I agree with Jack's comments about some flights to (mainly Spanish) holiday destinations being full of kids and totally defeating the purpose of "pre-boarding". It used to really annoy me when pax would shove huge gangly 11 year olds, towering above the parents, to the front of the queue and demand pre-boarding for this kid, the 2 older siblings, the parents, the grandparents, Auntie, Auntie's neighbour, and everyone else in their group. Paying to guarantee seats together has been common practice on charter flights for several years now, but I think that not even giving parents with young children a few minutes head start as a courtesy is a little harsh.
I was never one of these people that honestly expected to pay £0.10 for a flight, but adding up all the charges encountered on FR now is forcing me onto "legacy" carriers more and more, where the £150 hard breakfast roll is now only £60. Yum.
XSB