Why should families pay extra just to sit together?
Why should families have to pay more to sit together on a flight? I don’t think they should, and I think it’s common sense for airlines to put children together with their parents.
After all if you’re off on holiday without children, the last thing you want is to be seated next to a six-year-old who’s upset at being separated from their parents. There are also safety issues – how can a parent sat in a different row help their child in an emergency?
The official regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, agrees. It has guidelines for airlines, stating that they should ideally put young children and infants in the same row as the accompanying adult. But airlines and big tour operators have decided it’s a good idea to charge parents for the privilege.
For two adults and two children, charges for picking their seats can add up to £84 on top of a long-haul holiday if the family flew with Thomson, or £80 if they were with Cosmos or Thomas Cook.
And even if you pay the charges, it seems you’re not guaranteed to sit next to your child. Thomson says a family who pays the charge might be ‘in front, behind or across the aisle’ from each other.
Charged more to sit together on family flights
One Which? member who decided not to pay the charge when travelling with children aged ten, eight and three, found that all of them were initially given separate seats spread around the plane, which was then delayed while cabin crew moved people around in order to put the family closer together.
Not surprisingly, our member paid the extra charges for the return flight, before contacting us to highlight what she believes is ‘purely a money making exercise’.
Another Which? member, who booked a holiday from the family section of Thomson’s website, was called by the company sometime after the booking asking whether he wanted to pay for the family to be seated together.
I think these charges are wrong. They unnecessarily bump up the price of holidays at a time when many families are struggling to pay for holiday breaks at all – a report from the Family Action charity this week found that many couldn’t even afford days out in the UK.
Why should airlines and tour operators charge so much for a service they should offer as standard? You have to say how old your children are when you book a holiday, so why can’t the travel companies pick out the families with children under a set age, and automatically put them on a priority list to be seated together?
Should families be charged extra to sit together on a flight?
No - airlines should try and seat families together free of charge (95%, 203 Votes)
Yes - families should pay extra to select their seats (5%, 11 Votes)
Total Voters: 214
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Argus
How about putting them together for free and then if they cry/whinge/moan whilst disturbing other passengers, they get fined?
Flyboy
How about fining ALL passengers who whinge and moan. Airlines would make a lot more money from adults than children!
nfh
This is all part of some airlines’ policies of drip pricing and misleadingly advertising fares that are much lower than the typical final price, charasterised by charges for paying with a debit card, hold baggage and soon cabin baggage as well. These airlines will continue to think up all kinds of “optional” charges that can’t reasonably be avoided in order to inflate the final price well above the advertised price.
m.
I was expected to sit apart from my family a few years back, I already challenged BA about this using human rights legislation, the right to family life, forcing families to sit apart breaches that aspect of the human rights act. They rearranged my seating at no extra cost.
m.
So the airline sits your 6 year old daughter 25 aisles away from her parents between 2 guys who like a drink or 2 when flying, scaring a her so much she is too frightened to report this to her parents and is traumatised for life.
This the airline is prepared to let happen, unless you pay up so you can have your child close by and safe.
I would define this as extortion.
[Part of this comment has been removed for breaking our commenting guidlines. Please try and stay away from upsetting examples. Thanks, mods.]
Argus
I would define that as an extreme hypothesis dreamed up to get your own way. That really is quite an absurd reaction to a very minor point.
Some people have a clear misunderstanding of what human rights actually are, just try not to take the moral outrage default reaction and read nfh’s response that hits the nail on the head
m.
This is not extreme or a hypothesis: I have previously given up my seat to enable a young child to be moved from besides a rather obnoxious fellow because I was genuinely worried for her safety. I am not posting examples of incidents that have occurred on air planes to single female travellers, you can look that up for yourselves, but assaults and boorish behaviour is far more common on flights than you may be aware of. It should be mandatory that children are seated with parents, for safty if nothing else. I think it is disgusting that airlines are using the threat of separating parents and children for what can be 12 hours at a time, in order to make a few extra shillings.
I cannot agree with your premise that this separation of parent from child is a minor point, I consider a major concern.
As to my challenge to BA, I think you misread me. I did not do this out of moral outrage and I am conversant with the bill. I did this to force them to sit us as a family without having to pay for the ‘privilege’ After all if our legal eagles can use this bill to get compo for prisoners having to slop out, then surely I can do the same to be able to sit next to my wife on a long haul flight.
Nikki Whiteman
I don’t have children but I don’t like the idea of sitting next to a young child who might be distressed at not being with their parents. Parents should be sat next to their children not just because it makes logical sense and is better for the family, but because it’s better for everyone on the plane.
If anyone spots me on a plane and wants to swap seats with me so they can sit next to their own child, I’ll be out of my seat and ready to swap before you can say ‘surcharge.’
Catherine
I don’t have young children and was unaware of this extra charge which I find ridiculous. Parents should make a stand and refuse to pay the charge, thereby hopefully causing chaos when the children need the help and attention of their parents. I cannot believe that airlines are allowed to do this.
Eleanor Snow
I think all air passengers should make a stand, not just parents.
People without kids want to see kids on planes sitting with their parents. People with kids want to be sitting next them. And I’m pretty certain that air stewards and stewardesses don’t want to have to deal with young children sitting on their own in a hysterical state because they’re not sitting next to a parent (or guardian).
So why should parents be the ones that have to pay extra to solve the problem? And as Chris points out, even if parents do pay the extra fee this doesn’t guarantee that they will be able to sit next to their child.
It’s ridiculous to think that my 2 year old may not be able to sit next to me on a flight. While I appreciate that large family groups traveling together aren’t able to all sit next to each other, it should be the case that all young children, certainly under five, have to sit directly next to a parent or guardian. For reasons of safety, as well as to comfort (and treat-bribe to be quiet and not kick the chair in front), this is a no-brainer.
m.
Whilst being in agreement with your post, I do find this comment ‘ So why should parents be the ones that have to pay extra to solve the problem?’ indicative off how the airlines change our perceptions without us realising they do so.
In all my many decades of air travel I have never known that seating families together was a problem, until the airlines started charging for the ‘privilege’. Suddenly sitting families together is problematic, when did this happen?
John Pitcock
It shouldn’t be difficult for airlines to sit families together – except for the last few to arrive: when there are a few scattered seats left (and this could be minimised).
Airlines could deliberately sit people apart: to encourage them to pay the rip-off charge next time.
If families, who had not paid the charge to sit together and been allotted seats apart, sat their young children next to strangers – the airlines would soon change the system (after complaints from staff and passenegrs).
Caroline
Slightly off the subject but my husband and I can never sit together on short haul flights because his legs are so long he is physically unable to sit in the modern aircraft seat. We therefore have to pay extra for leg room so that he can sit down without fuss. On principle we refuse to pay extra for me since I am shorter and can manage. Long legs cannot be helped and we find it infuriating to be forced to pay these extra charges.
Colin C
I thought airlines had a rule that children of a certain age cannot fly unless accompanied by an adult.
If this is the case why should that adult not sit with that child. It makea a mockery of another rule.
NO, all it is, its another method to make money on a plane. Reduce luggage allowance and charge high rates for extra kilogrammes. EXCESS fees for paying by debit and credit cards. No in flight meals unless you pay high rates for a sandwich or flavoured water. Two weeks ago Thomson phoned me at home to ask if I wanted to buy seats together for the 2013 holiday I recently booked! On principal – NO!
Flyboy
I was seperated from my wife and infant son on part of a long haul flight. When I asked the lone ‘gentleman’ next to my son if he’d like to swap his seat for mine a few rows back he indignantly declined.
My son behaved as 2 year olds normally do on long flights and before long he approached me to take up my offer. I told him that I was having a nice peaceful flight and, like him earlier, did not wish to move!
I would never pay a surcharge to sit together as a family. I’d love to hear the tour companies’ justification for what I consider extortion.
Dave D
Fantastic response.
You should have moved back – as long at the lone passenger paid you a surcharge!!!
Flyboy
I have to say that since the last ‘incident’ 3 years ago, we continue to refuse such surcharges and have always been seated together. Fellow passengers even compliment us on the behaviour of our son on long haul flights and that is because he sits between both his parents and feels happy and secure.
Flyboy
My daughter is now 23 and we never paid any kind of surcharge to sit together in all the years we went on flights with her as a child. Surely this goes to prove that this surcharge is a ‘nice little earner’ dreamt up by the industry to extort extra cash from passengers. We’ll be paying a surcharge for the privilege of sitting INSIDE the aircraft soon!
Stephanie
I fly regularly with young children and refuse to pay the extra. I even wait until the end rather than rush to grab some seats together and calmy ask a member of cabin staff for three seats together and wait. If we are not put together I take the view that I will not be responsible for my hyperactive 5 year old and that he would effectively become an unaccompanied minor needing supervision by the cabin crew. Yes, the people already seated are not happy either (understandably) but faced with the choice of moving or a hyperactive kid they generally move. I have yet to fly separated from my kids! I used to work in the airline industry and there is no excuse for these extra costs. The staff have a legal duty of care.
Roy
I have to agree with some of the comments here. It is distressing for young children to be seated alone but luckily that has never happened to me or my children. I have always on principle refused to pay for being seated together and the only time we could not get adjacent seats at the check-in, the staff organised a swap without even being asked.
I also travel for business myself and have no problem swapping seats to allow a family to sit together.
In my opinion this is becoming an endemic part of our culture in all walks of life. While airlines are bad, there are numerous other offenders, theatres, bus & train companies, delivery/courier firms and almost anyone else who thinks they can get away with imposing charges for merely doing their jobs.
We are gradually becoming conditioned to paying these “extras” when we should all take a stand and refuse.
Thanks for reading my rant, and unfortunately there will be a small charge ….
jackie fletcher
It used to be the policy that people with young children boarded the plane first, but this no longer seems to be the case.
Dave D
Booked flights for a trip to spain with my family consisting of 2 adults & 4 kids.
Suitcases £ 180
On line check in £20
Debit card fee £50
Booking Fee £48
Seating together £65
Meal on board £42
Why not just be fair and reasonable and wrap it all up in one fee and include in the price.
When my kids fly to the States unaccompanied then i have to pay for an adult seat and then on top of that i have to pay a fee as they are unsupervised.
As many have said previously – the industry just rips us off as it sees fit.
Bring back sanity!!!
Trudy
I have flown with my family numerous times with Thomson, and refuse to pay the extra to sit together. It is a rip off and the airlines are trying it on to get extra money out of us all! If you get to the airport in plenty of time to check in, you will get seats together. Air stewards do not want small children sitting without a parent as it is too much hassle. I have been on flights with my own family when my husband has been asked to move away from us to allow another family to have a parent sitting with two children also. This is perfectly acceptable to me and probably makes the flight more comfortable for all passengers. Children can be a real pain on flights, kicking the back of seats and jumping around making loads of noise etc., so if they have a parent with them, at least there is half a chance of stopping them. Maybe the airlines are trying to put families off from flying?? Who knows?
Paul T
I booked through expedia for a family group of 9 (grandparents, parents(children) and grandchildren). On all flights, seats were allocated together. The airline was United.
However, one flight was actually a codeshare for BMI but operated by United. I was informed about four weeks ago that because BritishAirways had bought BMI (and a different alliance), this flight had been changed to BA. I was also informed that we had lost our seat allocation and seats were to be allocated at check in. I tried to allocate our seats but was asked by BA for £25 per seat for the privilege of reserving seats that had been allocated by United for free. I bet those who have booked through BA for this flight have been able to allocate their seats. BA have assured me each child will be allocated a seat next to one of the adults.
My question is: if United can allocate seats for free which cannot BA, or is this just a British problem?
Sally
My husband and I have just returned from a Thompson holiday (never again). On the outward journey we were told that seats across the aisle were considered as adjacent, which was news to us. The company did its best at a number of points during the holiday to get us to pay to sit together (at the welcome meeting etc). We decided we were old enough to risk having to be separated for 4 hours and did not take the bait. On arrival at the airport we were stunned to find that we had been pre-booked by Thompson in seats that were adjacent. The plane itself turned out to be about 1/3 empty. What a scam.
Chris
I am sorry but I really think there are child protection issues here if a family cannot be seated together so why on earth should parents pay!! This is outragous!
M Hall
We are travelling with Thomas Cook and have just succumbed to paying for the privelage to ensure Me my wife and 9yr old son are sat together on a long haul flight. We tried to resist and were waiting until the online check-in was open but it didn’t open until you chose your seats and then had to pay £10 each for them. You also had to print your boarding pass out otherwise they would charge £5 each to print them out when you checked your bags in at the airport. Luckily we caught that rule! However we then had to telephone them as we couldn’t print out return passes as the check in for the flight was not open. This is all extra hassle. We assumed that our son wouldn’t be isolated on his own away from at least one parent but with a 10 hour flight ahead of us we didn’t want to take the chance. He would probably have been fine, can talk for hours, but we would worry and why should we, when we are on holiday and supposed to be enjoying it all, even the “adventure” of travelling?
Chris
What I find interesting is that easyJet allow families with young chilldren onboard after ‘speedy boarding’ which customers pay for. Good move but Ryanair does not so besides the mad scramble at the gate, there is the worry of whether you can sit together. My daugher recently travelled withRyanair with her 4 yr old and 2 years (and she is pregnant) and of course they are slow at walking to the plane! One way wasn’t too much of a problem due to the number on the flight but on the return the flight attendant had to ask passengers to move to accommodate them. Much easier to allow them to board first. I can’t understand why airlines, in this age of advanced technology cannot allocate seats together on check-in when you can check-in on line and yes the companies must know how many customers have children and allocate those seats first! What a weird world we live in when the safety of kids is less important than profit.
Karen
I have a holiday booked with Thomas Cook and was asked by the travel agent if i was willing to risk sitting away from my young children (4 & 7) on our long haul flight. I said i was as refused to pay the for the privelege. She made out there was no chance we would sit together! I am happy enough if at least 1 child is sat with each parent.
m.
This is very sinister behaviour, and whilst technically she has done nothing wrong by advising you what may happen if a little money didn’t change hands [ Hold on isn't that what the Krays used to do, advise bookmakers of what may happen if a little money didn't change hands]. She is morally and ethically wrong and this practise needs to be made unlawful.
How dare these people use your concern for your child to weasel money out of you.
Report this woman and ask Thomas Cook for recompense for the psychological distress she had caused you to suffer by her thoughtless words.
Chris
I am absolutely appalled by the blatant blackmailing of Karen by a travel agent!!! I honestly think that they should be taken to task over this practice.They should be reported to Social Services for not protecting children. I really cannot believe this – is there an ombudsman that should be alerted to this malpractice?
Trevor & Kay
We,a family of five have just returned on a Thompson flight from Alicante.Four seats were together & one was in a different part of the aircraft,I had just settled into the separate seat when the stewardess came up & asked me & the chap next to me to move.When i asked why she said this family have paid to sit together.The chap who had been moved with me then said well ime with a group of eight & wheve paid to sit together & the rest of them are right down the aircraft.With this chaos broke out,the cabin staff where very good & re-jigged the seating to keep everyone happy.This took so long that we missed our take off slot & sat on the tarmac for half an hour.
Maxine
I got on a 12 hour flight London to Cape Town with my 20 month old son. I had looks of horror but claps on arrival because he didn’t moan once.
I like to sit with my kids, one is 5 years old and disabled. The other is 3 years old. I shouldn’t have to pay extra for seats together on the plane.
Canary1953
Its actually worse, I recently went to Mexico with my wife and another couple with Thomsons. A few days before leaving I checked seat availability and discovered the configuartion for the flight was 2x3x2 and there were no 2s left, the cost for the 4 of us to book seats both ways would be £120, we decided not to bother. On checking in I optimistacally requested 2 x 2s together and was immediately offered a choice of rows. Remember just days before there were no 2s left. Clearly the trick and scam is to panic people into buying seats. we are to blame as if nobody booked seats then it would all be sorted at check in like it used to be. I estimated on that flight alone if 90% paid to book seats Thomson trousered 6k, its a disgrace
sharon le prevost
I booked a holiday in Egypt last January for this Christmas, so not exactly last minute. Yesterday I received a call from Thompsons ‘inviting’ me to pay out more money for the privilege of sitting with my husband and daughter! This is an outrage, and I left the lady in no doubt that should my family be separated it will be the last time we travel with them. We have travelled with First Choice and Thompson many times and it is totally offensive that this is how their loyal customers are treated. Do not stand for this blackmail and hopefully it will come to an end.
Chris Gray
How do people feel about child-free quiet zones on planes? From next February one airline, Air Asia X, is introducing a zone reserved only for passengers aged 12 and above. So anyone who wants to avoid children can pay to be in the Quiet Zone, potentially freeing up seats elsewhere for families. Would you like to see other airlines introduce the same system?
Johnny L
Recently had this problem when flying with Ryan Air from Faro to Manchester.
We arrived at the gate in fairly good time, but still found ourselves near the end of a queue, so by the time we got on the plane my wife had managed to sit with my 5 year old son, but my 8 year old daughter and I were in different seats at the other end of the plane.
She was sitting one row ahead of me – in between an old man in an aisle seat and a woman in a window seat.
I had an aisle seat by the emergency exit and offered to swap with the man sitting next to my daughter. He refused, stating that he’d reserved his seat. I told him he could have my aisle seat one row back – and with double the leg room. He still refused. I was very frustrated, especially as I couldn’t see my daughter once we were strapped in and taking off.
Once we were in the air and could move around I checked on my daughter who needed the toilet. Instead of moving to let her out his man tried to lift her over by grabbing her waist and picking her up. I immediately took her off him and went to the front of the plane. Whilst my daughter was in the toilet I asked a hostess if we could sit together at the front, nearer my wife and son and where there were several empty rows. She said they weren’t allowed to use them – no idea why – probably some crazy safety issue. I mentioned my daughter was a nervous flyer and she suggested I ask someone to move. I told her I had without any success. She then informed me that “this is why we always recommend familys make seat reservations so they can sit together”. She didn’t mention the price, but I assumed I’d expect to be fleeced out of the thick end of £40 for that “service”.
Thankfully the woman by the window offered to move although it meant I had to sit next to the grumpy old pedantic who snored, farted and hogged the arm rest for the remainder of the flight. Everytime he dropped off to sleep I nudged him awake to get past to the loo although I felt like exacting a more severe form of retribution.
lauraheintz
Please sign the petition below to require airlines to place children next to their parents on airlines. This happened to use over the holidays and I can assure you, it was unenjoyable for my family and all those around us. The alternative is that, you, a single passenger, will be responsible for the needs of a separated child, whether you want to or not.
http://www.causes.com/causes/809392-reintroduce-and-pass-h-r-6124-families-flying-together-act-of-2012/actions/1721270
jonny b
reading some of th e coments and i travel a lot on budget airlines i can never undetstand why thease parents come on to the plane always last then moaning that they can t sit with theire kids i sugest that they get up of theire backsides and get in the que intime or booke priority booking or booke aseat you get what you pay for
Chris
Hi Jonny b
Whilst I understand what you are saying it is not easy with young children to get to the gate first. You can only go to the gate once it is up on the board with budget airlines and then there is usually a long walk to the gate especially at Stansted. Have you tried that with young kids in tow?
This issue here is whether families should be charged to guarantee sitting together and I personally feel that this is wrong. Things are easier now wirh easyJet since they brought in allocated seating.
Chris Gray
Hi Chris. Interesting that you think things have got easier since easyJet brought in allocated seating. Is that the answer? Do people think all no-frills airlines follow easyJet’s example?
David D
Johnny B,
If you would like to advise when you are next travelling I will book on the same flight and let my nine year old sit next to you. During the flight she could teach you how to spell correctly and also give you the basics on punctuation and grammar.
I can only imagine you are single with no children otherwise you would never have made the comments in your post.
Airlines need to sort this out to ensure families travel stress free and also to reduce any inconvenience to other passengers who should not have to have to be in a position where they feel responsible for other people’s children.
Chris
easyJet have brought in allocated seating for all passengers and have stated that they will endeavour to seat all passengers together who are on the same booking form. This certainly happened to 4 of us on a recent flight to Berlin. Passengers can pay to select their own seats if they do not wish to take pot luck. This isn’t confined to families with children so no discrimination there. We didn’t pay the extra and the 4 of us were seated in one row on both flights.
What I don’t know is what happens if most of the seats have been allocated and a family the tries to get together without paying the extra.
At least it is a step in the right direction but it is very recent so time will tell how it works for families travelling with children.
Paul
We booked flights with KLM/Delta before Christmas for my wife and son from London to Florida. At the time we booked their seats together – for free. In the past week we were told that one of their flights had been changed, but NOT told that all their seats had been affected. Our 6 year old is now sitting alone on all four legs of the return flight. My wife has no sit allocated despite there being seats available. We only found out because I was able to join them (late decision) and when booking my flight saw that the seat next to where we thought my son was allocated was free. Well, he had been moved and my wife not allocated a seat so who knows who he is sitting next to! My wife called KLM and was hung up on when she tried to complain. Delta not answering the phone.
Until reading this and other reports I didn’t appreciate that this was an issue.
Simply bonkers customer relations. Bad for children, bad for parents, bad for those sitting near distraught children, bad for flight attendants. It will only take one public allegation of inappropriate behaviour and some airline is going to look pretty sick themselves.
We’ll try to fix it on the phone – for free – and then take the airport option. If that fails then maybe some hysterics as they close the doors will work
Gary Kennedy
KLM have to seat your 6 year old with at least one parent. It’s civil aviation law I believe.
Katharine
This reminds me why i prefer to fly long haul with Virgin Atlantic when travelling with my daughter, i can choose seats in advance for free, if i travel BA i can choose seats 24 hours prior to travel, then again i’ve never been seated away from my daughter when travelling with her as they will only seat a child with an accompanying adult, fairly easy for us as there’s only me and her! I’ve just read a very similar thread on another forum about UA and other US airlines seating children and adults all around the plane so it’s not just a UK issue