‘I was forced to pay £56 to sit with my toddler on plane’

A mother was left in a state of anxiety over the prospect of being separated from her toddler during a flight, unless she paid an additional £56 on top of her ticket price.

“I have just booked a flight and as increasingly seems to be the case, they want me to pay to reserve a seat,” she explained, expressing her concern about the “risk”.

The woman took to Mumsnet to share her dilemma, stating: “I have a young child so I can’t ‘risk it’ on the day, and the trip will be more enjoyable (by which I mean less of a nightmare) if we are seated together in one row (me, my husband, our child). The cost of this? 66 euros (£56).”

She expressed her frustration at having to pay extra to ensure she could sit with her toddler, adding: “I just want to ensure I am seated with the other passengers in my booking, specifically my toddler. Feels grating to incur an additional expense for this ‘privilege’.”

Commenters questioned whether airlines were allowed to seat a child away from their family, with one writing: “I think they cannot sit you apart from a toddler but it might be worth checking the airline policy!”

Another person added: “Most airlines do this, it keeps their headline ticket price down. If you want to sit together you have to pay for it.”

A third said: “If that’s what you want then cough up the money. But they won’t let a toddler be on their own so if you risk it they will be with one parent at least but maybe not both of you.”

Another pragmatic parent admitted to just including the extra fees in her holiday budget, stating: “I know it’s annoying but I just factor it into the cost of my holiday as to me it’s important so I just view it the same as transfers/insurance etc.”

Echoing this sentiment, another traveller added: “I pay for all of us to sit together because I don’t want the headache of negotiating with an air steward at boarding.”