Not selecting seats on plane... risky?

[Worriedmotheroftwo]

Flying with Wizzair. 2 parents 2 children. Not selected seats. Selecting seats for all 4 of us would cost us £80 total. Their policy is to seat a parents with a child...

We will obviously try to check in and get seats sorted at first opportunity. Happy to be split up as long as each of our children is with one of us. But what if the plane is full of people who have booked seats though and there's not 2 pairs of seats available for us? Would we not get to go on the flight?

On one hand, £80 is a lot of extra money. On the other hand, I don't want us to not get on the flight at all!

We haven't travelled much with children so not sure how risky this is. Would welcome opinions. Many thanks!

I haven't flown Wizz due to location. I get the impression that they're Ryanair type and would therefore book seats.

easyJet clearly put non seat selectors in the next available seat in sequence so you'd likely end up together. Ryanair's algorithm scatters you into the middle seats as far across the plane. I don't pay for seats unless it's bundled with hand luggage that I need, but fly solo and don't care enough.

When we do take the kids we'll be booking 2 pairs of window/middle so they both get a window. I think Ryanair requires one adult to book a seat then the kids get a "free" seat selection .. but realistically we'll be better off with 2 windows to avoid arguments ..

Just another voice here to add to remind the complainers about the costs that flight prices are ridiculously cheap compared to 30/40 years ago.
Cheap in the 80s was about £230/240 from Manchester to Europe ( and much more restrictive flight options)
One of my dc works in Europe, and flies back every couple of weeks to see his partner. It typically costs him under £50 return. You can’t have it both ways, either pay for extras, and that definitely includes booking seats if you have little ones ( and very arsey comments there OP, oh my dc is autistic, oh how dare you comment on his needs due to autism) or accept that running airplanes is expensive and watch prices go up substantially.

I can't imagine NOT booking when travelling with young children. I make sure we have window seat so the child is occupied a bit by views and then both parents are close, so one can go to toilet when other minds the child. It's easier to control mess from snacks, give toys etc.

It’s not really guilt tripping though is it ? And of course it’s necessary if there’s a reason you need to sit together. How many threads have we seen lately about passengers who have booked and paid for specific seats only to find CF family who haven’t, expect them to give up those seats so they can sit together. Parents travelling with a young disabled child needing constant attention throughout the flight should ensure they are sitting together - some airlines facilitate that for free. A pp got it right. The basic seat price is discounted for those who have no issues with where they sit. Those who have additional wants or needs don’t qualify for that discount so need to pay up for what they need.

Took flights with a friend last year - Easyjet, RyanAir and Jet2. Checked in as soon as we were able and didn't pay for any seats as we were quite happy to sit separately - were allocated seats next to one another in every flight. For flights out we were able to check in 2 - 3 weeks in advance and had confirmed seat numbers then, definitely not just 24 hours.

"Disgusting" 😂 Most people understand that the low price is a starting point, and if you want to choose your seats, you pay more. I really cannot understand or tolerate the level of entitlement of some people. It's Wizzair, not the bloody NHS.

There are always threads like this.
If you want to guarantee that you are all sitting together then book and pay for the seats.

If you don't want to pay for seat selection then accept that you may not all be sitting together.

We always pay for seat selection and I expect to be seated where I have paid to sit. I do not volunteer to move for families who cannot be bothered to pay for their seat selection and find it annoying when cabin crew announce there are two families of six that need to be accommodated so they can sit together.

You are flying on a budget airline with menu pricing. You select what you want to pay for. If you want to sit together then pay the appropriate amount to do so.

Yes, £80 is a lot but at the same time, £80 for peace of mind is not. Pay the money.

You'll definitely get a seat.

We very rarely book seats. Never not been seated with my child. Never had to have people rearranged on the plane. Airlines are getting much better at organising this.

We always pay for seat selection and I expect to be seated where I have paid to sit. I do not volunteer to move for families who cannot be bothered to pay for their seat selection and find it annoying when cabin crew announce there are two families of six that need to be accommodated so they can sit together.

Completely agree

This comes up every bloody year.

I book an aisle seat in a specific part of the plane for a reason. I always book for DH and I to sit together for another reason - both reasons are important to us. I always pay for my seats.

Ive been asked dozens of times to move so that a parent can sit with their child. I always say no. I’ve been asked to move by staff before and I always say no. Im
not getting into a discussion with my own and DH medical issues because someone else was too cheap or disorganised to book their seats.

@JaffavsCookie

Cheap in the 80s was about £230/240 from Manchester to Europe ( and much more restrictive flight options)

Yep, the fares were eye watering, though you could sometimes get a relatively good deal seat only on some flights with some operators (e.g. Brittania).

From memory in the UK/Europe the LoCos with their increasingly unbundled fares only really started to drive prices down and increase travel/route options from the very late eighties and really had an impact early nineties onwards.

It's possible some posters remembering cheap fares existing in their childhood are maybe remembering flights from thirtyish years ago..

Oh...that's made me feel old....

The sooner that all airlines reverse the way in which pricing is communicated and present everything as a discount rather than an additional cost the better, e.g.:

Flight = £500
no checked luggage: -£75
no wheelie case: -£25
no in flight meal:- £10
no assigned seat: - £20

it’d stop people feeling so bloody entitled

Why should those who have probably paid for their chosen seat be moved because of a couple of tight-wads who want to play the 'oh but I'm special, I have bred' card?

I think it's a fare / fair..point but you'd have to legislate to make all airlines do it.

If you don't research shows customers/search engines will gravitate towards the lowest base fare....

It’s a tax everyone pays if they want to sit together. Couples tax for me andDH, friend tax for friends……

Its up to you, it will probably be ok but don't be surprised and/or annoyed if people who HAVE paid don't want to move for you.
Personally I always pay for seats because travelling stresses me out and its one less thing to worry about, having said that now the DC are older I am not as bothered

I wouldn't pay.

I totally understand paying for selecting specific seats like row and position. But you don't want a specific seat, you just want your children to be seated next to either of the parents.
That is something totally different and the airline should ensure it. If the airline is so much disorganised that it means moving passengers around the plane during boarding, that's their problem.

I've never booked seats but have always been seated with my kids. Mind you, we didn't fly with them when they were really young, so it's never actually been an issue if we didn't sit together, but it hasn't happened anyway. I think most airlines will automatically seat families together unless they really can't, for some reason.

But at least the poster was prepared to consider her son's needs and pay accordingly rather than expect others to make up for her not bothering enough to pay a bit extra, whatever his needs are.

Meanwhile op and people like her will guilt trip others if they don't want to give up seat they paid for

I agree - it's really annoying that you think you're getting a cheap flight but it's not by the time you've paid for everything else. I'd rather you just got an accurate figure to start with, with everything included, so you don't end up with a nagging feeling that you're being ripped off.

If you need to be next to your children, book the seats and pay the £80. Don't expect that others will have to move to accommodate you.

The airline will have to ensure that you are seated near your kids, but that could be across an aisle or in front/behind. If you would be OK with that, then by all means, take the risk. But don't then complain if it happens!

It’s not moral pressure. OP is worried about them not being seated together so it seems sensible to pay to avoid that risk.

@fiveIsNewOne why should the airline? If made clear in their T&C that next to doesn’t actually mean next to