Flying as a family on BA - charged?!

poet123

The airlines can't win really. If we were travelling as a family of four I would be livid if they split us into 2x2 if a full row was available. I suspect they assume most family would all want to be together.

inmypocketnottheirs

We have flown long haul with our two boys now 11 and 13 since they were 3 months and 23 months old. We always have flown in the middle section since the boys were old enough to have a seat of their own, with an adult on each aisle.

stoneman

OP, it is BA policy to charge anyone with out status with them to pre reserve seats, regardless of it being a family or not. As others have mentioned you can change your seats for free at T-24 hours before flight departure via the MMB (manage my booking) page of the BA website. As you have seen the load looks pretty light, this is not necessarily the case, it just means that not many people have chosen to prebook seats. I have found this to be the case most of the time with BA, not many people are prepared to pay their reservation fee and take their chances at checkin. But doing it at precisely 24 hours before departure gives you the best chance of success because again not too many people are as anal as some of us on doing this.
I am not going to fall into the "well I would know how to handle my kids" debate, churlish to the extreme in my mind. All children are different and let the adult that has had a child not misbehave at some point throw the first stone. (Except for Bob as we all know he is an angel amongst men)

Bob_the_Saver

stoneman wrote: »

OP, it is BA policy to charge anyone with out status with them to pre reserve seats, regardless of it being a family or not. As others have mentioned you can change your seats for free at T-24 hours before flight departure via the MMB (manage my booking) page of the BA website. As you have seen the load looks pretty light, this is not necessarily the case, it just means that not many people have chosen to prebook seats. I have found this to be the case most of the time with BA, not many people are prepared to pay their reservation fee and take their chances at checkin. But doing it at precisely 24 hours before departure gives you the best chance of success because again not too many people are as anal as some of us on doing this.
I am not going to fall into the "well I would know how to handle my kids" debate, churlish to the extreme in my mind. All children are different and let the adult that has had a child not misbehave at some point throw the first stone. (Except for Bob as we all know he is an angel amongst men)

Thanks for that, in my experience you have to wait until 23.59.50 hours before flying to do the seat swaps, if I try and do it 1 sec past It never works, no problems when I wait the extra 9 seconds. :A

vicker

poet123 wrote: »

The airlines can't win really. If we were travelling as a family of four I would be livid if they split us into 2x2 if a full row was available. I suspect they assume most family would all want to be together.

I agree with you to an extent - I was very content to book seats with the scrum at T-24. I don't expect special treatment as a family.

However, if BA want to CHARGE me for allocating the seats at T-24 that suit us best because they've already decided what they think is best for us, then that's the bit that is grating.

And it's the clarity on that I was curious on, as the message on MMB says clearly if I want to swap seats from this point on, we have to pay.

Thanks for all the helpful responses and Bob - did you ever travel on that seat when you were younger? :rotfl:

vicker

stoneman wrote: »

As you have seen the load looks pretty light, this is not necessarily the case, it just means that not many people have chosen to prebook seats. I have found this to be the case most of the time with BA, not many people are prepared to pay their reservation fee and take their chances at checkin. But doing it at precisely 24 hours before departure gives you the best chance of success because again not too many people are as anal as some of us on doing this.

Anal as charged

Have just tried to book onto the flight on ba.com and "hurry, only 9 seats left at this price" message appears - at a lower price than 1 month ago. I don't think the flight is going to be too full.

opinions4u

Sit adult child adult child.

Then you only have one child on an aisle seat and they're not next to each other.

If your kids are a significant safety risk on a plane I'd suggest holidays in the UK as an alternative. Or a cruise.

If, between parents, you are unable to control your kids because you both want to sleep at the same time .... Well I'll let you work out a solution.

I think BA have prioritised you sensibly. Thousands of other families cope. I suggest you stop worrying about things, ensure the kids have a range of books, pens, electrical devices etc to keep them occupied and enjoy the flight the best they can.

trolleyrun

You will not be charged for a seat change at -24. BA charge only if you want to change the seats before -24.

Have a nice time :A

Alias_Omega

I like sitting in the middle. I would go with "CHILD ADULT ADULT CHILD" as you can make toilet visits every 15 or so minutes to wash your hands.

Then you have the walk up and down the aircraft every 30mins, which you can turn into a very big loop if your skilled at it crossing at the front/middle/rear galley areas..

I love flying with children, unfortunately they do have "cells" onboard.

chris_n_tj

Have I read this right, you have a run of 4 seats? If so I cant for the life of understand your problem. Mum child, Dad Child, sorted. Or is it more like you want window seats? Enjoy your holiday x