Flame away—not paying for seats when airplane is 2 and 2?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you save a bunch of money? Isn't paying for a seat like max $40? So let's round up... you save $200?

If $200 makes a difference in your budget you can't afford to be vacationing in the first place.

Are you aware that sometimes poor people are able to save up for a discount flight for a once in a lifetime trip and yes, $200 can break the budget or at least be an extremely noticeable expense. Guess we should just stay home.

Yes I'm aware. And if they haven't saved up enough yet where $200 isn't an issue, they can't afford the trip yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know I'm old but I'm really confused here.

DH and I had never flown together until we'd been married 13 years...we just didn't have the disposable income or time for vacations that incurred flying.

Once we had DC, we didn't fly as a family until she was 4 - in part because of the cost. We would never have wanted or taken a vacation that was anything but comfortable and as stress-less as possible and we didn't (fortunately) have family emergencies that necessitated flying suddenly (i.e., without planning for the trip).

Flash forward to present day (8 years later) and I won't fly Southwest or Frontier or even United Basic when I'm with DC on vacation because I don't want the hassle of possible challenges if we're separated (she has terrible anxiety disorder, for one thing. For another, I've seen and read enough about ill-intentioned and/or drunk passengers on flights and interactions with teenagers).

I HAVE given up my seats and traded (even with DC, as long as we're together) so that another family can be together -- but it never occurred to me that anyone was gambling on good graces just to save money on seat fares. I know. I'm naive. But I guess I also can't really understand why someone would not plan and save for contingencies that could ultimately save a lot of time, trouble, stress, and potentially money - especially when it comes to what I still construe as a luxury (flying).

Before I get flamed myself: I'd take a different stance if this were an emergency bereavement flight or one needed to reach an ill relative or to get to a crisis. I'm struggling with when a person's on a non-essential flight for a non-essential cause and isn't paying for what he/she otherwise considers essential (i.e., sitting with a child -- at whatever age the parent feels the child should be 'accompanied.'). For some that might be any child under 5, for others (like our situation), it may vary -- but that's on *me* to handle, not the airline and certainly not other passengers.....

Southwest is best for kids. They have a family board after the A group (we pay regardless for preboarding) and they allow two bags and stroller/car seat/

If you can pay, and choose not to, I'm not giving up a seat I paid extra for to be by my spouse and/or child. Mine is younger but probably would be fine on a flight if the person next to them was nice and helped a little. Personally if I could not sit next to my child I would ask to get on the next flight and wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a single mom and regularly fly alone with my kid. I have never been separated from my son, and have never paid to select seats ahead of time. In the rare event that we initially get seats assigned that aren't together, the airline has fixed it in advance of the flight. I would save the money.

+1 But I’m usually flying United so I don’t know if that makes a difference.

I unfortunately have to fly United regularly. We rarely get seats assigned together, and every time we ask at check in or a gate agent if we can get seats together, they shrug and offer no help.

But no one wants to fly next to the woman with a lap baby, so someone always switches with my husband for a comparable seat.

You and your husband not sitting together is very different than me and my 3 year old not sitting together.

[Anonymous]

what airline is this? how much does it cost to select seats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you save a bunch of money? Isn't paying for a seat like max $40? So let's round up... you save $200?

If $200 makes a difference in your budget you can't afford to be vacationing in the first place.

Are you aware that sometimes poor people are able to save up for a discount flight for a once in a lifetime trip and yes, $200 can break the budget or at least be an extremely noticeable expense. Guess we should just stay home.

Yes I'm aware. And if they haven't saved up enough yet where $200 isn't an issue, they can't afford the trip yet.

+1

Totally agree. Your problem is not anyone else's problem, OP.

[Anonymous]

Ugh. We've been switched even when we picked seats ahead of time. Sometimes, you can get an agent on the phone ahead of time to link a ticketed kid with you so you won't be separated. We've done this after purchasing online to avoid over the phone ticketing fees.

OP, don't count on people switching to get away from the baby. We've been separated from a kid, and last summer our friends flying out west we're separated from their 3yo. In our case, my kid was a row (or two?) ahead on the opposite aisle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What in the world makes you think all 4 seats will near each other? If you ask me to switch my seat that I did select ahead of time, I will kindly respond with “No.”.

You’d rather sit next to 4 yr old Larla?
But OP knows the right answer here.

NP. Wouldn’t bother me a bit as I would imagine most air travelers. And no I won’t change seats if I paid the extra for that particular one.

I’d probably do it just to get a rise out of her, actually. Your lack of planning is not my emergency. And I’m normally the type to help anyone in need, but this is a fabricated “need.”

No, you’re not the type to normally help someone in need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go ahead and roll the dice, just don’t pitch a sanctimonious fit when your seats are scattered throughout the plane and no one will move for you.

Yes I hate when parents don't pre pay for seats and then try to make those of us who DID pre pay move.

Wow, this is a rude comment. Paying for seats on the plane is a scam! And people are flaming the OP bc she didn't fall for it. Just wow.

You mean when everyone else paid for them you want to get away with not paying for them and inconvenience everyone else who reserved seats? At the last minute? You are an entitled scam artist.

NEWS FLASH!!! "Everyone" does not pay for seats, especially not on budget airlines. Airlines are outsourcing to passengers this responsibility that they took on before (placing small children with a parent.) Also, since most people are NOT paying to select a seat, I'm not scamming anybody. It's common sense that a 2 year old paying full price sits with his parent. What is this??

Ok. That’s what I thought too. I have never paid for a seat when flying alone. I wasn’t aware that many people did.

[Anonymous]

It's so hard for me to believe that anyone cares about what seat they're in on a 2x2 airplane. As long as you get to keep window or aisle, and you get to be further forward in the plane, why would you care about moving?

Presumably OP would do whatever switch got her with her kid. So, aisle for aisle or window for window, forward or back. There will be plenty of single travelers who did not pay for a particular seat who will not care, OP. I don't get the craziness on this board.

[Anonymous]

Those of you who have been separated from a small child - was t on a flight that offered paid select seats ahead of time?

[Anonymous]

On a 2 x 2, who cares?

If middle seats were involved, would be a different story.

I'd switch with you in a minute, OP, and I'm surprised that others wouldn't, given the specific situation here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's so hard for me to believe that anyone cares about what seat they're in on a 2x2 airplane. As long as you get to keep window or aisle, and you get to be further forward in the plane, why would you care about moving?

Presumably OP would do whatever switch got her with her kid. So, aisle for aisle or window for window, forward or back. There will be plenty of single travelers who did not pay for a particular seat who will not care, OP. I don't get the craziness on this board.

What if they get 4 window seats, or some other unfavorable combination? Then they’re really in a pickle. It’s not cool to rely on the kindness of strangers when sitting with your kids is completely within your control. Traveling is stressful enough without making your problem everyone else’s problem.

[Anonymous]

This is a little like standing on the street outside a business where people make a lot of money, and asking them to give you $40 to help out your kid. If you wouldn't do that, that you probably shouldn't plan to get in a situation where you are asking someone who paid $40 to give up what they paid $40 for just for your convenience.
I think it's totally different when the problem is just that there's no seats available for you to sit with your kid.
I once paid the premium for two seats that were not together, because I thought it would be easier to trade off one of the premium seats in order to get us back together.

[Anonymous]

I never pay for seats. I have Global Services on United because I fly it for work. I don’t use my miles for domestic personal travel so I just fly whatever is cheapest and convenient. As long as you are on the same reservation with a minor, the Airlines algorithm will assign seats together. Save you money for a splurge while on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, you're being cheap -- which I get -- but still expecting to get the flying experience you want -- which I don't get.

Flying sucks, and people who choose not to pay for seats and then expect everyone else to accommodate their desire to sit together is one of the reasons why. Either pay for your preferred seats, or live with the seats you are assigned. If the plane is 2x2, you can't possibly be placed THAT far apart.

Frankly, I'd rather sit next to little Larla than some glassbowl who takes up the entire armrest AND the space under the seat in front of me. (Yes, I've had men -- ALWAYS men -- shove one foot under the seat in front of me.)

Yes! I've also had people try to take up the space under my seat--but my most recent experience it was a teenage/young 20s female! This was on an international flight from Santiago to JFK. Her mom was sitting in the seat next to her and didn't say a word. I would have much preferred a 4 year old, who would be too small to take up my room, and I would not have minded helping them out if necessary.