Airlines forced to seat children with parents

[ibeentothetop]

Thanks Burnham, now it’ll be more expensive for child free people like me to pick a seat. I can’t believe that things like this even need to be legislated for.

I think this is good? Would like to see it expanded to carers etc. But will airlines just push up costs elsewhere?

Well if it was mandatory then the apps like skyscanner etc would all have to change wouldn’t they!
They can be adapted you know. Or if you have kids under 12 you could be prevented from booking with skyscanner and be directed to the airlines own website, it wouldn’t be my issue to solve since I’m not an app designer.

If people just paid to book their kids seats this wouldn’t be an issue,
Its caused by greedy people who won’t pay to book seats then who expect the rest of us to loose the seats we booked and paid for to accommodate them because they were too tight .
If you can’t afford to book your kids a seat, you can’t afford To go.

I’ve always thought it was a health and safety issue not having parents seated with their children anyway

it is as in an emergency they thought is the children will go against the flow of people escaping - making it harder for those escaping, to get to the parents

So what if they do?
An all inclusive fare with seat should be the bog standard starting point.

I thought with all assisted traveling it comes up as free to sit next to each other as a carer

what is etc in this case?

Having seen some air crash documentaries, some people (adults) have been trodden in the past by people rushing to escape. How much more at risk of this would a child be? A parent who would protect their child should be next to them. Seating should be assigned on booking.

I'm not anti it at all. I think it's sensible. But easyJet already charge £35 or so for anything other than a small rucksack/handbag. That never used to be the case. There's scope to increase profit margins elsewhere, while complying with this rule. That's what I'm curious about. Are all travellers, parents/single/couples, suddenly going to see other costs rise? If so it could potentially save very little money.

that is the thought behind the legislation, ask those that made the legislation your query

Yeah I am sure Andy Burnham had a personal hand in this. Not like he has any other key priorities.

In the mid 1990's a return ticket from edinburgh to zurich cost £250. And had everything included. Inflation makes that £635 today. Air travel has gone down in price so much. Airlines make a profit of £8 - £10 per ticket sold. And a loss on each child fare because that is a seat they can't sell at full price. It is not a big money making business.

Would you really prefer a higher all in fare, because that is what is going to happen.

Oh that's good. I didn't specify but I suppose a single traveller who has a broken leg for example needing the aisle seat. Medical reasons.

You still paid. Fares are cheaper now.

Was it a schedule flight? or a charter flight?

In the mid 1990's a return ticket from edinburgh to zurich cost £250. And had everything included.

This is so true. I was a student on a year out in continental Europe 1993-94 and getting home meant flying to Heathrow and then up to Scotland. It was incredibly expensive. No easyJet, no Ryanair, no other budget services. Flying is so much cheaper than it has ever been and that means you are paying extra for bags, choosing a seat and a cup of tea.

I actual fpund Ryanair policy to be the most honest for children. You pay for one adult, then children free next to them.

Where as the other says they would TRY to ensure they were next to you... but Next to could mean across the aisle from your 2yo. Or two window seats behind one another.

If the new legislation is still defining Next To to include aisles and rows... its not actually an improvement.

if you break your leg or have medical reasons you'd ask for assisted boarding/ travel - even if you've already booked you can change to assisted and be taken through in a wheelchair

You mean to reserve specific seats? That sounds a lot, but how many of you are flying and how many flights? Which airline?

The child being trampled to death is not actually the biggest risk - the bigger risk is that a parent trying to reach the child blocks or slows the escape of many more people - including all those child-free people on here annoyed that they can’t get tickets with a couple more pounds shaved off.

Absolutely agree. I’d rather just pay a bit more for the flight to begin with than feel I’m getting a good deal before being smacked with 50 extra costs just to take luggage and sit next to my DC.

This is a no brainer for the safety of all passengers. Should never have even been a question.

I love how entitled people are, leaving them upset at hypothetical marginal cost increases of something that should be very limited anyway. 80% of the world has never set foot on a plane. Over half of the UK will not fly in a typical year. Frequent flyers meanwhile make an outsize contribution to carbon emissions and don't pay for the externalities they cause. Your cheeky weekend in Madrid isn't a human right.

I’m so relieved that they are addressing this. When I fly with my 3 kids to visit my parents it’s long haul and requires 3 flights there and 3 back. To book and pay for seats it can be uk to £1000 to pay to ensure I am next to my kids. I don’t care where we sit on the plane as long as we are together, the costs of booking seats is extortionate.

I didn't specify but I suppose a single traveller who has a broken leg for example needing the aisle seat. Medical reasons.

If your leg is in a full plaster stopping you sitting in a single seat you would not be allowed to sit with it sticking out into the aisle. You would probably be required to buy several additional seats. One of the reasons travel insurance is so important.

Why is it Burnham's fault that airlines impose unnecessary extra fees for booking seats?

First class includes a seat booking in almost all cases.

All those posters objecting to parents not having to pay because it might marginally increase the cost of your flight - do you also object to those happy to take random seats? They haven’t paid either so are pushing up your ticket price by the same amount. What about the inconsiderate passengers who don’t buy food on the plane? I mean how dare they! They are pushing up everyone else’s ticket price too!