Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert (MSE) has urged travellers to try several tricks to secure seats together on a plane without paying additional fees. Updating their MSE blog in April, the experts advise passengers to first check whether their airline offers free seat selection. Many airlines charge for seat selection or force passengers to wait until check-in, but some allow free seat selection at the time of booking.
How to avoid paying for seat selection
MSE explains: "Airlines rely on the fear factor to convince you to cough up for allocated seating. Passengers worry if they don't pay up, they'll be split up." However, this is not a general rule. With most airlines, if you skip paying for seat selection and instead check in online as early as possible, you will usually still be seated with your group, provided there are enough adjacent seats available.
MSE added: "All of the major airlines bar Ryanair told us their seat allocation systems will always try to seat groups on the same booking together. So check in as soon as you're able to and you should get to sit together, as long as there are seats available next to each other that haven't been snapped up by folk who paid to reserve."
"Of course there are no guarantees – for that, you'll have to pay. But if you're willing to take a small risk to save some cash, this is a no-brainer. Also note a few airlines let you select a seat for free after booking, without waiting for check-in."
Once you have booked your flight, find out when check-in opens and set a reminder to do it as soon as possible, even if it is in the middle of the night – you need to move fast to nab those empty rows.
Airline family seating policies
MSE has highlighted the following airline seating policies for families travelling on holiday flights:
- British Airways, Tui and Virgin Atlantic all guarantee that children under 12 will be seated with at least one adult from their booking – although the rest of the group might be split up. British Airways also lets you choose your seat for free if you are travelling with a child under two. Tui and Virgin warn children may be seated behind or in front of their parents, or be separated by an aisle.
- American Airlines and Wizz Air guarantee that children under 15 will be seated with at least one adult from their booking.
- Air France "will do everything it can" to ensure children between two and 11 years old sit beside an adult from their booking. When booking for yourself and a child over two, you can pay to choose your seat.
- Jet2, KLM and Norwegian say their systems always try to seat children under 12 with adults from their booking. Jet2 adds that if it is not possible, it will seat them no more than one row away. Norwegian says it will ensure children between two and 11 are seated within the same row and aisle as an accompanying adult, but if that is not possible, no more than one row or aisle away.
- Easyjet says its booking system tries to place families together, but there is a stronger likelihood the earlier you check in. If a family cannot sit next to each other, it will ensure each child under 12 is seated "close to an adult" from their booking.
Ryanair seating policy
MSE reminds Ryanair passengers that the rules are different. It adds: "With Ryanair though, as ever, the rules are different. The good news is that children under 12 are guaranteed to sit with at least one adult in their party. The catch is that one adult travelling with a group of under-12s MUST pay for one seat, with up to four children getting seats next to them for free."
MSE urges people to check the MSE website for more details on Ryanair rules. Ryanair's Help Centre confirms: "For safety reasons, children under the age of 12 must sit beside an accompanying adult, and infants (aged 8 days to 23 months inclusive) must sit on an accompanying adult’s lap. It is mandatory for an adult travelling with children under 12 (excl. infants) to reserve a seat."
A maximum of four children for every one adult on the same booking will receive a reserved seat free of charge. This ensures parents of young children sit together during the flight. It also allows you to check in 60 days before departure. It is not mandatory for any other adults or teenagers in the booking to reserve a seat, but they may choose to do so if they wish to sit with the rest of the family.
The 'family tax'
Most parents view sitting with their children as essential, even if it means a less relaxing flight. Airline seat fees can be especially frustrating for families concerned about being separated. MSE has campaigned on this issue before, highlighting the so-called "family tax".
The aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), says airlines should "aim to sit parents close to children". If this is not possible, they should not be separated by more than one aisle or more than one seat row. The CAA also notes that parents should not have to pay to avoid a situation where their child is seated in a different part of the aircraft. However, these are guidelines rather than strict rules, so they are not guaranteed. In reality, most airlines will ensure children are seated next to at least one adult in the group, even if you do not pay for seat selection or forget to check in early.
