young children given seats away from parents
Dec 5, 2017, 12:51 am
#61
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
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While the BA policy says the children must be sat next to an Adult (Parent in this instance), what would happen if nobody refused to move from their seats?
Sure, it's a big IF, but what would BA do? Would they force someone into a switch, whereby refusal would lead to Denied Boarding?
For what it's worth, I'm sure BA will manage to find a way to move the little ones in 2 middle seats, and at least one adult on the aisle.
Expecting a full row of 4, which of course would be the ideal situation, may be thinking too highly.
M
Sure, it's a big IF, but what would BA do? Would they force someone into a switch, whereby refusal would lead to Denied Boarding?
For what it's worth, I'm sure BA will manage to find a way to move the little ones in 2 middle seats, and at least one adult on the aisle.
Expecting a full row of 4, which of course would be the ideal situation, may be thinking too highly.
M
Dec 5, 2017, 12:52 am
#62
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 5,380
To answer your question from earlier, when I was Blue I always paid for seat selection in CW and in terms of peace of mind and securing window seats it was for me worth it. Not saying it would have been in your case however, given BA's child seating policy.
Dec 5, 2017, 12:56 am
#64
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M
Dec 5, 2017, 1:05 am
#65
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 33
i have a long haul next month, 2 adults and 2 kids in J. I also have no status.
Outbound, its a night flight, so i'm expecting BA to put us 2 and 2 which is fine by us as we'll be sleeping.
On the way back, its a day flight so i'd really like us all to be the middle 4 seats. I've paid the 300 to secure this. its a lot of money, but its peace of mind which will make our holiday more enjoyable! I also really don't like making people shift seats, even more so if they have paid for them. I've seen this on Easyjet many times.
Outbound, its a night flight, so i'm expecting BA to put us 2 and 2 which is fine by us as we'll be sleeping.
On the way back, its a day flight so i'd really like us all to be the middle 4 seats. I've paid the 300 to secure this. its a lot of money, but its peace of mind which will make our holiday more enjoyable! I also really don't like making people shift seats, even more so if they have paid for them. I've seen this on Easyjet many times.
Dec 5, 2017, 1:07 am
#66
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Wow. A lot of passive aggression in this thread.
Dec 5, 2017, 1:07 am
#67
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Dec 5, 2017, 1:23 am
#69
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Dec 5, 2017, 1:23 am
#70
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: BG
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I also don't see why BA cant just assign the seats at time of booking, or at least automatically at T-24/48 when choices are open to everyone, as it is stated on the website that children will sit next to at least 1 adult in the party. I don't think the comments about free babysitting are serious comments that people have made here, more like pointing out how ludicrous and dangerous it would be to sit, say a 2 year old far away from his or her parents.
I also don't think parents should be forced to pay this. If it's stated that they will be seated together, its right to expect to be seated together.
I also don't think parents should be forced to pay this. If it's stated that they will be seated together, its right to expect to be seated together.
Last edited by englisha; Dec 5, 2017 at 1:34 am
Dec 5, 2017, 1:35 am
#71
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: London
Programs: Newbie BA Gold
Posts: 570
Why is there even a debate on this? Policy clearly states that 1 adult will be sat next to 1 young child. OP is not asking for all 4 to be sat together, just for them to follow policy. Why are people saying OP should have paid/is too cheap?
Dec 5, 2017, 1:36 am
#72
Join Date: Dec 2016
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FFS, BA are allowed to change seat selections for operational reasons. One perfectly good operational reason is to permit the policy of seating parents with young children. This is sensible because:
1) The child will be less anxious and disruptive generally. Good luck getting a seatbelt on a toddler if you're not known to him or her and sitting next to them.
2) The parent can look after the child before minor situations - for example waking up in a strange place with a strange person nearby - become major. That helps everyone.
3) In the event of an emergency you won't have parents trying to find their children against the flow of anything else that is going on. Examples include things as mundane as checking seatbelts, through putting on oxygen masks and evacuating the plane.
It's essentially a safety rule, not for the benefit of parents trying to cut costs. And no-one believes it's acceptable to leave a stranger in charge of a child, that was a throwaway comment by the OP.
It VERY RARELY happens anyway because BA is good at allocating seats. Generally in a situation where it's needed, passengers will agree to move (I would), and they don't come up against the hardline DYKWIA passive aggressive types who would rather die than let their pre-selected seat go. But in all the scores of flights I've done, I've been asked if I would mind moving precisely once, to accommodate a family of 4 in the centre section of an economy flight. I was asked politely, and given the option of a comparable seat as well as the clear option of refusal. BA generally manage this well.
So it's a hypothetical situation being blown out of any sort of proportion. Keep calm people, you are vanishingly unlikely to be thrown out of your carefully selected seat by a toddler.
1) The child will be less anxious and disruptive generally. Good luck getting a seatbelt on a toddler if you're not known to him or her and sitting next to them.
2) The parent can look after the child before minor situations - for example waking up in a strange place with a strange person nearby - become major. That helps everyone.
3) In the event of an emergency you won't have parents trying to find their children against the flow of anything else that is going on. Examples include things as mundane as checking seatbelts, through putting on oxygen masks and evacuating the plane.
It's essentially a safety rule, not for the benefit of parents trying to cut costs. And no-one believes it's acceptable to leave a stranger in charge of a child, that was a throwaway comment by the OP.
It VERY RARELY happens anyway because BA is good at allocating seats. Generally in a situation where it's needed, passengers will agree to move (I would), and they don't come up against the hardline DYKWIA passive aggressive types who would rather die than let their pre-selected seat go. But in all the scores of flights I've done, I've been asked if I would mind moving precisely once, to accommodate a family of 4 in the centre section of an economy flight. I was asked politely, and given the option of a comparable seat as well as the clear option of refusal. BA generally manage this well.
So it's a hypothetical situation being blown out of any sort of proportion. Keep calm people, you are vanishingly unlikely to be thrown out of your carefully selected seat by a toddler.
Dec 5, 2017, 1:42 am
#73
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Two seats in the middle with an adult either side = a row of four together. So actually that's EXACTLY what the OP says BA should do for him. But this isn't BA policy. He needs to pay for this but has decided not to do so. Thus the OP has only himself to blame and is chancing his arm.
In terms of what the OP expects, it seems to me that there is nothing in what the OP wrote that said that he expects that to happen, merely that he expects that every child in the party should be sat next to at least one adult in the party.
Dec 5, 2017, 1:46 am
#74
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 141
I am spending £20k plus on my xmas holiday and didn’t feel £400 for seat selection was a worthwhile expense.
Regarding the 4 seats in a row- my comments relate to the fact that it would be better on the other people flying if kids are in the middle pair with an adult either side so the kids have a floor space and are not infringing on anyone else’s space/isle. This doesn’t make my flight easier was more thinking of the other passengers around us.
Dec 5, 2017, 1:47 am
#75
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 141
I did not read it that way. What I read that as saying was that this was the best solution for everybody, not that the OP was demanding that. Doing this would result in nobody other than a parent sitting next to one of children. I would not particularly relish being sat next to a young child on a long-haul flight so I would also agree with the OP that this would be the best solution, not as something that BA should do for him but as the best solution all round for everybody.
In terms of what the OP expects, it seems to me that there is nothing in what the OP wrote that said that he expects that to happen, merely that he expects that every child in the party should be sat next to at least one adult in the party.
In terms of what the OP expects, it seems to me that there is nothing in what the OP wrote that said that he expects that to happen, merely that he expects that every child in the party should be sat next to at least one adult in the party.