn't want to sit next to two children? Then they'd have only moved two people not three?

Or if they thought the old lady would look after them (unlike a man of any age).

But I'm also now thinking that when booking seats far in advance with kids, that it might be best booking far to the back or front, to avoid and problems if the plane changes. I've had plane changes before but luckily it didn't impact me that much, purely because out of luck we didn't end up at the emergency exit row.

Anyway I would contact them - with no expectations - because they breached their own policy. In fact I can't think of an airline that would consider those ages as adults and able to sit alone. Yes they're a budget airline, but there are very good reasons why children are not seated away from parents/accompanying adult.

EasyJet allocated my children the row in front of me and gave me the emergency exit row - go figure as they have the same policy. My kids (8 and 10) were completely fine but it was the row in front of me, not 5 rows away. I would complain and want my seating cost back.

I know, honestly it’s not ideal but for a short flight, and it’s not like they are little kids, just get on with your life. The risks of budget airlines

No, this isn’t how you build resilience. And also, it’s up to the OP to decide if this is how she wants to build that and as she paid for allocated seating, we can assume not.

my children are 17 and 14 and ND. I have to sit next to them on the plane, for their benefit, and also for the comfort and enjoyment of other passengers, which would be compromised if they say next to my kids 🤣 - hence I pay for seating, much as I resent it!

So in the end you got to sit alone while DH was with the kids?

id have considered that a bonus 🤣

Ryanair don’t give a shit, last time I was in one the Steward rammed the trolley into me as the were walking past- he didn’t even flinch just gave me a look of contempt. It’s not ok, but they aren’t renowned for their customer service.

I would give a complaint a try given that you paid for something you didn’t get but the chances of compensation are slim to none.

I would have been furious and would have asked every single row on that plane to swap myself if they didn’t listen. If you had paid to sit with your children then that is what they should have given you. I completely sympathise.

Let it go, you will get absolutely nowhere and they actually now say you may be asked to move seats. They don’t care and you’ll frustrate yourself

For future always buy seats that are not in rows 1/2 or rows 14-20

I'm really surprised people didn't bite your hand off for an exit row with extra legroom

Unreasonable behaviour from the cabin crew member not to ask others if they would agree to move. Though if they are treated as badly as customers are, can see why they would not want to bother.

Make this your last ever flight with Ryanair. There are always alternatives, don't believe those when they say it is the only option.

Yes, you should ask for a refund on the extra you paid for reserved seats, because you have paid for an extra you didn’t get,

Totslly unreasonable to expect other people to change seats though. They might have paid to reserve those seats or have an equally valid reason for not wanting to move.

I'm surprised by some of the comments. I would also have been really upset OP. I would definitely complain but I doubt they will care.

Is it Ryanair that give free booking to the kids but expect the parent to pay to sit next to them to avoid this whole parents not with children issue?

They seem to have made it unnecessarily hard on themselves if there were groups of three adults....

All kids are different. Some eight year olds would be fine, others wouldn't be - especially if they are nervous about flying. But whether or not an eight year old should be able to sit alone is besides the point. OP's young child was crying, the air steward should have used her their common sense and asked someone else to move.

I would complain/try to get money back. Did you tell them about your knee issues? If yes, I'd definitely mention this and the fact that you received no instruction on how to operate the exit door - which is there to save everybody's lives in an emergency when you complain.

The cabin crew was unreasonable not to try to get someone to swap with you. You could perhaps have spoken up about your knee injury It all sounds a bit disappointing and a little upsetting. But it’s not the biggest deal to be a few rows behind children of these ages.

I would not bother trying to claim back the seat allocation fee. You will only frustrate and upset yourself and will probably still get nowhere. Just try to consign it to history now. But don’t book with Ryanair again.

I completely disagree with everyone who says that you shouldn't ask for your money back. Or ask for compensation. Yes you should.

You didn't get the service that you wanted. and part of going on holiday is the flying itself and the pleasure. And yes I would want to sit altogether that's why you paid and booked your seats. the kerfuffle and the disruption, the upset of all this whole thing going on ruined the first part of your holiday experience. I don't know why people are belittling that so much, it would really hack me off.

Also, if you don't get money back, give them bad review. Won't do them any harm on its own, but if more and more people leave rubbish reviews, more and more people won't use them. There could come a time one day in the future when they are sat there thinking "Oh fuck. Maybe we should have treated people better,".

That’s really bad OP. You booked to sit together so should have been allowed to. Ask for your money back.

They can't force other people to move though. Their seat reservations and preferences are just as valid as OP's.

Haha maybe you’re training your young children they can’t rely on their parents for comfort. Hope you’ve budgeted for a big mental therapy bill when they’re older

I would have been really worried that they would not manage oxygen masks on their own.

In this situation, I would tell the air steward that none of us would be moving until SHE found us three seats together, if not then they would have to call the police to remove us from the plane. Make it clear to her and all of the passengers that I had paid for allocated seating and I would be prepared to hold up the flight if we could not sit together. I guarantee you that the other passengers or airline would not want to be delayed and the airline would not want the bad publicity.

We recently flew with easyJet and we booked the last 3 seats on the plane. So myself, DH and DS5 would have been sat completely different ends of the plane. When we spoke to the cabin crew, they were excellent, and got us 3 seats together. It's like Ryanair have been told customer service costs money, so don't do it. Families should be allowed to sit together. If there's an emergency, I'm not getting off that plane until I find my son, even if I have to jump over seats to find him.

Just checked and legally a child under 12 should not be seated more than 1 row away from their accompanying adult. That is in the civil aviation authority website.