Airlines seating children with parents and whether paid seats are necessary

[aster10]

Prompted by the investigation into Ryanair. I mainly fly Wizzair who say upfront that children up to 12 are seated with parents for free and parents don’t need to pay for their seat. I remember seeing on Easyjet’s website once that they do their best to sit children with parents but it’s not guaranteed. So I paid for seats that one time we flew with Easyjet, as kids were really young then, and it wasn’t that massively expensive compared to even WizzAir if you want to pay for seats. And also we’re flying to Cyprus with WizzAir, but back with LOT and I paid for seats together on LOT. But I saw references recently to some international aviation rules that require children to be seated with parents, and I wonder if I shouldn’t have paid for LOT and Easyjet seats and if Easyjet shouldn’t have phrased this as a best endeavours obligation only. What is your experience? (Soon, soon I will not care that kiddos are sat separately, but not yet 😃) Thank you!

Put your seatbelt on, OP, you may be in for turbulence (on MN not the plane) 😆

Posters will be falling over themselves to say they wouldn't move so you could sit with your DC and you should pay if you want to reserve seats together.

But if airlines are required to do that (as investigation into Ryanair implies and as I’m seeing some references to), it would be like paying to breathe in air. (If airlines are indeed required to put young children with parents no questions asked). I will be ok with my children sitting next to other MNers and non-MNers soon anyway. But for 3-4 more years, was I stupid to pay, did I pay for what is free?

*I should say “For 3-4 years more will I be paying to breathe in air, and was I stupid to pay before?”

I seem to remember Ryanair in the past automatically sitting DS with either DH or me and never paying for that, but we've flown Ryanair several times recently and that not happening -- but not sure whether it's because DS had turned 13 or whether their policy changed.

We flew with Jet2 May half term. Booked the package holiday days before and there was no option to check in online. Had prepared my almost 8 year old that he may have to sit alone. I was sat next to him and then partner and teenagers spread around. Coming back we were all sat together.

As a rule I never pay for seats as it’s usually another £100 plus pounds for our family. We just take the risk and I have never not been sat with the small child.

I have however paid for seats on our summer trip to Guernsey as I get the hebejeebees sat over the propeller where we normal get placed!

We travelled with a 3yr old on BA. When it came to check in we were allocated seats all behind each other in a vertical row. We went to the desk and they changed it immediately and sat us all together in a horizontal row (two in the two seats one side and one on the other side of the aisle).

I have flown a couple of times a year with up to 4 children on easyjet over the last 14 years. I have never paid for seats, and we have always been seated together.

It's an issue specific to Ryanair which is why they are being investigated. Easyjet, Jet 2 etc are no problem.

I seem to recall that sitting you 'with' your child can mean across an aisle or in the row in front/behind. So if you would want some one to swap if this is how the airline seat you you should consider that.

If I have paid extra to ensure my party are all together or to select a seat I prefer then no, I won't be moving to a crappy middle seat away from my teens because someone else hasn't paid. If I'm travelling alone and I've not paid for a particular seat I'd be happy to swap like for like but not to exchange for a seat I regard as worse.

I seem to recall that sitting you 'with' your child can mean across an aisle or in the row in front/behind.

Can't remember the exact wording of UK CAA overall regs guidelines but pretty sure that would comply with them, anything more restrictive or customer friendlier than that might just be down to individual airline policy...

As far as the OPs research goes I'd also be wary of assuming if Ryanair has to do something Easyjet/BA have to do the same or vice versa. They have/may have different regulators, so it's an it depends, and different regulators often mean different rules...

I have travelled at holiday peak times and a couple of families who had not paid were having a tantrum about not sitting next to their kids.

People who had paid to be next to their own kids did not want to move, and the crew could hardly asked them to move!

I have also see the crew really struggling when a family with a toddler turn up late and the crew LOUDLY apologising to make it clear it was not their fault , but still struggling to find 2 free seats next to each other for at least a parent and a child.

It's easy to say "they will move people", but other people have paid for a reason and can't be moved that easily when they have a valid reason.

why would I move if I have paid for my own seat?

Shall I also not take my luggage on board despite paying for it, to make space for someone's bag they didn't pay for? 😂

People were understanding before, they have now realised that people chose not to pay. Fair enough, but then they can't claim a service they didn't want?

Here you go OP https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/airlines/article/can-airlines-split-children-from-their-parents-and-how-to-sit-together-aec8b7U3liz0 www.which.co.uk/reviews/airlines/article/can-airlines-split-children-from-their-parents-and-how-to-sit-together-aec8b7U3liz0]]]]

this spells out the legal obligation (none!) and the CAA guidelines (under 5s in same row as or no more than one row away from their adult).

Personally I never book seats but I make sure I check in online asap as then I can generally get seats all together or 2+2. And we don’t fly Ryanair.

What do you call a lot ? I think I pay £12 each way so just under £50
for dd and I to sit next to each other

if you don’t they have to sit close but they can mean infront, behind , across the aisle etc

This is just a money making exercise by the airlines. Of course children under 12 should be sat with their parents. If there was an emergency the parents need to be able to help their own children eg with oxygen masks or exiting the plane. Then if other passengers want particular seats they should be able to
pay to request them. I would be very unhappy if I was sat next to an unaccompanied young child whilst their parents were elsewhere on the plane. The airlines create these situations to persuade everyone to pay extra for specific seats.

This has been done to death. Look up the definition of ‘seated with’ as this does not mean it has to be next to each other. You could have your 2yo seated in front of you or behind you, still adhering to the requirement of ‘seated with’. So, do everyone a favour, just pay for the bloody seats.

I don’t think I would demand people who paid for their seats move, especially to some crappy location. And even people who didn’t pay for their seats. Just because the royal majesty me turned up with kids in tow. But I’m in fact wondering what happens at check-in which is mainly done online, in advance, sometimes well in advance. I think (I may be wrong, but I think) that they way WizzAir does it is they pre-assign you seats when you book with a child, even if you don’t pay to select seats. They prompt you a few times to pay, but they still pre-assign you together. And then at check-in, these seats are finally asigned. And I wonder if other airlines do that too and if I was a mug really to pay on Easyjet and LOT.

Isn’t the problem that flights are cheaper with add ons that you build up. Maybe the solution is to charge parents more and not offer the option not to pay for a seat. So if you are flying with a child you have to pay the extra. Because actually it’s cheaper to fly now rather than how it was before with seat allocations.

As far as I know they aren't requested to sit you together but just near each other.

Paying extra to sit with my child was always my red line. I only paid once and was never sat away from DC.

I have always thought people happy to pay extra for a legal right you already have are directly to blame for airlines (and companies in general) getting away with taking the piss. What's next? Charging for the air that you breathe?

Apoligies that it’s been done to death and I’m still asking. What I’m trying to find out is people’s experience in various countries being seated with children. What seems to follow from your and others’ posts is that next to could be before or after or across the aisle. (2yo can travel on laps still). So not too far really. This seems to be the case at least in the UK. It’s good to have a forum to pick people’s brains even if the topic has been researched somewhere. We might find other people’s experiences from different countries because we sometimes need to fly with non-UK airlines from other countries.

Last summer our son was sat in front of DH. He enjoyed turning round and pulling daft faces at him.

Easyjet sat my 5 year old 8 rows away from me !
Luckily she’s the world’s most independent child and couldn’t have cared less , the man sitting next to her offered to swap with me , but the cabin crew weren’t interested . It’s not happened since on probably in excess of 10 flights and I’ve never paid to sit together .

To be honest my view is that when you book a flight or a holiday you should book a seat at that time and that paying for the seat then tells you a seat number - like buying a cinema ticket - and you pick what is available on the seating plan and you don’t pay to “sit together” you pay for a seat you have chosen

if then you log on to jet 2 and book your holiday and on that flight there aren’t seats to your choosing you don’t book it! Generally there would be tho as people would tend to book their seats together.

we are a family of 5 and my sister who we usually go abroad with us a family of 4 so we generally book 3 rows of 3 seats but if we went just us we would book a row of 3 and 2 infront or behind - not randome seats making it difficult for everyone else

it’s a money making racket!

Hmm, on WizzAir, if you want to pay for seats, I remember when I checked it was approximately £20-£25, so with DH and 2DC, I remember we’d have to pay I think £170-£180 all together both ways (I once checked). Cheaper with Easyjet. So I thought for a long time that WizzAir’s logic is we sit you with your kids anyway, but if you really really want to choose seats, you pay quite a bit. Whereas with Easyjet I thought the logic is - we don’t guarantee you sitting together, but we don’t charge that much in fairness. But now I’m thinking - I shouldn’t have even paid Easyjet that??