Is there any justification for airlines charging to prebook seats ?

Justin AerialJustin Aerial Posts: 5,710
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How can airlines justify charging for pre booking seats ? I read somewhere that British Airways even charge £50 to prebook a seat if you pay thousands of pounds to fly business class ! Needless to say we`d never fly BA business class out of principle, it`d kill me to give them an extra £50 when I`d paid them thousands for the seat.
But does it really cost the airlines anything to prebook seats ? I`d have thought it in their interests to have groups sat together, certainly if they`re travelling with a child. For instance we`re going to Tenerife with our 2 year old, if we didn`t pre book our seats and our little terror ended up sat away from both of us would the person sat next to him be required to look after him for 4 hours ! Good luck with that one......
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  • idlewildeidlewilde Posts: 8,698
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    Probably not. There was an announcement on our flight home from the med recently offering some unoccupied door row seats with extra legroom to passengers....for £15 each. The airlines will continue to try it on as long as people pay for it though.
  • Hugh JboobsHugh Jboobs Posts: 15,316
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    For instance we`re going to Tenerife with our 2 year old, if we didn`t pre book our seats and our little terror ended up sat away from both of us would the person sat next to him be required to look after him for 4 hours ! Good luck with that one......

    The reality is that the airline wouldn't allow you to not be sat next to your 2 year old, even if you hadn't prebooked seats. They would simply ask people to swap seats to accommodate you if you found yourself facing such a situation.
  • Pumping IronPumping Iron Posts: 29,891
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    The reality is that the airline wouldn't allow you to not be sat next to your 2 year old, even if you hadn't prebooked seats. They would simply ask people to swap seats to accommodate you if you found yourself facing such a situation.

    Ryanair used to do this a lot, especially with disabled folk. Very annoying.
  • PrincessTTPrincessTT Posts: 4,300
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    The reality is that the airline wouldn't allow you to not be sat next to your 2 year old, even if you hadn't prebooked seats. They would simply ask people to swap seats to accommodate you if you found yourself facing such a situation.

    When we flew back from a holiday when I was 11 or 12 there were no seats available together so me, my mum and my step-dad got upgraded to first class so that we could sit together.
  • Justin AerialJustin Aerial Posts: 5,710
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    The reality is that the airline wouldn't allow you to not be sat next to your 2 year old, even if you hadn't prebooked seats. They would simply ask people to swap seats to accommodate you if you found yourself facing such a situation.

    That raises a few points :

    It confirms what I said that prebooking of seats is actually in the airlines interests, so charging for it is even cheekier than it at first seems.

    How would you feel if you`d paid to prebook a seat next to to your wife/husband/friend then the airline told you to move so they could put a parent next to their child ! Don`t get me wrong that`s what the airline should do, but it`d still be bleedin` annoying for the person told to move.

    Lastly, the fact the airline would put us together anyway would imply it`d be a waste of money us paying to prebook our seat, other than the fact that really (esp for a 4 hour flight) we should both be next to our little boy "to share the load". I don`t think Wifey would appreciate me sat over on my own reading the whole flight whilst she was working her socks off. Worse, it could be the other way round ! ! !
  • jarryhackjarryhack Posts: 5,076
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    I don't mind paying to prebook my seats. I like to be able to pick where I sit, and make sure all our party is together. One thing I wouldn't do was move from my pre booked seats to accommodate someone who hadn't used the prebook service. I saw this a lot on the Thomson Facebook page in the weeks before my last holiday, people saying they would kick up a fuss on the plane if they aren't sat together. All airlines are starting to charge now, so I just find it best to prebook. Then we are not disappointed.
  • Hugh JboobsHugh Jboobs Posts: 15,316
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    PrincessTT wrote: »
    When we flew back from a holiday when I was 11 or 12 there were no seats available together so me, my mum and my step-dad got upgraded to first class so that we could sit together.

    Good customer service of the company to do that. I bet not all airlines would have the same policy!

    I wonder what the cut-off age is for allowing a child to sit somewhere which isn't next to his/her parents? I mean, I can see why a 2 year old needs to be sat next to their family. But I'm not so sure it's essential for an 11 or 12 year old.
  • MonsterMunch99MonsterMunch99 Posts: 2,475
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    They justify it because airlines are businesses, and if they can make money by charging people to book specific seats they will do so.
  • Justin AerialJustin Aerial Posts: 5,710
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    jarryhack wrote: »
    I don't mind paying to prebook my seats. I like to be able to pick where I sit, and make sure all our party is together. One thing I wouldn't do was move from my pre booked seats to accommodate someone who hadn't used the prebook service. I saw this a lot on the Thomson Facebook page in the weeks before my last holiday, people saying they would kick up a fuss on the plane if they aren't sat together. All airlines are starting to charge now, so I just find it best to prebook. Then we are not disappointed.

    I fully understand that you`d want to be able to prebook your seat, what I`m saying is the fact the airline charges you to do that is an absolute rip off.....
  • Hugh JboobsHugh Jboobs Posts: 15,316
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    How would you feel if you`d paid to prebook a seat next to to your wife/husband/friend then the airline told you to move so they could put a parent next to their child ! Don`t get me wrong that`s what the airline should do, but it`d still be bleedin` annoying for the person told to move.

    I can't imagine a situation where an air steward would attempt to "tell" someone to move to accommodate a child. More likely, they would politely be asked. And if they objected or got arsey, the air steward would simply ask someone else.

    Plus, I assume they have access to a list of which seats have been prebooked, so they would likely target those which haven't been prebooked first.

    Finally, put yourself in the place of the person being asked to move. Let's say you were a lone traveller and found youself sat next to a woman and a 2 year old. If a steward came over and asked you to swap seats with the dad so that he could sit next to them instead, wouldn't you do so? I'd bite their arm off at the opportunity to be moved away from a toddler on a flight! (And I say this as father of three kids under 4 years old!) :D
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,186
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    They justify it because airlines are businesses, and if they can make money by charging people to book specific seats they will do so.

    However the national airlines never used to charge to book seats, it is only with the rise of the "budget" airlines that seat reservations became something else they charged for.

    Personally we never pay to book seats as that really is paying money for nothing.
  • Hugh JboobsHugh Jboobs Posts: 15,316
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    Personally we never pay to book seats as that really is paying money for nothing.

    Well exactly. If the idea pisses you off so much, the simplest thing to do is not pay for it. Vote with your feet and all that.
  • jarryhackjarryhack Posts: 5,076
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    They can justify is as it's a optional extra that people obviously use. They make money from it, and they will continue to do so as long as people are using it. It's not ripping someone off if they aren't forcing you to use it.
  • PrincessTTPrincessTT Posts: 4,300
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    Good customer service of the company to do that. I bet not all airlines would have the same policy!

    I wonder what the cut-off age is for allowing a child to sit somewhere which isn't next to his/her parents? I mean, I can see why a 2 year old needs to be sat next to their family. But I'm not so sure it's essential for an 11 or 12 year old.

    It was in no way essential for me to be next to them, I had flown a few times as an unaccompanied minor by then so I was fine on my own.

    My mum just politely asked if they had seats available together and the woman responded that she didn't have any in coach but would move us up to first class. It was good customer service and an example of getting back what you give, my mum was polite & friendly and the staff were helpful & friendly in return.

    If my mum had given them any attitude then they probably would have just said that I was old enough to sit on my own.

    I too doubt that many airlines have that policy, in fact since it was over around 13 years ago the same airline (it was either United or American) probably no longer does it.
  • alan29alan29 Posts: 34,606
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    The budget airlines operate on such tight margins, they get creative about ways to maiximise their income.
  • MonsterMunch99MonsterMunch99 Posts: 2,475
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    However the national airlines never used to charge to book seats, it is only with the rise of the "budget" airlines that seat reservations became something else they charged for.

    Personally we never pay to book seats as that really is paying money for nothing.

    The budget airlines have forced the old players to lower their prices. squeezing the bottom line, so costs have to be cut and extra revenue has to be found elsewhere.
  • Bio MaxBio Max Posts: 2,207
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    It is a disgusting practice sadly - no justification. We don't normally bother paying it - we just hope we end up next to each other (happened once) but we did pay for it last year - our honeymoon. A massive party of us going away next year and we will all pay for it just to be next to each other as well.
  • Pumping IronPumping Iron Posts: 29,891
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    I can't imagine a situation where an air steward would attempt to "tell" someone to move to accommodate a child. More likely, they would politely be asked. And if they objected or got arsey, the air steward would simply ask someone else.

    Plus, I assume they have access to a list of which seats have been prebooked, so they would likely target those which haven't been prebooked first.

    Finally, put yourself in the place of the person being asked to move. Let's say you were a lone traveller and found youself sat next to a woman and a 2 year old. If a steward came over and asked you to swap seats with the dad so that he could sit next to them instead, wouldn't you do so? I'd bite their arm off at the opportunity to be moved away from a toddler on a flight! (And I say this as father of three kids under 4 years old!) :D

    I have been asked a few times in the past and it's always been polite. I am always polite back when I say no.
  • KellerKeller Posts: 5,970
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    A lot of airlines charge you for the option of selecting a particular seat, many passengers are now aware of the better seats within the cabin regular flyers tend to have a preference so charging for those options is just another small revenue generator for the airlines, it's not compulsory and you can still arrive at check in on the day of your flight and get a perfectly good seat, arrive early enough and you'll almost always get a seat together with whoever you're flying with.
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,186
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    alan29 wrote: »
    The budget airlines operate on such tight margins, they get creative about ways to maiximise their income.

    With the size of the size of the profits of many of the budget airlines I wonder if those margins are really as "tight" as they would like everyone to believe they are.....
  • Justin AerialJustin Aerial Posts: 5,710
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    jarryhack wrote: »
    They can justify is as it's a optional extra that people obviously use. They make money from it, and they will continue to do so as long as people are using it. It's not ripping someone off if they aren't forcing you to use it.

    Technically you`re correct, if you don`t have to do it it isn`t a rip off, but it`s still bleedin` annoying ! I hate this "modern" way of doing business where they quote a price for a product but then everything is extra, even stuff which doesn`t cost them anything at all to implement.
  • Justin AerialJustin Aerial Posts: 5,710
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    Keller wrote: »
    A lot of airlines charge you for the option of selecting a particular seat, many passengers are now aware of the better seats within the cabin regular flyers tend to have a preference so charging for those options is just another small revenue generator for the airlines, it's not compulsory and you can still arrive at check in on the day of your flight and get a perfectly good seat, arrive early enough and you'll almost always get a seat together with whoever you're flying with.

    I think charging extra for extra legroom seats is fair enough, even though it doesn't cost the airline any extra. But the passenger is getting a better seat so I`m happy to pay for it, provided it isn`t too expensive of course. The thing is that if you`re travelling with kids you can`t have the extra legroom seats anyway because they`re usually next to the emergency exits.

    I`m getting tempted to not pay for the prebooked seats, but I`m wary about ending up with the really crap seats, the ones with even less legroom or which don`t recline. The latter isn`t a problem in itself but can be if the person in front insists on reclining their seat and you`ve got even less bleedin` room than the tight airlines give you in the first place......
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,170
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    When I've been with either Easyjet or Ryanair, if they have to bus you to the plane they normally call for families with children in the first buses so they usually get to sit together.
    I wouldn't mind giving my seat if a child was separated from the parent.
    I don't pay the pre booked seat prices, unless whoever I'm flying with prefers we sit together, I feel sorry for anyone sat next to me though as I fall asleep on the nearest shoulder.
  • Rich_LRich_L Posts: 6,110
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    And yet london airways always seem to come in the top 10 for airline customer satisfaction so it seems people aren't to bothered about paying for this.
  • TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    A couple of things strike me as a bit odd here. I flew with Virgin in June and when buying my tickets online, had the option to choose my seat there and then. There was no extra charge. Additionally, for some reason or another, I was able to select seats in Premium Economy even though I paid for economy.

    On the return flight, I checked-in 24 hours beforehand and selected my seats, again, without having to pay.

    When I've flown with BA and Lufthansa, I check in 24 hours beforehand and choose my seat and have never been charged.

    Maybe it's different with budget airlines now but the last time I flew with RyanAir was when there was no pre-booking seats and it was a mass free for all for the best seats. Carnage usually ensued!!
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