Money Moral Dilemma: Should I have to pay extra for sitting with my friends on a flight?

squirrel59

Is this thread for real? Of course you should pay.

Pollycat

What you should do going forward is never assume what something will cost.
Always check before saying 'yes'.

As you agreed without doing that, then you should pay up.

LesD

Yes....................

Malaflame

I had to respond to this, if a TRUE query. You annoy me, sound selfish and entitled! What exactly will you be avoiding that is awkward? Say that you were too stupid to ask who much if you had a budget seat allocation. I often organize things and people take the "micky" with paying back and not even a thankyou. So shut up and pay. However if i was organizing it i would say it was £25 each way because that is a fair bit more than i have ever known asked!. I personally never pay for a seat because it cost the airline nothing to allocate, yet another rip off way of getting money out of us. The Airlines should be made to stop this. We bloody well should get seats next to someone we want if we are not last to book. What is our fare for then? I hate the way everyone is now moving around the airplane to talk to their friends/family and clogging up the aisles and stopping drinks and food coming around smoothly!. Is it so hard to not talk to each other for a while!.. Grrrh!... Bloody airlines greed makes me sick. I would rather pay an extra levy to off set my carbon admissions than for a seat next to someone i travel with. Erm unless it was a hottie partner , that would be a game changer!! :-)

Pollycat

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Somewhat lame dilemma: is it reasonable to make your friend pay for you?

Welcome to the world of MSE money moral dilemmas. :cool:
They don't appear on this board very often.

MSE cut down the original post to the bare minimum.
One recent 'dilemma' had universal responses advising to talk.
The originator of the dilemma popped up a couple of pages in with the full story which was considerably different to what MSE had posted - and they'd already talked.
Somewhat a waste of people's time.

crmism

Your dilemma can easily be resolved.

You say that you went along with your friends' suggestion, so you really have no cause to go back on your word. After all is said and done, you are faced with only another £36, which must surely pale into insignificance compared with all your other holiday expenses.

The airline evidently went to some trouble to accommodate your party, and its charge seems perfectly reasonable. It's how they make their money.

Pollycat

crmism wrote: »

Your dilemma can easily be resolved.

You say that you went along with your friends' suggestion, so you really have no cause to go back on your word. After all is said and done, you are faced with only another £36, which must surely pale into insignificance compared with all your other holiday expenses.

The airline evidently went to some trouble to accommodate your party and its charge seems perfectly reasonable. It's how they make their money.

I doubt that the airline went to any trouble at all.
Paying to pre-book your seats is just part of the booking process.

XRAT

No you shouldn't pay up to avoid an awkward conversation, you should pay up because you didn't opt out.
Your friend was kind enough to include you, having been part of a discussion, and stump up the money on your behalf, in advance, believing you to be a trustworthy friend.
Speak up or cough up.

onomatopoeia99

Lollipop57 wrote: »

Here’s how I truly feel about it. There is already a substantial charge for flying. I get that. I really do. However. The extras these companies keep finding to take liberties with is getting ridiculous and is offensive. My take? If it’s short haul take your seat and just relax. If it’s long haul then decide before you fly and only if it’s worth it. Otherwise. Get on dog tired and go to sleep. We need to stop giving our hard earned cash to people who already have millions and do not respect us enough to just give you a seat based on when you booked

It's all the fault of comparison sites and other expert moneysaving techniques. The airlines all want to get the headline cost down on comparison sites, so the move things that would have been included automatically in the old days before moneysavingexpert and the like into add on options that you have to pay more for.

It makes it very cheap to travel if you don't care where you sit, don't take hold luggage, don't want speedy boarding (etc etc etc) but if you do want those things the price escalates a lot from what you see on a comparison site.

Pollycat

onomatopoeia99 wrote: »

It's all the fault of comparison sites and other expert moneysaving techniques. The airlines all want to get the headline cost down on comparison sites, so the move things that would have been included automatically in the old days before moneysavingexpert and the like into add on options that you have to pay more for.

It makes it very cheap to travel if you don't care where you sit, don't take hold luggage, don't want speedy boarding (etc etc etc) but if you do want those things the price escalates a lot from what you see on a comparison site.

So people should look at the price of what they want - basic flight plus however many extras they feel necessary - and accept that as the cost of their trip.
Paying for seat selection has been done to death on here and other travel related websites.

This particular 'dilemma' isn't really about paying for seat selection though.
It's about somebody who assumed it would cost £x and are now baulking at paying a friend back because it's more expensive than they assumed.

I'd class the OP a pretty poor friend if he/she tried that on with me - although I would have stated the price up front just for clarity.
Neither the OP or the friend sound that smart...