Ryanair worries - could me and dh realistically be split up from our small dcs?

[clutterqueen]

Evening all,
We are flying to Italy on Wednesday with RyanAir. Have not paid for priority boarding as all their extras annoy me too much. I was under the impression, perhaps wrongly, that they would never let a 2 yo and a 5 yo sit unaccompanied by their parents - is that right?!
Have heard something to the contrary and am now worried that this could happen. Am not bothered where in the plane we sit as long as one dc is next to one dp!
Anyone any experience of that?

Nope it's the cabin crew's problem.

hermoine, I completely agree, as I said earlier. You want seats together, you pay same as everyone else. I think I made the point earlier too but think that now its clear that flying brings out the worst passive aggressive behaviour I have heard for a long time!

It is NOT a way to make families with small children pay extra. Everyone has the same rights on Ryan Air. They're pretty s**t but consistent.

I've been one of the last to board a Ryanair plane after a cock up which left me running through the airport with a 6yo and 3yo with minutes to spare before doors closed. There were only single seats dotted around the plane. I was already on the verge of being a watery sobby mess what with the mad dash through the airport and asked the air stewardess what was I going to do with full on wobbly voice. She immediately turned to a large group of lads and asked who was willing to move which they kindly did with no fuss or grumpyness. I was soooo grateful. So I found the staff and other passengers tremendously helpful. That's the only time I've ever had a problem - normally are waiting at the gate well before time.

It's not about rights it'sabout safety. Sudden loss of cabin pressure, who will fit my child's oxygen mask? Sudden need to disembark, who will help my five year old unbuckle and evacuate?

I don't pay extra because when it comes to people with small children the airline should accommodate them - Easyjet certainly recognises this and I have never ever had a problems. Ryansir's safety scares the shit out of me do I will not fly with them.

I am surprised that it is considered OK for children under 5 (2!) to be seated away from a parent. You learn something every day!

We flew on one of these once and it was a nightmare. DH took pushchair and I took DD - had trouble carrying her down the stairs as am a bit disabled and nearly fell down them. Everyone was pushing and shoving and I was carrying a 7mo and it was just really scary actually.

I would never ever take a flight without allocated seating again TBH.

Have you checked in yet? You can reserve seats with Ryanair now, it's about ?10 I think, when you check in online.

I remember when you were automatically pre-boarded with small children on budget flights, perhaps that was easyjet though.

hermoine - It's total shit even for PB though because potentially you could have that random young child plonked next to you crying/being sick/fidgeting all the way.

Normal airlines,everyone picks a seat when you check in - families chose to sit with their kids and you can still get the special seat you like.

That works! This doesn't!

Make your dh leg it to the plane, or you, whichever is more pushy, and I agree with the others, there's always some twats family rocking up all out of breath and panting and last on board.
If all else fails, refuse to sit down

Look Ryanair seat reservation in fact I found it hard to opt out of

Hi, I've flown lots with Ryanair to Italy with (ex)H and DS from toddler to now (age 6). We used to Q up really early - refused to pay extra for priority boarding. But that was difficult with a small child. Didnt always work.
DS used to get really hyper on board so we used to pray that we wouldnt be seated together and used to joke that no other passenger would want to sit on their own with a toddler. Which was true! Generally found people obliging about moving.
Have a wonderful holiday! Hopefully I will be in Italy soon!

Here are the CAA guidelines
www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2207&pageid=12706

Ryanair are bastards. I won't fly with them .

Easyjet have always been very good though.

Does anyone know why Ryanair don't allocate seats? It makes the whole experience so stressful and I cant see any reason not to. If I understood why I might get slightly less angry about it. Ok I won't, but still curious.

very most of the budget airlines don't allocate seats, not just Ryanair. Speeds up check-in I suppose, keeps their costs down?

veryworried, surely they do it this way so that they can charge for allocating seats? Or am I just cynical?

I flew Flybe (on my own) this weekend, with their cheapest option, and didn't pay for a seat allocation. But, when I checked in online I got an automatic seat number. I don't know if we'd have got adjacent seats if there was more than one passenger booked in, but at least having seats allocated in advance stops the general free-for-all and elbowing.

But what about that test case a year or so ago when a guy sued BA for discrimination for insisting that he swap places with his wife so he wasn't sitting next to an unaccompanied minor? BA said it was company policy - his wife could sit next to the boy, but not a man. They settled out of court, I think.
How, then, can RyanAir/Easyjet still let small children sit next to strangers, particularly if they're men?

This reminds me of one time I had to sit apart from my DH - I absolutely hate taking off in particular and always cling onto his arm. I am a very very nervous flyer in general also. So the whole experience is only made tolerable by holding hands nearly breaking his arm with my DH. Also we had just got married a few months before so it was sort of our honeymoon.

I honestly cant remember how we came to be seperated whether you couldnt book seats or whether it was an oversight on booking - as we usually make sure we are together.
l pleaded spoke to one of the stewards,DH also politely tried to persuade them that l really needed to sit with him (he was actually worried l was going to insist on getting off l was getting in such a panic) but they just kept saying there was nothing they could do.

I was sat in a really good seat aswell, an aisle seat with plenty of leg room as near the doors. Dh was sat in the middle row and in the middle of it iyswim and he asked a few people around him if they wanted to swap but they were all in groups so wouldnt - except for one lady on one side of him who was travelling alone and he asked her ('selling' all the advantages of mine to hers obviously) and she just flatly refused without giving a reason.

After take-off she very casually leaned over and asked DH if he had finished reading his paper so she could have a read. Second word was 'off ' !

I'm sure I remember a time when there was no such thing as speedy boarding or whatever?
It was just sit where you like because that was a budget airlines USP apart from cheapness. I could be wrong though,

I know it's a bit late for OP, but re. budget airlines

I have used Jet2 loads of times and they are great. Automatic seat numbers given, families sit together at no extra charge (not a flagrant anyway, possibly it's in there somewhere but it matters less when they don't point it out IYSWIM)

I have just printed off my boarding cards for next month. Deeead smooth (so far, crosses fingers)

Thanks for the links Eldon and Alameda. And everyone else's comments. Last time I fly RyanAir methinks.

Ryanair - never again

Flew with them from Liverpool to Spain on my own with 2 DCs who were 6 and 4 at the time.

Paid for priority boarding along with another lone woman with two toddlers in a double buggy.

the "priority" boarding consisted of a 30 second head start in the headlong dash along the tarmac to the plane. I had to tell the DCs to run for their lives!
Luckily as the DCs are very athletic we managed to beat the crowd to the plane.

Poor woman with buggy was shoved aside in the rush and was further held up as she had to stop at the bottom of the stairs to hand over her buggy. Ended up being the last on.

I saw the problems the poor woman was having and, being one of the first on, I plonked bags on a bank of 3 seats for her. You would not believe the threats I got from groups of able bodied adults screaming "you can't save seats you ing b!"

Good thing I am tough as no way was I letting two toddlers sit on their own - especially as their mum had paid for priority.

Stewardesses were conspicious by their absence throughout, needless to say.

I can honestly say I have never met such a bunch of savages as that group of passengers in my life.

Always fly Easyjet now - pretty much the same price and definitely not the same level of aggression from passengers. Stewardesses much more helpful as well.

Anyfucker - would love to use Jet2 have heard good reports but they seem to fly mainly from airports in the north and i am now in SE.

i got excited about jet2 as well but am a suverner so no good!

Blimey. Ryanair is just all round shite, isn't it?