Airlines - Select Seats or Don't Select Seats

[Magical Dreamer]

In the past I've always dug a little deeper in my pocket to pay the fee for selecting our seats.

My question is.....Do we really need to?

I'm not concerned where we sit....I just want the seats to be together.

There's 5 of us, so the fees add up quickly.

If I chose not to select our seats would they scatter us around the cabin as punishment?

 

[The Mom]

It wouldn't be punishment, just the way they would have to do it. Unless you choose seats very early, it's tough to get 5 together - we just recently had to change flights, and our 4 seats are together, but not in the configuration that I had originally requested.

If sitting together is important to you, you're going to have to pay the fee.

 

[Cubs Brian]

If you fly Southwest you can "check in" 24 hrs prior to departure. Just make sure that you do it right as your 24 hr time frame starts. We've done this 3 times so far with groups as large as 9 people and were always together. Do it online for N/C.

 

[Rob562]

This is AirTran or Spirit you're flying, isn't it? They're the only two airlines that I can think of that charge for a seat assignment.

All of the "legacy" carriers, as well as JetBlue, all have free seat assignments. Southwest has open boarding, so you board in the order you check in, and then pick any available seat once you're on the plane.

-Rob

 

[RonAnnArbor]

I personally would always pay to select the seats I want - windows near the front. But I fly alone.

For the full-fare airlines, you should ALWAYS select your seats in advance -- they oversell flight and if you don't have an assigned seat you can end up without one at all if you think it will just be there the day you check in...always select a seat, even if you change it later. There is no charge for these. You can get bumped from a flight without a seat selected even if you bought it months in advance. Select your seat. In fact, I won't even book a flight if I look up a seating chart and don't see open seats.

SW and Spirit are the only two I can think of where you do the rushing-of-the-bulls to get on and get seats. There, it is up to you. If you want to sit together, then select and pay in advance. If you do not, then it really doesn't matter.

 

[CarlFredricksen]

Www.seatguru.com

Pick the best seats!

 

[The Mom]

I believe the OP is flying with an airline that charges a fee if you want to select your seats, and the question was is it worth it, and what are the chances that his party will be seated far away from each other is they don't pay for assigned seats?

I guess it depends upon the ages of the passengers, how much it matters if you all sit together, how long is the flight, etc.

If I were taking a two hour flight, it really wouldn't matter if I were sitting near my family. An overseas flight? I definitely want to be close so I have someone to talk to.

 

[ArtieJim]

I say save the money, you're going to be together as soon as you get off the plane until the end of the vacation. Unless one isn't a good flyer, like myself, save the dough and get some sweet Disney souvenirs, like a ton of pressed pennies.

 

[dreamfinder]

I wouldn't think it was worth it. As long as you have a guaranteed seat on the flight, thats enough for me. You should all be able to sit within reasonable distance of each other. And if you are doing it to be with small children, every flight I have been on has accommodated families that were split up and worked to get them together.

 

[Pooh Lover]

When we started flying Southwest, I really missed having an assigned seat (being a wee bit OCD.) But having flown Southwest for years now, as long as I am seated with my husband, it really doesn't matter where on the plane we are and I no longer miss the assigned seat.

 

[H20Babie]

Just MHO, if you have younger children, pay for the seat assignments. Last year, I didn't pay the extra money, thinking they wouldn't split up an adult and child but they did. My then-8 year old son was seated 7 rows ahead of me on the opposite side. Luckily, I had checked us in online beforehand, and when I saw our seat assignments, I made sure we got to the airport early and had the seat assignment fixed.