MSE News: 'Family tax': Dad's outrage as Ryanair tries to seat 3yo away from family

richardw

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

....The main cause of the fatalities was smoke inhalation because the evacuation was delayed due to a jammed emergency exit and it was a combination of things that all lined up to create the problem.
With the changes in procedures since then it's unlikely that a similar incident will happen again in the UK. (but I realise that unlikely doesn't mean never).

If there's a fire, split families = delayed evacuation, getting out on time is very important. The government and the CAA need to regulate on this.

Lewie

Pollycat wrote: »

An example of a levy that is compulsory would be if when booking your flight for £xxx.xx, the system will not let you continue until you add a further £xx.xx to choose to sit together or choose a specific seat.

None of the airlines - as far as I am aware - make you do this so it's not compulsory.
It's a choice.

So that's a made up compulsory levy, I was asking for an actual example.
That's my point, there is no such charge be it with an airline or anything else in life.
People that live in the country and work in the city say they have no choice but to drive, they do have a choice but feel they haven't.
Same with the seating system, they feel they have no choice.
That is why some people refer to it as a tax, they feel they are being forced to pay it.
There are many examples in life where we say 'but I had no choice', in reality there is always a choice.

Lewie

springsteenrocks wrote: »

The true story that started this thread should have been about two thick people who believed the world owed them a right, tried to penny pinch on their flights.

The above is the only thing that needed to be written on here really.
Forums are indeed a strange (cyber) place.

Pollycat

Lewie wrote: »

So that's a made up compulsory levy, I was asking for an actual example.
That's my point, there is no such charge be it with an airline or anything else in life.
People that live in the country and work in the city say they have no choice but to drive, they do have a choice but feel they haven't.
Same with the seating system, they feel they have no choice.
That is why some people refer to it as a tax, they feel they are being forced to pay it.
There are many examples in life where we say 'but I had no choice', in reality there is always a choice.

The key word in the sentence above in bold is 'feel'.
I am not disagreeing that some people feel they have no choice but (and I've already said this) they actually do have a choice.
Feeling that you have to do something is not the same as having to do something.
And that's why this charge is not compulsory.

Pollycat

Lewie wrote: »

The above is the only thing that needed to be written on here really.
Forums are indeed a strange (cyber) place.

I disagree with your statement above.
Lots of people have posted in suport of the couple.
Don't they also deserve to be able to post their opinion?
I though that was the point of a public forum.

I don't agree with the couple, I don't agree with the people who support the couple and want families to be seated together without paying for it, I don't agree with MSE 'demanding' or 'calling for' it to be scrapped for familes, I don't agree with MSE that it's a 'family tax' or any form of tax,
But the people who do agree have as much right as anyone else to post their viewpoint.

AlexMac

Ryanair! Has an airline ever given such innocent pleasure to so many 'virtual travellers'?

25.4 million entries revealed on a Google search, and, I'm willing to bet, most of 'em posts by us armchair flyers who take to the interwebby to praise or complain about what that nice Mick O'L's up to.

How much would a PR agency charge for that level of coverage?

tomtontom

AlexMac wrote: »

Ryanair! Has an airline ever given such innocent pleasure to so many 'virtual travellers'?

25.4 million entries revealed on a Google search, and, I'm willing to bet, most of 'em posts by us armchair flyers who take to the interwebby to praise or complain about what that nice Mick O'L's up to.

How much would a PR agency charge for that level of coverage?

This is spot on. Stories like this are far from negative when it comes to getting people to book

George_Michael

Ryanair.
People love to hate them on forums but they are obviously doing something right.

Their profits are increasing year on year (Net profit last year was up about 66% on 2013)

The number of passengers flying with them is increasing year on year. (up 11% last year)

They've recently ordered close to 200 new aircraft for delivery over the next 3 years and a further 200 for the following 4 year period. (some or all of these may be cancelled if there is a sudden downturn in business)

Moto2

I suppose the simple answer if the airlines hands are forced is to add the seat cost to tickets for anyone travelling in a party that includes children and then simply allocate them the seats at the time of booking.

markandkate

Given that a child cannot get off the plane why not agree and then ask the flight crew to supervise the child. Once they have received complaints from other passengers about the screaming unattended 3 year old I feel sure they would find another solution.

If the parents said to the flight crew "lovely thank you for supervising my child I will be the chilled out one at the back with the G&T. By the way he/she is alllergic to nuts and nose bleeds when stressed" and I suspect a solution would have been reached