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

Pollycat

Murphybear wrote: »

I travelled a lot by air in the 1970s/1980s. Never once was I not allocated a seat next to /near all my travelling companions. No extras payable. Have things changed so much? I haven't used Easyjet or Ryanair, not sure I want to

Yep, they have.

Helenabaker wrote: »

I'm shocked at a 3 yr old having to sit alone, we've just been to Tenerife with Ryanair and on the return flight the pilot wouldn't leave Tenerife until some passengers had swapped seats, he said it was illegal for a child to sit alone.

It's not illegal.

Helenabaker wrote: »

This once happened to us when we flew with Thomson, my 2 yr old was sat across the isle from me.

Actually, sitting across the aisle or one seat behind the other is classed as 'sitting together' by some airlines.
So even if you had paid to sit togeher you may have been allocated those seats.

omelettethecat

4 adults and 11 children flying to Mallorca in April. Checked in online and spent an hour and a half on "chat" getting them to seat us all with our children. I then had to do it again for the return flights. Again, it was the really young child that was on his own 10 rows away from the rest of us. We'd added another child (age 15) and yet we had to check him in at the airport because he was a child that hadn't booked at the time of our booking and "they don't allow children to sit on their own". It would be funny if I hadn't wasted 3 hours of my time sorting it out. I think from that we can tell they are definitely doing it on purpose. No apology and it took ages to explain to them what the problem was even though its their policy not to have children sat on their own.

Moto2

omelettethecat wrote: »

Again, it was the really young child that was on his own 10 rows away from the rest of us.

Why didn't one of the adults just take that seat?

fajitas-r-fab

There is only one person to blame here and that is the person booking the holiday. I have flown with Ryanair a number of times and it is perfectly clear when booking that if you don't reserve your seats there is a chance you will not sit together. It is not Ryaniars fault that these people were too tight to pay the few quid extra. she is a solicitor, so the excuse that "I just assumed if you book together you sit together" doesn't wash either. I know I certainly wouldn't want her acting for me if that's how she thinks.

Pollycat

omelettethecat wrote: »

4 adults and 11 children flying to Mallorca in April. Checked in online and spent an hour and a half on "chat" getting them to seat us all with our children. I then had to do it again for the return flights. Again, it was the really young child that was on his own 10 rows away from the rest of us. We'd added another child (age 15) and yet we had to check him in at the airport because he was a child that hadn't booked at the time of our booking and "they don't allow children to sit on their own". It would be funny if I hadn't wasted 3 hours of my time sorting it out. I think from that we can tell they are definitely doing it on purpose. No apology and it took ages to explain to them what the problem was even though its their policy not to have children sat on their own.

Is it their policy though?
From Ryanair website:

Travelling with children

Will families be split up if they do not wish to pay for allocated seating?

We will endeavour to seat families together however this will not always be possible. If you want to be guaranteed seats together we recommend that seats are purchased. If you chose not to select and purchase a seat and have been allocated seats which are not together please contact our call centre so that we may try to assist you, alternatively click here to chat with an agent.

So did you pay to be sat together?

save4ever

There will be people in the Ryanair press office this morning wringing their hands with glee. This is the story they want to see in the media "striking fear into families" so that they won't risk being sat apart and they will pay the allocated seat fee.

The reality is that the vast majority of families will be sat together and if you are in the tiny minority that are not, the rest of the population have much stronger values than Ryanair and will simply move around to make sure that families are together. Put it this way, would you be happy sitting next to a three year old by themselves on a plane? No, you would offer your seat and move.

Rebecca1610

It amazes me how so many people are commenting on how it's a cheap airline so expect to be seated alone if need be and if you're not happy book elsewhere or don't be tight and pay the fee. And also commenting how the father should have swapped with the 3 yr so she could sit with ther mother and him sit alone. If those people had read the story properly you would have read that all 3 members of the family had been seated in different areas of the plane and it's not only Ryanair that do this, there's a list of the airlines that do not allocate seats together unless a fee is paid.
Now I don't know whether those of you commenting have young children, but my daughter is soon to be 2 and therefore any flights after this time she will be allocated her own seat, I would hate to think that she would be allocated a seat alone, on the complete opposite side of the plane and be away from both me and my partner just because we hadn't paid extra (as it is, we do normally pay, but that isn't the point, we choose this to have a specific place on the plane not to be seated nxt to our family, which to me is the proper and decent thing to do) I feel that it should be common sense for the airline to seat families (especially those with young children) and couples/parties together. Surely as you book in at the same time as those in your party, you should be allocated seats together or if not, at least an aisle or row away. This family was spread out completely. Leaving a poor 3 yr old to be sat alone!! Why should anyone have to pay to be seated with the people they are with? Not just families, which is why MSE are saying!

Pollycat

save4ever wrote: »

The reality is that the vast majority of families will be sat together and if you are in the tiny minority that are not, the rest of the population have much stronger values than Ryanair and will simply move around to make sure that families are together. Put it this way, would you be happy sitting next to a three year old by themselves on a plane? No, you would offer your seat and move.

Probably not - especially if they've paid to sit together.

I wouldn't move (unless instructed to do so by cabin crew - as opposed to requested to move) for anybody who hadn't paid to reserve their seat if I had paid.

green_lantern

The family expected to be seated together. The family knew that you could book seats but decided not to bother and made an assumption. The family never got seated together (computer generated seat allocation?). Solution to this? Dad sits on his own and mum sits with the children. They are making a mountain out of a mole hill and are playing the victim in their self created situation. Ryanair are not to blame for this. The family's lack of planning and attention to detail is the fault and a solicitor and police officer should know better.

Kel1404

My 4 year old daughter and I flew with Etihad from Abu Dhabi to Sydney (almost 14 hours) and it was not until we got to the gate that I realised they had sat me at the front of the plane and my daughter almost 10 rows behind me.
We checked in together so there is no reason why they should have separated us. They said it was a full flight and nothing could be done until after take off and to see if someone would swap seats.
I refused to sit down and soon pointed out that I was pretty sure no one wanted to be sitting next to a screaming 4 year old for take off.
I found 1 particular staff member very unhelpful and rude and told her that if we were to be separated then she could deal with what im sure would be numerous complaints from other passengers over my daughter screaming why she wasn't sitting with her mummy.
It wasn't until the passenger sitting beside me said she would sit in my daughters seat so we could sit together that they finally agreed to let her move.
After that the flight attendant was very nice and even apologised and I can only think that someone had complained about her behaviour and treatment of us. I wish it had been me but I was too busy calming my daughter down