Paying for seat reservations on flights

[MidnightPatrol]

I have just booked a flight and as increasingly seems to be the case, they want me to pay to reserve a seat.

I have a young child so I can’t ’risk it’ on the day, and the trip will be more enjoyable (by which I mean less of a nightmare) if we are seated together in one row (me, DH, DC).

The cost of this? 66 euros.

I just want to ensure I am seated with the other passengers in my booking, specifically my toddler. Feels grating to incur an additional expense for this ‘privilege’.

We fly jet 2 regularly and they've always given us 4 seats together without paying. Oldest is now 11 so will be interesting to see if this changes! We also fly budget though once a year (not RA) tbf and have never been sat separately either. A friend did fly long haul recently and ended up babysitting someone else's child (primary age not a toddler) as the dad sat behind didn't check in on his child for the entire 10 hours!

Thanks, I was just reading it. Interesting.

So what you're actually saying is that it doesn't cost them any more for you to choose your own seat.

They just want some people to pay more for it because otherwise they won't make enough money from the flight.

Because lots of PP have been arguing that paying for seats is an "extra cost" to the airline, but that's not what you're saying. There's no actual extra cost to them, but they just want to make more money from passengers and they've decided this is the way they're going to do it.

What they've done is taken something which effectively makes no difference to them and decided to charge people for it, so they can be more competitive. They may as well as have decided that they're going to charge 15% extra to anyone who's blonde, because that's just as relevant to the flight cost as picking your seat.

I think that's unfair and there's no logical basis to it.

Of course they're a profit-making company and earning £££s is their goal, completely get that. But I think taking something that should be a very basic part of what's being purchased and asking for extra money is wrong. By all means, add £££ for extras like baggage etc.

I think it's a shitty move, and a shitty policy, and it causes headaches for so many people. But we've all accepted this is a thing, so they'll continue to do it.

Also worth pointing out that I can't even fly now, so I don't know why I care 😅🤦🏻‍♀️

That seems like a lot. Ryanair sit you with your under 12s for free but I had to pay to have DH sit with us, I think about €24 (return). Prior to having DC I just sat where ever

It's one of those things though. Everything used to be included in the ticket price and airline flights were not something everyone could afford. Growing up we had 1 sun holiday, and I was 'unusual' for having that in my school, this was the late 90s.

So instead of charging you for everything they now only charge the bare min with add ons. And yes of course they want to make a profit. It's not a charity.

Which is their actual job. Have you missed all the news about the turmoil in the industry and the number of airlines on the verge of bankruptcy?

If their business model means they never cover their costs from their core services then of course that's the inevitable result. I said before that's a plan to fail.

Legally they cannot separate a minor, under 12 from their responsible adult.
What that normally looks like for our family is DC1 DH DC2 in one row and me across the aisle or Occasionally infront or behind.

Yes they can.

CAA guidelines on this subject are just that. Guidelines.They are not the law in the UK.

They make money from it as people put different values on different seats. They value sitting next to their spouse on their honeymoon, but don't care if its a random trip. They pay more not to sit on the middle seat. They like to be near the front... or have an aisle seat for easy access to toilets. But not too near toilets.
Thats before you get onto families just wanting to sit by their kids.

If people didn't pay, they wouldn't charge for it.

You have complete control over whether you pay more by deciding if you want to pay or if you’d rather accept a discount.

would you feel angry at an event offering an early bird discount for tickets? That is the same as charging a higher price for exactly the same thing, merely based on the timing of your booking.

They won't seat toddler totally alone but they won't guarantee a seat next to them. In theory if you are 1 away across the aisle or in front/behind that's fine.

If you check in online assoon as it opens you can select your seats for free.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.

There's no business cost at all to the airline to offer allocated seats - which is what PP were saying was the case.

It's purely a money-making exercise, and people have got used to the charge so don't really think about it. If they want the seat, they'll pay for it - because there's not really any other choice now.

I object to being charged for something that I think is basic and fundamental. If I go to the cinema or theatre, I get to choose my seat - and that's way less social than being sat on an airplane. I can't imagine going out for the evening and being told that I need to pay extra to sit next to my companions, even if we are just going to sit in the dark for two hours and watch a screen/stage.

I don't object to airlines coming up with money-spinning ideas because their basic cost model doesn't work. But I think those costs should be genuine extras, not something that should be automatically part of the service and costs them absolutely nothing to provide.

It's like the old joke where the airline says "oh, you want a seatbelt? That will cost you extra." It's really not very far from that.

I just booked a hotel + flight as a package, it includes a tiny take on bag.if I want to pay for extra hand luggage (not even hold luggage) it's another £80 per person. But....I could probably buy a carrier bag of stuff in duty free and take on without paying extra! ....in the same way they confiscate tweezers and scissors but you can buy them in boots at duty free!!

I object to paying hefty "booking fees" for various things. They aren't optional extras I always think they should be included in the ticket price

Absolutely, yes, I completely get that people have a choice.

I just think what the airlines are doing is morally wrong but everyone has gotten so used to it now, that it's just seen as acceptable.

I don't think it is the same thing as an early bird discount, because you're effectively targeting groups of customers and ensuring that they always have to pay the higher fee. Anyone vulnerable or a parent flying with a young child etc is always going to have to pay the higher fee - they're never going to be able to get the "early bird discount".

Airlines are ensuring that certain groups will always have to pay the higher cost and will never be able to get the "discount" - even though the "extra" that they're paying for isn't actually an extra, just what should be a normal and basic part of the service. In the case of parents, they can't afford to take the risk of being separated from their child because then they'll be seen as the problem for not paying the extra. And as we've seen, airlines sitting children "together" with their parents often isn't truly together. Who wants a toddler sat in the row in front?! The only decent thing to do is to pay extra which circles back to my point. I think it's morally wrong to ensure that certain groups can never get the lower ticket price, by effectively forcing them to pay for something which is a fundamental part of what they're buying.

By the way, just in case the written word isn't conveying terribly well, I'm not angry in the slightest. I don't fly now and probably never will again so honestly don't have any skin in the game 😅 I just felt for OP because everyone was telling her it was a "cost" to the airline when it really isn't. It's not a "cost" - it's just that airlines need to make more money so they're targeting this because they know that some groups can't afford to take the risk and not pay. And I think that's morally shitty.

So the cost of your cinema ticket includes the “basic and fundamental” right to select your seat.

If your local cinema was struggling, and to entice people in they said “we’ll offer a discount if you let us allocate your seat” how would you feel about that? Would you be happy to keep paying your usual price to get the service you want, or would you feel resentful of the people who have less freedom to choose, but are paying less than you?

would you say that if they’re paying less you should pay less - but still be able to select your seat?

I don't think anyone said there was an additional cost to the airline to allowing passengers to select seats.

The way it works now is if I don't want to choose a seat, I don't need to pay for it. The model you want would require me to pay for choosing a seat regardless as airlines would need to increase the base price to take account of the loss of revenue from seat selection. That is unfair on those of us who don't care where we sit.

Prices plummeted when LCCs started to deaggregate fares. This is the model the customer wanted, as is evidenced by all the legacy airlines following suit in order to stay in business. It's basic economics.

I was quite irritated on a recent flight when my parents in their 80s (plus me) were asked to move twice - first time by pleasant family, nearby row, not much hassle. But then EasyJet wanted to move us all again. It was only when we did it turned out to be into the emergency exit row, because they had put kids in it. Lots of hassle for elderly people, and then at last minute finding out couldn’t store their stuff in front of them etc. Should probably have said no, they are too old for all this but it was all a bit chaotic!

This.

And it’s obviously just as annoying for the families who get seated in those seats, especially if they’ve had to provide ages. The airlines should defo sort it out

It's a marketing device primarily.
Airlines will know what the average cost of transporting one person and their luggage is, plus what profit they want to make and then they decide on the best way to obtain that. Some airlines still choose to charge everyone that average price, others will choose to put a price on individual components of the package. What is charged for each element isn't necessarily actually what that part costs the airline to provide.
Selling separates rather than all inclusive allows the airline to legally advertise flights at very low prices, because you could fly for that price even though most won't. The low cost attracts people, even though most will go on to pay more than the advertised price.
They will know how much they make on a typical flight from seat reservations and if they stopped doing it they would then just charge more for something else - the customer will pay one way or the other, how else does a business make money?

Not quite true. Tweezers are compliant as are small scissors.

https://www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/personal-items

So say the seat choice was free.
Do you not think everyone would choose aisle or window.
If that happens then single parent with 2 kids simply may not have seats together available.

Us that are happy to pay less and be seated in the gaps means more space together available for families and others who need to be together.

This is hardly something new. Airlines have been doing this for years.

BA have a policy of not charging for seat reservations for a group if you are traveling with young children.

This should go through automatically. But if it does not, call them. It always does with a lap seat, and should for children up to 10 according to their customer services.

Apols if I have missed it and someone has already posted this, but Fascinating Aida have the answers...there's no such thing as a flight for 50p.

That is a brilliant song.