Plane seats changed for worse seats

morocha

Everytime i travel to the other side of the world.. i request to be sit at the front line just after business class as it is better for the children because there is a lot of room.
Even if i check in online and chose seats... i always ask in the desk just in case 90% i have got my way cos it is usually ramdon people who asks to sit there but everyone knows these seats are for mother and babies, toddlers, families.
Even in one ocassion, i asked to be moved, and while moving noticed an old men sat next to me and a young girl struggling in one seat with her baby, after she saw i got moved, she asked aswell, and the girls asked the man to move because families have got priority.

ferf1223

morocha wrote: »

and the girls asked the man to move because families have got priority.

the key there is asked the man to move...I'm not sure that they can force someone to move...maybe if the kids are young enough.

We were once asked to split ourselves up on a 24-hour flight (with stop-over, of course) to Sydney...we were in a pair of bulkhead seats on one side...and they wanted one of us to move to the middle seat of a row of 5 serval rows back so that a mother and father could sit together with their baby in those seats...the steward asked us nicely if we would consider it...the mother, who was sat in the aisle seat across from us said 'I would not blame you if you said no'...and we said 'sorry, but no'.

We had checked in 4 hours before the flight to ensure we had the best chance at getting the seats we wanted...maybe it makes us awful, but we didn't feel compelled to split ourselves up to accomodate the couple with a baby.

OP - if your children are adults, in addition to checking in online, get to check-in as soon as it opens - if you are connecting in Paris, then chances are when you check in in the UK you will be way earlier than those checking in in Paris...so there's potentially a chance that seat availability will be released and they can swap you around...it's worth a shot anyway.

butler_helen

morocha wrote: »

Everytime i travel to the other side of the world.. i request to be sit at the front line just after business class as it is better for the children because there is a lot of room.
Even if i check in online and chose seats... i always ask in the desk just in case 90% i have got my way cos it is usually ramdon people who asks to sit there but everyone knows these seats are for mother and babies, toddlers, families.
Even in one ocassion, i asked to be moved, and while moving noticed an old men sat next to me and a young girl struggling in one seat with her baby, after she saw i got moved, she asked aswell, and the girls asked the man to move because families have got priority.

Actually these seats (assuming you mean extra leg room and those without any seats infront) are for those who are tall too. At 5ft10 and 6ft3 and over we book these seats to ensure we have a comfortable flight. I would not move for a mother who didn't pay for a seat for their child (controversial and grumpy I know ). I like to think as a paying passenger, that just because I don't have a family I am not a lower priority for a comfortable flight.

Although on a flight to Malaysia I was upset to see a mother struggling to keep her child quiet (sore ears probably) and someone actually complained... I'm not sure what the complainer expected her to do!

As a single traveler (without posh seats), I have moved on numerous occasions to accomodate families - OP you should be ok once at the airport.

Moonchild

butler_helen wrote: »

Actually these seats (assuming you mean extra leg room and those without any seats infront) are for those who are tall too. At 5ft10 and 6ft3 and over we book these seats to ensure we have a comfortable flight. I would not move for a mother who didn't pay for a seat for their child (controversial and grumpy I know ). I like to think as a paying passenger, that just because I don't have a family I am not a lower priority for a comfortable flight.

No she means Bulkhead seats, the main reason being is that this is where the skycots fit into the wall, so this is prioritised for families. I wasn't able to get Emer Exits on a recent MH flight, and got a bulkhead instead (still more legroom, but a firm wall can be annoying). Spent the flight sitting next to a young mother with baby breastfeeding most of the flight (good to help infants equalise air pressure). Might have been an issue for some (either the infant or the breastfeeding!), certainly wasn't for me (or her - we had a lovely chat throughout the flight).

Worth noting (as someone who is 6ft6) that Emergency Exits are not reserved for tall people. They are increasingly a source of additional revenue, so they are reserved for people prepared to pay a bit more. I get round this by almost exclusively flying on half empty planes.

HXDave

moonchild:

Worth noting (as someone who is 6ft6) that Emergency Exits are not reserved for tall people. They are increasingly a source of additional revenue, so they are reserved for people prepared to pay a bit more.

Quite wrong actually there - emergency exit seats are (or should be) exclusively for FULLY ABLE BODIED ADULTS who are able to operate the emergency exit should the case arise.

Yes, you do find some airlines that will sell these seats 'at a premium', however irrespective of what the passenger has paid, if they are a person under the age of 16, or an elderly person who walks with a stick, they will not (or certainly should not) occupy this seat. There are, indeed, other seats on the aircraft that are extra legroom but are not emergency exit seats, and anyone can occupy these seats.

Moonchild

HXDave wrote: »

moonchild:
Quite wrong actually there - emergency exit seats are (or should be) exclusively for FULLY ABLE BODIED ADULTS who are able to operate the emergency exit should the case arise.

Yes, you do find some airlines that will sell these seats 'at a premium', however irrespective of what the passenger has paid, if they are a person under the age of 16, or an elderly person who walks with a stick, they will not (or certainly should not) occupy this seat. There are, indeed, other seats on the aircraft that are extra legroom but are not emergency exit seats, and anyone can occupy these seats.

Yeh, but I think you're missing my point. I was able to partake in an Emergency Exit last week thanks to someone booking it who was too frail to utilise it, and were appropriately moved (flight was half empty so no great shakes). I have no idea whether they subsequently got their £75 x 2 back, but there only issue was they claimed to have booked the seats without any warnings. So, there you go.

malkie76

In years gone by all of the bulkheads were blocked from selection to allow familes with babes to have those seats (typically by calling the airline to reserve). They were often opened for all on the day of check-in if no families had booked seats on the plane.

Similarly, it used to be the case that exit-rows were blocked until check-in at the airport so that the check-in staff could observe you as a fully-abled individual able to act in the case of emergency.

Those 'rules' no longer seem to apply and there are online disclaimer boxes you tick to say you are able-bodied and you can select exit-rows way ahead of travel by either (a) paying extra, or (b) having status with the airline. Most of the major airlines now give you the option of prebooking exit rows for a premium, and there are plenty of people willing to pay.

Many years ago when I did a lot of transatlantic travel in economy (:eek:) I never failed to get an exit row if I turned up at the airport as the check-in in desk opened. This was before the days of on-line check-in, and long before the suggestion of paying extra for the seat.

Luckily I don't have to fly economy any more, but if I did I think it would be a struggle to get the seats.

HXDave

Moonchild,

i agree that 'anyone' (a child aged 6 or a 99 year old pensioner) can indeed 'book' an emergency exit seat, however as to whether they will actually get to use the seat is a different matter, and will be down to the cabin crew on the day (or captain, if the passenger is unwilling to co-operate) as to if they remain there. When you say they booked the seats without any warnings that they cannot sit there, well that could be all down to the way that they booked the seats. They could have booked themselves on the internet and been asked to tick a box confirmimg they have read the T&C's (which most people dont), and the T&C's state that they must be aged between 16 & 65 years of age, and reasonably fit. They may have booked over the phone with a travel agent / flight company, and as the person on the other end of the phone cannot see them, they have no idea if they are young, old or indifferent.

Moonchild

Dave, I think we're off on tangential understandings here - I know - it's my job

HXDave

possibly same meanings, just a different way of getting there..........

Lol