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Original poster

Easyjet, allocated seating and children

41 replies

Fresh01 · 14/05/2013 13:16

Looking for some advice now Easyjet are trying to encourage you to buy allocated seating. We are travelling this summer with 4 kids, ages 7, 5, 3 and 18 months. The baby is on my knee.

My questions are:

with allocated seating do they still allow families to board after speedy boarding people?
if we don't buy the allocated seating (expensive for 5 seats each way) will they still give us seats together or at worst 1 adult with 2 kids each?

I don't want to have to buy allocated seating but the children are too young to not be seated next a parent, so what are Easyjet doing with families?

Many thanks.

OP posts:

OldBeanbagz · 14/05/2013 14:26

As far as i know Easyjet have introduced allocated seating on all their flights. So when you book you should be able to pick all 6 seats togather and you don't pay for this.

The only seats you would pay extra for choosing would be Extra Legroom or Up Front seats.

PseudoBadger · 14/05/2013 14:28

You do pay for allocated seating. You only don't pay if you don't choose.

moogalicious · 14/05/2013 14:33

I thought they'd changed it so you can choose your seats when you check in. There's no priority boarding but You can pay to choose your seats before check in open.

moogalicious · 14/05/2013 14:34

Looked at the site and you can pay and choose now or wait until check in and be allocated for free. I'm doing the Freebie option.

Original poster

Fresh01 · 14/05/2013 14:39

That is my worry moogalicious if we don't pay and chose now we might not be sitting together.

OP posts:

forevergreek · 14/05/2013 14:40

You won't have children alone. But I suppose might not have all together if every other person on plane books ( v much doubt), and you can still board first.
Worse case is 3 seats ( x2 children and one adult) and 2 seats ( baby, adult, one child). It might even be quieter like that, as you can always split children by age so smallest two with different adult. That way each adult has just one child to mainly fuss over as the older two should be able to entertain themselves more.

Personally I'd grab the baby with myself at one end and leave dh with the other 3 :) baby will sleep and I would read kinde... ( evil)

misscph1973 · 14/05/2013 14:45

It's not usually a problem. cabin crew do not want parents not sitting with their kids for obvious reasons. I have never paid for allocated seating and I find that I always get fairly good service from cheap airlines regardless because I travel with kids.

CajaDeLaMemoria · 14/05/2013 14:49

Your children will all be seated with at least one adult. The 18 month old and 3 year old will be right next to you, the 5 and 7 year olds could be across the aisle but will still be close to you.

Allocated seating would allow you to choose where abouts on the plane you sit, and which child sits where, but if you don't mind, the free option will have each child with at least one of you. You just may not be together, if the flight is very full, and other people have bought allocated seating. Chances of that are quite slim!

amalur · 14/05/2013 14:56

I have travelled with my children on Easyjet a couple of times and never pay for choosing seats, I go with the free options and my experience is that they will give seats that are together, very likely 3 and 2. Families with children under 5 still get priority boarding after SB.
Last time I travelled with them I had to make separate bookings for my children and for myself, as we were travelling back on separate days. We weren't allocated seats next to each other but I had no trouble swapping and in any case the stewardess told me she would make sure we sat together.
Go for the free option but check in online as soon as it is open, 30 days before the outward flight.

scaevola · 14/05/2013 15:02

They'll play passenger jigsaw if they need to when you board to get children next to an accompanying adult. Even rapacious carriers wouldn't separate a child under about 12.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 15/05/2013 11:23

They don't have speedy booking any more. All seating is allocated so you have to pay if you want to choose your seats, same as any other airline.

I have never paid extra on any airline, Easyjet included, and we have always been sat together.

Get there early and you will have more chance of being together. They wont make any children sit alone though.

forevergreek · 15/05/2013 12:31

They do have speedy boarding ( well they did on Friday last week), I was flying alone so didn't use but littles ones def boarded first.
I didn't book and half the seats were empty but that's just a chance I suppose.

They won't let a child sit alone do to safely if emergency evacuation/ oxygen etc as they would need help

Stevie77 · 15/05/2013 20:34

Not EasyJet but me and DD flew Jet2 last year and when I did the online check-in, we were allocated separate seats . She's 3.5! I had to call them and they changed it but stuck us in a window + middle seats which are a bit of a pain with a toddler. The lady next to us would not switch.

BananaPie · 15/05/2013 20:40

I'm flying jet2 later this year with dh and 2 year old. I haven't paid the extra for allocated seats - working on the assumption that no-one else will want to sit next to a 2 year old (not sure I do!) so will swap if we end up being separated.

LittleBearPad · 15/05/2013 20:49

They definitely still have speedy boarding but as far as I can tell its a waste of cash. All seating is allocated so its not like the bunfight on Ryanair. It seems mainly to be an opportunity to queue for longer to board as people without it sit comfortably waiting for their turn. I'd take your chances with allocated seating. They won't in reality put children by themselves.

Original poster

Fresh01 · 15/05/2013 22:22

Thanks for the replies.

I started thinking about it all as 4 couples we know flew with Jet 2 a month ago, none paid for allocated seating and only one couple were seated next their partner. The other 6 were spread throughout the plane on both journeys. So if a couple can't be sat together what hope do 6 of us have.

I don't really want to pay for allocated seating as for 5 seats each way it costs a lot. Think we will take the risk and as you say worst case it should be each adult sat with 2 kids.

OP posts:

Jollyb · 15/05/2013 22:29

Flew back from Portugal with Easyjet on Sunday with our 2 year old. Definitely still have speedy boarding. We were allowed to board after the speedy boarders.

We went for allocated seating for ease - was £3 per seat for each flight so not extortionate.

Original poster

Fresh01 · 16/05/2013 10:15

Jollyb, they must vary the price of allocated seating depending on time of year. We are flying in August and when DH priced it it was over £100. Will get him to check again.

OP posts:

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 16/05/2013 11:17

Sorry I thought they had stopped speedy boarding when they changed to allocated seating. Why would anyone pay extra for speedy boarding when you already have your seat allocated?

forevergreek · 16/05/2013 11:47

Well children under 5 have always had free speedy boarding anyway. So if you travel with a baby/ toddler you can speedy board without a seat allocated

Bugnor · 17/05/2013 07:22

Easyjet sound better than British airways (crapways) who expect me to sit separately to my husband with my 9.5 month old baby, a broken hand and first trimester of pregnancy despite charging us £700 for tickets to Mallorca and letting us book seats together initially they've decided to change them 7 days before flying. They are crap. What annoys me is that their website is all geared up to get families to book 'sit together' and 'travel together' with images of a family all having fun on the plane. I tell you what everyone on that flight is going to hate us as we've never even flown with him before! Raging my campaign of hate against BA!!

forevergreek · 17/05/2013 12:30

Bugnor - could you not let dh sit with baby and you sit alone?

Bugnor · 17/05/2013 21:39

I could and I know it's a shirt flight but you shouldn't be sold something that you can't deliver. Ie. don't sell reserved seats for families if in any doubt you can't honour it. Simply don't mention it twice on your seating choices page at booking that families can sit together etc. a bit if integrity and honesty that's all.

ernesttheBavarian · 17/05/2013 22:02

If yo check in online as early as possible you will have seats together. You only wouldn't if you checked in later and a lot of the seats were already allocated. You can normally check in quite a while in advance.

They still do have speedy boarding and you can board, with children under 5, after the speedy boarders.

It's normally about 6 quid a seat give or take, and I have never bothered, and always sat by my dc (darn easy jet)

MarasmeAbsolu · 23/07/2015 18:49

A bit of a zombie thread post / thingy here.
Just flew easyjet. Got 4 seats allocated all over plane. Crew shouted (yes shouted) that if i want to seat with my children, i d have to pay. DH amd i split up, i managed to get them to shuffle passengers and had my DD (5) nxt to me. DH, at front of plane got convinced by crew that my 2yo sat accross aisle from him nxt tk strangers would be ok. At that point i lost it and swapped dd5 for dd2. The dd2 was nxt to me (her first flight on real seat). Dd5 was accross aisle from DH. Crew kept going on on how we inconvenienced everyone.

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