What is your experience of booking/not booking specific seats when flying as a family?

[NorbertDentressangle]

We're trying to book flights to the Canaries for early next year and debating whether we need to pay the extra to book specific seats or whether that's not necessary and we'll be able to sit together anyway.

Obviously I really don't want to end up all being dotted around the plane but DP thinks it wouldn't come to this.

DC are 11 and 6. Flight is 3-4 hours.

Anyone had good or bad experience?

Thanks

I refuse to pay these extra charges on principle and thus, have never bothered. People always shift to accomodate, as we would if we weren't with our kids. We have often sat 2x2 in different rows but with kids seperate but thats generally a good thing as they'll spend some of the time fighting otherwise. Dh and I may swap kids halfway through flight so they each get a chance to sit with both of us.

I would always deploy the 'Watch out, she vomits on take off and landing' line if people were being exceptionally unhelpful but have never needed to.

My DD is a frequent vomiter on planes. I warned the people that she ended up sitting next to as I pinned her down in the seat and did her belt up that she'd be sick. They still didn't move - guess they didn't believe me. She was sick though its a shame she didn't get any over them.

I cannot stand people who will not move so that people can sit together, especially with children. Grrr!

But it shouldn't be up to other passengers to have to move. Especially if they've had to pay extra/ get there at 4 am/ elbow everyone else out of the way as they sprint from the bus, to get the seats they are in.

Surely it can't be that difficult to allocate seats properly in the first place? It's not like a bus, where you don't know who is getting on. You have a passenger list, with people conveniently grouped in 2s/3s/whatever, and a seating plan of the aircraft.

Presumably there is even a computer programme that can allocate seats? Non budget airlines seem to manage.

Right I'm back.

Likely flights are with Monarch and Ryanair (nothing booked yet).

Ryanairs website seems to suggest that you don't book specific seats although they do have 'priority boarding' for a fee (naturally) -not sure if that involves booking seats or just being at the front of the boarding scrum though.

Last time we flew it was with BMIBaby and you could choose your seats when booking which is why I presumed it would be the same.

Oh, love the vomit warnings BTW! Will keep that one up my sleeve just in case

Ryanair is bad. Most of the time they don't care if we don't get seats together. So we need to negotiate with passengers, so we don't end up to far apart. And sometimes even if the 3 year old was distressed AND crying someone would refuse to swap seats.

my dd's flew ryyan air and I printed out the above post about the rules and sitting adult and child togehther for dd1 who is 18 and dd2 who was 11. There was no way dd1 would have let the plane take off without her sister sat next to her and she would have done it without a sceane - she is good at stuff like that totherwise i wouldn't let her fly with her little sister to see grandma

They had no problems either way

This seat togehter marlarky is a rip off as I have to pay to sit next to you and you have to pay to sit next to me - why do you have to pay twice?

I would just tell the stweard I will not sit down or I will get off the flight unless you sit me next to my dc as it is illegal not to - as soemone else said they don't want to do this as they then have to unpack the baggage and it will cost them more for another take off....and if it is goign to start costing them and they are not sure whether you really will get off the flight

i always have my dad the other send so can go back and stay with him not a problem

going by train is wonderful - they allocate seat togehther free of charge and you can wheel on luggage as much as you like, in soem cases it is cheaper than flights

I picked the sick bag out from the seat pocket and the man next to me shrank away thinking I was feling sick - it left me with his arm rest - it is a good ploy

Priority boarding just means being at the front of the scrum. If that means being the first on the bus that drives you to the other side of the airfield, it also means being last off the bus and onto the aeroplane, thereby wasting your priority boarding fee.

I would NEVER fly Ryanair with small children -- far too much of a risk of not getting seats together, and mean-spirited fellow passengers not budging up for you.

I phoned up the flight company about this and their guideline was not to pay for it but to arrive early as airline staff will always automatically try to seat children and parents together, however not so sure that would apply for all of you as less likely to get 4 seats together.

Agree with beanlet re Ryanair though, we flew back with them from Tenerife and totally didn't think to pay for priority boarding, there were absolutely loads of people who had and we were genuinely worried that we may not end up sitting beside DS so we had to push our way to the front of the non priority queue. Luckily people appeared to be understanding but I hate queue jumping and relying on peoples good natures.