Should I pay to sit with my 4 year old

wallbash

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

Those who are saying the passenger should pay extra to ensure that their four year old is sat with them are talking nonsense.

You mean if I pay extra for designated seats , I should be moved to accommodate someone who hasn't ??

If there is spare seats, no problem
Get to the airport extra early and hope.

or pay.

ps have traveled with my kids for many many years.

Teahfc

Should be a absolute given that when booked that any child travelling in a party is sat next to a adult from same party FREE, what is the world coming to when people and companies put safety of passengers below financial gain. Stupid airlines and fully support the OP and I don't holiday with any children in our party anymore.

holidaysforme

If you want to ensure that your child is seated with you then pay for your seats.
I certainly wouldn't be moving to accomadate you.

elsien

From a purely selfish point of view, yes, please pay. Because I wouldn't want to be the unrelated passenger sitting next to an unsupervised/bored/ scared 4 year old for several hours.

wallbash

Teahfc wrote: »

Should be a absolute given that when booked that any child travelling in a party is sat next to a adult from same party FREE, what is the world coming to when people and companies put safety of passengers below financial gain. Stupid airlines and fully support the OP and I don't holiday with any children in our party anymore.

I can see merit in your reply, but the problem has to be sorted out at time of booking , not at the airport.

FBaby

If you get the option to pay for allocated seats, then of course you should pay. I have to pay to seat next to my husband because I'm petrified of flying. Some years back before this was an option, we got on the plane and there were no two seats left. I burst into tears and was extremely thankful when two people agree to move (very kindly) so I could seat next to hubby. Now that I can ensure that I do by paying extra, I certainly do. I would never expect people to move to accommodate my needs because I didn't want to pay a bit extra. I do the same for my kids, pay extra so they can seat together.

DTDfanBoy

holidaysforme wrote: »

If you want to ensure that your child is seated with you then pay for your seats.
I certainly wouldn't be moving to accomadate you.

Well you certainly wouldn't be flying anywhere if you were unwilling to follow instructions from the flight crew

The airlines should be allocating seats based on the CAA guidelines, that process should be dealt with before people are issued boarding passes not on the plane. It isn't the case that an airline only realises the age of the passenger when they board the aircraft, they know from the second tickets are booked and should ensure their systems are compliant with the guidelines.

If the all the airlines had systems in place to ensure that young children were seated near their parents, no one who fell for the pay to be seated together enhancement would need to be moved.

Any airline who fails to follow the CAAs guidance on the matter will be receiving a huge fine if their negligence leads to an emergency evacuation being held up because parents are attempting to rescue their children.

steve1500

I always carry a copy of the CAA guidance when checking in.

I never pay to reserve seats. Always been sat together. Children 12 & 8

Common sense says you cannot sit a young child with someone who is not their parent / guardian. All it would take is for the child to make an allegation!!


https://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2207&pageid=12706

holidaysforme

I flew with Easyjet over the February half term. A family with a six or seven year old were not seated together
In fact all three of them were separated by a row between them. The cabin crew asked three people if they would move. None of them agreed!
They should have paid if they wanted to ensure that they were all sat together.
Their sense of entitlement didn't go down very well with the other passengers:D (the parents that is) Hopefuly they've learned their lesson;)

mgdavid

paul2louise wrote: »

I have wifi in hotel so why not ask the question while on holiday. It hasn't irritated me so much I just thought I would ask. If the airline are happy to separate me then that's their choice. I do t mind sitting across the aisle from him, but 3 rows behind I don't really want. My question was do I have to pay. If the entire flight is in prebooked seats then fair enough.

But you didn't, there is no question in the OP, I think you knew the answer already. I do hope next time you'll think of your child and partner and the other passengers, and shell out a little bit extra so you can all sit together.