2 Adults 2 Children No seat reservation

[kateb78]

I was on a Virgin flight a couple of weeks ago and there was a family of 4 (mum, dad and 2 kids around 8 and 10) near me who were split up - mum had an aisle seat with 1 child behind her and 1 in front of her, dad was several rows in front of all of them. The cabin crew couldn't do anything for them as the flight was full, but luckily 2 kind souls moved so the mum and kids could sit together. Obviously there were no guarantees that people would move.

[Tinkerbell]

Anyone considered starting a petition to the government via their website to make it mandatory to seat families with children together.

We paid and the poster who said it’s a family tax was absolutely correct. I would also add, newly weds, couples do not want to be separated either. However I find it a bit sickening that airlines chose to force those with young children to pay extra. In the event of an incident the last thing you want his parents and children panicking. I was on a flight a few years back where after take off from Sanford the planes engine caught fire and we had to return to base. If I’d had a young child with me during and emergency landing and we were separated I can’t even begin to imagine the distress caused to both parties. I was with my mother and 25 year old daughter who was in the row in front that was bad enough.

For me, if you pay for a seat you should get to chose where you sit on a first come first served basis. If you’re late to the party it’s simple the airlines says. Yes we have seats available but they’re not together, that way you make an informed choice.

[Guest]

The airline isn't forcing anyone to do anything, it's a choice you make.

Some people don't care about sitting in certain seats or by specific people, some people do. The option to remove that stress is worth something and the Airlines know it.

I've said it before you spend longer away from your kids everyday when they go to school so they can survive without you on the flight

I totally get that you might not want to be separated, but sitting together isn't a right either...

[SimonB]

I won’t go into details but when we went to Cape Town a couple of weeks ago I’ve never come across such a bunch of self absorbed and entitled people on an aircraft before. Not a single child in sight except some far older people that should know better.

Glad no families needed people to move about for them on that flight as the couples were creating enough issues just before push back.

[scoobydooby]

My children and now adults really at 16 and 19 but when I’ve paid for us to sit together that’s what we will do. If you want to sit together it is part of your holiday cost. If you don’t mind then it needn’t be. I think it should be free on a first come first served basis personally but it isn’t so we pay.

[mouli1]

I pay to get the seat I want so I won't accommodate some one who doesn't and expects me to move because they have kids

[florida babe]

I’ve never paid to book seats and we have always been sat together, but that’s not to say it will not happen xx

[Picklepuppy]

We always pay to sit together whether we’re travelling as a family or as a couple. I will not move if someone hasn’t paid as this their decision. When your paying £4000+ for a holiday another £200 isn’t that much to pay!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by scoobydooby

My children and now adults really at 16 and 19 but when I’ve paid for us to sit together that’s what we will do. If you want to sit together it is part of your holiday cost. If you don’t mind then it needn’t be. I think it should be free on a first come first served basis personally but it isn’t so we pay.

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It is unlikely ever to go back to being completely like this (although VA are for all but the very cheapest fares) because when BA trialled this their higher tier exec club members complained like crazy that there was no point being really loyal to the airline if the only way to get the seats they wanted was to book 11 months in advance.

I think the right way to solve this is, anyone with high status can book their chosen seat in advance, then 10 days out fee seat allocation opens for all other people on a first come first served basis - it worked like this for years and most people were happy

[DisBloke]

Thanks everyone for you replies, sorry if it opened a bit of a can of worms!

I was interested if the airlines were under any legal obligation to sit a minor with an adult, it definitely appears that this is not the case.

I understand that people want to be able to choose where they sit and will pay for the privilege and obviously the airlines are more than happy to take the money. I do find it odd though that children can be separated from parents on a flight, not only from the standpoint of it being fair on the passenger sat next to them (I wouldn't want to be in the situation where I feel like I'm looking after someone else's child) but also from a child protection view - both for the child obviously but also for the passenger next to them, say for example the child had a runny nose and they were to give them a tissue or if the child was young to even help them to blow their nose - to some this could be viewed badly even though it's entirely innocent.

In the end I think we'll pay to choose our seats together, as some have said it's only a small proportion of the total cost of the holiday, but like most people we try and save money wherever possible-we're not on the bread line obviously as we wouldn't be contemplating a Disney holiday otherwise, but that £200/£300 or so could also be looked at as half a years worth of electricity and if I could save it while still having one of us sat next to the children I would.