paying to sit together
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paying to sit together
Just booked a holiday. One of the options whilst booking the flight portion of the package was to pay £12 each to sit together.
So what would happen if I chose not to tick this box? Would we be split up, or would we, as I presume, be allocated seats together anyway?
Just wondering.
PS. The airline in question is Thomsonfly.
So what would happen if I chose not to tick this box? Would we be split up, or would we, as I presume, be allocated seats together anyway?
Just wondering.
PS. The airline in question is Thomsonfly.
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Originally Posted by Flock1
Just booked a holiday. One of the options whilst booking the flight portion of the package was to pay £12 each to sit together.
So what would happen if I chose not to tick this box? Would we be split up, or would we, as I presume, be allocated seats together anyway?
Just wondering.
PS. The airline in question is Thomsonfly.
So what would happen if I chose not to tick this box? Would we be split up, or would we, as I presume, be allocated seats together anyway?
Just wondering.
PS. The airline in question is Thomsonfly.
Air Canada now offers this um.. service (ptooey
) on some fares, I never pay it but have always got the seat I wanted so far.If enough passengers boycotted this nonsense, the airlines would drop it. Sadly, as I pointed out in another thread, most punters are dumb enough to let them get away with it
. What's next, charging extra for exit row and aisle seats ? Oh, wait....
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On the three occasions I've used a charter carrier I've had no problems getting seats together without paying.
However from a check in point of view if you are travelling at a peak time you can get flights where the majority of pax have paid to sit together in which case it's best to turn up early and hope for the best.
However from a check in point of view if you are travelling at a peak time you can get flights where the majority of pax have paid to sit together in which case it's best to turn up early and hope for the best.
Shining Example, apparently...
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Avman made a totally fair point. If everyone quoted the post they were responding too, navigating the forums would be most awkward.
Fortunately, most people don't. But there's always one...
Fortunately, most people don't. But there's always one...
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Well, Tfly are my lot, so I suppose that I'd better give some sort of answer.
Our research found that obtaining seats together is a big issue for many leisure customers (more so than business travel) and many families were attempting to check in very early to avoid being split up. The £12 is a gaurantee that you won't get seperated, no matter what other seating requests may or may not be available. To the hardened vets of air travel that cluster in this forum, this may well seem like a waste of money: Many of our customers travel only once or twice a year, and see it as a worthwhile investment. I won't deny that it's a revenue stream for Tfly (and the others), and is charging people for something that used to be free - although getting split up also used to be free, and still is.
As to whether or not is necessary? - it depends. On mid-haul and long haul flights, a majority of customers will tend to pre-book both in-flight meals and seats together, and this will increase the likelihood of you getting split up if the flight is full and you have not pre-booked seat together. It's your call on the risk.
In my view, this policy is regrettable, but necessary, when competing in a world where, in economy at least, airlines are riven to compete as to who can offer the least. It's not the world that was there when we started flying, and not the world we want, but it is the one that we've got. The most successful airlines in Europe seem to bee the LoCo's, and what they do affects everybody else. Sorry about that...
Our research found that obtaining seats together is a big issue for many leisure customers (more so than business travel) and many families were attempting to check in very early to avoid being split up. The £12 is a gaurantee that you won't get seperated, no matter what other seating requests may or may not be available. To the hardened vets of air travel that cluster in this forum, this may well seem like a waste of money: Many of our customers travel only once or twice a year, and see it as a worthwhile investment. I won't deny that it's a revenue stream for Tfly (and the others), and is charging people for something that used to be free - although getting split up also used to be free, and still is.
As to whether or not is necessary? - it depends. On mid-haul and long haul flights, a majority of customers will tend to pre-book both in-flight meals and seats together, and this will increase the likelihood of you getting split up if the flight is full and you have not pre-booked seat together. It's your call on the risk.
In my view, this policy is regrettable, but necessary, when competing in a world where, in economy at least, airlines are riven to compete as to who can offer the least. It's not the world that was there when we started flying, and not the world we want, but it is the one that we've got. The most successful airlines in Europe seem to bee the LoCo's, and what they do affects everybody else. Sorry about that...
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Tightslot,
Thanks for that. Makes sense, regrettable though it is. What will be next though? Paying an extra premium for avoiding a queue at check-in? Paying extra for a better quality meal? How about we just call it first class!!
Flock1
Thanks for that. Makes sense, regrettable though it is. What will be next though? Paying an extra premium for avoiding a queue at check-in? Paying extra for a better quality meal? How about we just call it first class!!
Flock1
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Originally Posted by Flock1
Paying an extra premium for avoiding a queue at check-in?
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Never paid on short haul charter and it has never been a problem.Never flown a long haul charter so never had to make the decision,Mrs 1DC is a bit nervous when flying so if their was a reasonable risk of getting seperated i would pay up..If you book Tfly's equivelant of premium economy do you still have to pay a premium to sit together?
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Would never pay for such a thing myself, but I HAVE spent an inordinate amount of time on numerous occasions, standing in line behind couples and families, who have argued at length with the check-in people, in their quest to sit together. I have seen it take 20 minutes or more to check in people being awkward about this and they always seem to be the ones in front of me 
I assume this is a charge paid in advance? If so, and it gets rid of this problem, I am all for it.
That said, I have on occasions, benefited from the odd seat upgrade, by being kind enough to move, so the aforementioned can hold hands. So, perhaps it is not such a good thing....?
I assume this is a charge paid in advance? If so, and it gets rid of this problem, I am all for it.
That said, I have on occasions, benefited from the odd seat upgrade, by being kind enough to move, so the aforementioned can hold hands. So, perhaps it is not such a good thing....?
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All five Artists went to Zimbabwe about 10 years ago, and on our travels we picked up an internal flight that had started further up the route. It was full on arrival at our stop, less the five seats we needed, dotted around the cabin individually. Youngest was 3, eldest was 9. They were perfectly happy to sit with strangers, behaved impeccably, and got on with their colouring books.
In a perverse way, could charging people who want to sit together have the effect of reducing the base ticket price?
In a perverse way, could charging people who want to sit together have the effect of reducing the base ticket price?
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Paper Tiger, Avman & Crepello,
Personally I don't think people including quotes is annoying (it's a useful feature of this forum - you don't have to keep reading all the excerpts in grey!), nor do I find this practice makes a thread unneccessarily long or more difficult to follow. But debating a very simple point at length - instead of concentrating on the matter in hand - is a lot more frustrating! Why don't you just send a PM?
Personally I don't think people including quotes is annoying (it's a useful feature of this forum - you don't have to keep reading all the excerpts in grey!), nor do I find this practice makes a thread unneccessarily long or more difficult to follow. But debating a very simple point at length - instead of concentrating on the matter in hand - is a lot more frustrating! Why don't you just send a PM?
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Of course these days if you do split a family up, leave small (ish) children sitting with strangers you leave yourselves and your company exposed to massive lawsuits if anything or anyone "interferes" with said sprogs. And I dont think "they could have paid more to sit together" is an acceptable defence in court.
Lady Lexxington
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If so, and it gets rid of this problem, I am all for it.
So ok we check them in and then before leaving they check their respective seat numbers and all congregate around my desk shouting about how they were sat together and didn't we ever listen. Obviously we hadn't deliberately checked them in to seats next to each other, but I took all the tickets and noticed they were all on the same booking reference, which I checked against the prebooked seats list and lo and behold there were their names! They spent 20mins screaming (and they were) at me about how they didn't want to sit together and demanding to be moved. I explained that the flight was full and I had no other seats available so was unable to move them. After I got them to calm down they all walked away happy as larry and as we boarded the flight they were again happy as larry. Very, very odd. I still don't know what their problem was.
Daysleeper,
I seem to remember it having been stated on this forum that some airlines have an SOP of making sure that young children aren't sat by strangers. Some years ago, on a transatlantic flight on American, the back row was being kept by the FA for herself, and she was most upset when a woman with three young kids objected to them being spread around the cabin. I objected too, as I didn't want a small girl sitting beside me - I don't trust them! Eventually, after I commented to the FA 'I thought American had an SOP about seating kids by strangers', she very hurriedly put them all in the back row.....
This is an area where doubtless Bealine has the expertise to comment....
I seem to remember it having been stated on this forum that some airlines have an SOP of making sure that young children aren't sat by strangers. Some years ago, on a transatlantic flight on American, the back row was being kept by the FA for herself, and she was most upset when a woman with three young kids objected to them being spread around the cabin. I objected too, as I didn't want a small girl sitting beside me - I don't trust them! Eventually, after I commented to the FA 'I thought American had an SOP about seating kids by strangers', she very hurriedly put them all in the back row.....
This is an area where doubtless Bealine has the expertise to comment....
Easy solution - just inform the airline that you'll sue them to within an inch of their life if they expose your children to potential sexual abuse by seating them next to strangers.
Bound to work with the overly PC faction - NZ, QF etc
Bound to work with the overly PC faction - NZ, QF etc
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Originally Posted by RevMan2
Easy solution - just inform the airline that you'll sue them to within an inch of their life if they expose your children to potential sexual abuse by seating them next to strangers.
