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!

Agree and with @tamade

Most people will just be allocated seats travellers not chosen ones.

Who gets priority those who chose seats or the rule that families must be close? Clearly the airline can only check in children relatively closely to parents so no one need move if they don’t want to.

But the flight prices are really low too! Probably due to volume

That’s nonsense.

I’ve travelled extensively with Wizzair, both with and without my small children. Wizzair don’t offer free seat choice upon check in and also don’t enable you to choose to move one person to seat them next to another upon check in (ie so you only pay for 2 seats). If you couldn’t accept being sat in 7a with your child in 8f then book your seats in advance.

If you don't care where you sit then presumably you never paid for a specific seat int he first place. Surely you see it's different for those who do care and did pay.

Contact the accessibility team through the airline and explain your son's needs. We have been seated without paying before due to my child SEN needs.

In theory they don’t ’have to move’ but there’s so much in social media these days making people feel guilty for not moving so a family can sit together even though that person has chosen and paid for their seat. Those people would also be out of pocket. I have a sensitive stomach so I always pay for an aisle seat, I’d never expect someone to move for me so I pay upfront. If someone asked me to move I’d be put in the uncomfortable position of explaining my stomach issues. Everyone should pay for a certain seat if they need to be somewhere particular, no one should be asking anyone to move.

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?

People who have paid will have to be moved. You'll look like a cheap PITA.

That's not been my experience.

We always pay for extra legroom seats and factor that in to the cost of the holiday.

Airlines sometimes oversell their space to allow for a certain percentage of cancellations or no-shows. If too many people turn up they may offer a financial incentive for people to take a later flight.

I don't like being asked to move and saying no. It makes me feel uncomfortable and guilty for not accommodating someone with a child or splitting up a family when they haven't paid to sit together but I have paid to sit with my husband. I shouldn't have to feel this way but I do and I'm sure others do too. Why should we pay for seats then be asked to move.

I understand that £80 is a lot to pay but this should have been factored into the overall cost of the holiday.

It the same as when you go to a concert or theatre.
Say all seats were £50 but you want to make sure you get a better viewing £10 more close to the front it's £15 more near the exit its £5 more, you have to pay extra to get the seats you want.
If you don't mind what view you have or your position you just pay £60.
I agree it's a racket that the airlines have come up to earn more money and that's annoying but if you want to sit in a certain seat with family then you pay more.

Think about it differently. The base price is a discount for people who don’t care where they sit and don’t want to pay for checked or large hold luggage. You do care so you don’t qualify for the discount.

I often pay extra for our seats, especially on long haul, and there is no way I would move from my paid seat for your family.

I've never paid and always been seated next to my child. He's 9 now so it's not a huge deal, but I wouldn't bother

You don’t actually have to pay - they have some rows that are free to select if you’re with a child, and other rows where you pay. We’re travelling with Ryanair this summer, a big group. One person was able to select her seat for free as she is travelling with her 3 yr old, her DH paid £9 per flight for his seat next to her. So for 3 seats, they only paid £18 in total for both flights.
Im guessing that once those free seats get booked, then you would have to pay.

What?

How far back are you going? The very bargain flights have been going at least 30 years.

Before that the price wasn’t actually extortionate either and your bag went free in the hold and you got free food and drink on all flights. In fact if you add up checked in luggage, seat allocation and food it’s probably no different to pre budget airlines.

Some airlines allocate free seat if you have requested special assistance for your autistic child. Check if yours does. Asking for special assistance will help staff make it easy for your child to get through the airport and on to the plane eg ask if you want to board first or last

I agree that asking passengers to pay £££ to book seats is abysmal.

However - travelling with my DD (16, ASD), I would NEVER take the risk of a parent not being sat with her. It simply would not work for her, for other passengers nor the cabin crew. You never know how your autistic child will react. I would also never expect people to move for me having paid to book their seats. Don’t be that person OP.

Care to explain how so?

Once upon a time there were airlines that bundled everything into a single price, no choice (sort of full service airlines, I worked at one)...and then competitors came along who debundled fares (the Locos).

A lot of the paying public saw how cheaply they could travel with the Loco if they didn't want food , checked bag etc and the full service airlines lost customers hand over fist...(so they also ended up debundling, charging for seat choice etc simply to stay in business)

Ultimately I don't think you"ll get much support for removing choice if that is reflected in the base ticket price...and it will be.

We never pay for seats on short haul but my children are older and we don’t mind not being together. In the past Ryanair are the only airline that gave dotted us around the plane and it really was dotted. We avoid booking with them as much as possible because they are terrible imo. I’ve found booking holidays through eg TUI they do sit you all together.

I have also refused to move seats in the past and I wound refuse again and cause a fuss if necessary. Remember OP there are thousands like you who have saved hard for a holiday. I actually can’t believe you’ve got such young kids and one who is ND and you won’t buy seats - irresponsible and selfish.

If I was flying on my own, I absolutely don't pay to book my seat. I take what is given. Flying with my children is a different matter - i pay the price and do it because the stress of being split up isnt worth it. If you are going to take the chance and not pay, then make sure you take the £80 with you so that if someone has to be moved, you can pay them for the inconvenience and reimburse the money they have paid to select seats. Why should someone else pay to be seated then get moved because you don't want to pay? It's quite one thing if it's a last minute emergency flight and there are no seats available to be allocated together and the stewards need to get involved. It's quite another to expect someone else to be inconvenienced because you don't want to pay but also want to sit next to your child.

If you’ve paid for a seat and are asked to move then the airline should reimburse you the cost. Or the CF asking you to move - give them your bank details, bet they don’t mind being split up so much then!

It's annoying that they don't tell you when booking, what the later seat-choice-charge will be. The seat choice charge varies depending on which airline and which seat you choose. That's why I'm surprised that it's allowed.

yanbu to OP.

You're not 'made of money' but you're also presumably not completely broke if you can afford a family holiday abroad.

It's up to you whether you take the risk or not, but if you choose not to pay the extra, don't complain if you don't get to sit right next to your children or if other passengers are less than thrilled with having to be inconvenienced by your refusal to plan.