Ryanair - New reserved seating structure(s)

Bob24

Jayop wrote: »

Sorry but this is a complete unnecessary joke and as someone who has relentlessly defended Ryanair for years I'm very very pissed off. Since allocated seating has come in I've had the kids on loads of flights and never once had an issue with not being able to sit together. Check in as soon as the window opens and you're sorted. Also you can use the app while on holidays now so the need for a printer is redundant.


If Ryanair were so concerned they could have groups allocated seats together in the background because they know who's in groups at the point of boarding.

Really pissed off with this one.

I think the problem is that some people want a discounted price but don't want to accept the strings attached. For organised people like yourself there is not issue. But I can understand families who don't plan in advance and then expect to get sorted at boarding time are an issue for Ryanair. On the one hand they expect an extra service which clashes with Ryanair's business model (which involves very quick boarding and not pre-allocating seats too early because they want to charge people for them), and on the other hand you cannot reasonably tell them to get lost and have their 4 years old sit 10 rows away from there parents.

km79

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It means that one adult sits with the under 12s. Not what was originally feared. As others have said, check in early enough and there is rarely a problem.

This is my reading of it
BEFORE
Book in our family of 4 the full 7 days in advance and we all sit together for free
NOW
Pay one adult and that adult and child get to sit with each other . The other adult and teenager /adult will then be randomly assigned seats most likely somewhere else unless both pay the fee too

Am I wrong ?

Amouar

km79 wrote: »

This is my reading of it
BEFORE
Book in our family of 4 the full 7 days in advance and we all sit together for free
NOW
Pay one adult and that adult and child get to sit with each other . The other adult and teenager /adult will then be randomly assigned seats most likely somewhere else unless both pay the fee too

Am I wrong ?

That's how I understood it aswell.

km79

km79 wrote: »

This is my reading of it
BEFORE
Book in our family of 4 the full 7 days in advance and we all sit together for free
NOW
Pay one adult and that adult and child get to sit with each other . The other adult and teenager /adult will then be randomly assigned seats most likely somewhere else unless both pay the fee too

Am I wrong ?

You are right. But even at €4 a head, it is still much cheaper than other carriers. I have to say that in 30 odd years of travelling with my children from when they were infants, I've never had any problem getting seats together. People tend to see problems where, with a bit of organisation on their own behalf, none exists.

km79

Amouar wrote: »

That's how I understood it aswell.

TBH having read it again it seems it may be as low as 4euro each way
So for 24 euro I can book 30 days in advance and pick seats right at the back near exit and toilets and also not have to worry about checking in for return flight out there
So it's not TOO bad I suppose !

km79

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You are right. But even at €4 a head, it is still much cheaper than other carriers. I have to say that in 30 odd years of travelling with my children from when they were infants, I've never had any problem getting seats together. People tend to see problems where, with a bit of organisation on their own behalf, none exists.

I actually thought it was 8 euro each way
It's not as bad at 8 euro total
Of course the cheaper seats will go first so the disorganized will pay more at least !

spurious

Amouar wrote:

Simple solution: Always check in as soon as check in window opens, and you're guaranteed to sit together. Don't wait until the last day to check in, especially when you travel with kids.

In other words, organise yourself.

Amouar

km79 wrote: »

TBH having read it again it seems it may be as low as 4euro each way
So for 24 euro I can book 30 days in advance and pick seats right at the back near exit and toilets and also not have to worry about checking in for return flight out there
So it's not TOO bad I suppose !

Can you select any seat? or only the "standard" ones? If we can select any seat than it's not too bad indeed.

SteM

Yes, people should check in as soon as the window opens, but it's obvious that many people just don't bother doing this when they're going on holiday. Ryanair can't control this and rather than have their staff go through the regular hassle of having to move people when they're already in seats they're forcing people with children to pay. Not a big deal imo.

nhunter100

No, family holiday to Italy in May, 5 boarding passes on one phone. No problem.

km79

Amouar wrote: »

Can you select any seat? or only the "standard" ones? If we can select any seat than it's not too bad indeed.

prices vary. cheapest toward the back 8 euro return
get dearer as ya move toward middle and dearest at very front 26 euro return

SteM

venomousfrog wrote: »

Me and my wife and 2 kids are due to fly out on the 17th of August with Ryanair, we didn't prebook our seats but I would be very pissed to see my youngest, who is 6 years old be told he has to sit on his own....... he has never been on a plane and I know he would be very scared if he had to sit beside a stranger and not me or his mum.

They don't let this happen - other people that have pre-booked (some may have paid for their seat) will be moved so either you or your wife can sit beside your son.

But, this is all within your control anyway. Just check in as soon as you're allowed to and this won't be an issue for you.

yqtwqxqm

Jayop wrote: »

All this will do is cost me more money and ensure that my group is split up because we'll pay for the seating for the one kid we have to and an adult and I bet they will be seated somewhere other than the other adult and teenager.

I bet they have a rule where if one person in the group buys a seat, then all have to buy one.

yqtwqxqm

yqtwqxqm wrote: »

I bet they have a rule where if one person in the group buys a seat, then all have to buy one.

Try reading the links provided. Only ONE adult needs pay €4 to book a seat. As already pointed out "Under this new policy, one adult in every booking with children (U12) must purchase a reserved seat at the time of booking (which will cost €4) and then all children (U12) in the same booking will receive free reserved seats. - See more at: http://corporate.ryanair.com/news/news/160729-ryanair-cuts-the-cost-of-reserved-seats-for-passengers-travelling-with-children-under-12-as-fares-fall-10-4-in-2016/?market=en#sthash.IxNsCXay.hni44WwW.dpuf"

Dodge

Deleted User wrote: »

Try reading the links provided. Only ONE adult needs pay €4 to book a seat. As already pointed out "Under this new policy, one adult in every booking with children (U12) must purchase a reserved seat at the time of booking (which will cost €4) and then all children (U12) in the same booking will receive free reserved seats. - See more at: http://corporate.ryanair.com/news/news/160729-ryanair-cuts-the-cost-of-reserved-seats-for-passengers-travelling-with-children-under-12-as-fares-fall-10-4-in-2016/?market=en#sthash.IxNsCXay.hni44WwW.dpuf"

The €4 is only on certain seats. The price can rise depending on where you sit

Jayop

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Try reading the links provided. Only ONE adult needs pay €4 to book a seat. As already pointed out "Under this new policy, one adult in every booking with children (U12) must purchase a reserved seat at the time of booking (which will cost €4) and then all children (U12) in the same booking will receive free reserved seats. - See more at: http://corporate.ryanair.com/news/news/160729-ryanair-cuts-the-cost-of-reserved-seats-for-passengers-travelling-with-children-under-12-as-fares-fall-10-4-in-2016/?market=en#sthash.IxNsCXay.hni44WwW.dpuf"

Yes but up to now when you choose seating or priority boarding for one in a group you have to do it for everyone. It's unclear if this will change and I suspect it will not. Regardless, it still brings me to the same problem that I will have to pay for me and my son to sit together and either I pay for the two other in the party to sit with us or they will be assigned seats elsewhere.

Bottom line this is going to cost me more and be a bigger inconvenience. My wife can't reach the overhead compartments so if she's not with me she can't put her own bag in. She carries the small additional hand luggage with books and games for the kids so now I'll have to carry a man bag too.

Honestly, it's a pure pain in the hole.



Also to answer the questions about the app, you have one person with all the passes and they check everyone in through that by scanning the passes and skipping to the next one. It's also by a mile the easiest way to check in for the return flight. Literally took me a boy 30 seconds while sitting in a bar in Spain last week to return check in. Lovely.

Eponymous

namloc1980 wrote: »

You must be very unlucky for this to happen on every single holiday flight you go on. Never been on a Ryanair flight held up for this reason and I travel a fair bit (holiday and other destinations).

That's my experience of it. Yours may vary and I won't question that.

A Dub in Glasgo

I have always got seats together (family of 4) on Ryanair without paying for a seat. It is easy to do! You can even check if the next allocation is to your liking by choosing the select seat option and see what is left. It looks like the organised have to pay for the lazy again

Jayop

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

I have always got seats together (family of 4) on Ryanair without paying for a seat. It is easy to do! You can even check if the next allocation is to your liking by choosing the select seat option and see what is left. It looks like the organised have to pay for the lazy again

Exactly. The whole thing is farcical. If you leave your reservation to the last minute and there's not 4 seats left together then you still won't be able to get them regardless of paying for them, so the people who would benefit by this, e.g. disorganized people, are still going to be a problem because they still won't book seats till the last minute.

A Dub in Glasgo

Jayop wrote: »

Exactly. The whole thing is farcical. If you leave your reservation to the last minute and there's not 4 seats left together then you still won't be able to get them regardless of paying for them, so the people who would benefit by this, e.g. disorganized people, are still going to be a problem because they still won't book seats till the last minute.

I think Ryanair will force the adult to select the seat during the booking process rather than the check in process so unless it is a couple of days before departure, they should get seats together during the booking process.

Jayop

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

I think Ryanair will force the adult to select the seat during the booking process rather than the check in process so unless it is a couple of days before departure, they should get seats together during the booking process.

I thought you were forced to buy the seat during booking but still couldn't select the seat until check in time 30 days before flight.

A Dub in Glasgo

Jayop wrote: »

I thought you were forced to buy the seat during booking but still couldn't select the seat until check in time 30 days before flight.

Not sure, I assumed you can select the seat at booking. I have not reserved a seat for any flight so have no experience of using it. If it is only within the check in window, then yes the lazy / disorganised will wait til the last minute to check in. It must reserve space otherwise it will not work

Masala

so ... will a party of 3 consisting of

1 x Adult
+ 10 yr old
+ 16 yr old

get to sit together if father books the 10 yr old a seat??
So - 3 seats in a row if they available.

Jayop

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

Not sure, I assumed you can select the seat at booking. I have not reserved a seat for any flight so have no experience of using it. If it is only within the check in window, then yes the lazy / disorganised will wait til the last minute to check in. It must reserve space otherwise it will not work

Surely the simplest thing would be for them to arrange the seating into groupings in the back ground at the time of booking and if there's 10 groups of 4 allow to have them all together and if a few people want to pay for better seats let them pick the best of the ten groupings.

Jayop

Masala wrote: »

so ... will a party of 3 consisting of

1 x Adult
+ 10 yr old
+ 16 yr old

get to sit together if father books the 10 yr old a seat??
So - 3 seats in a row if they available.

I don't think there's a guarantee that the 16 year old will be with you unless you also reserve a seat for them, which is probably their thinking.

A Dub in Glasgo

Masala wrote: »

so ... will a party of 3 consisting of

1 x Adult
+ 10 yr old
+ 16 yr old

get to sit together if father books the 10 yr old a seat??
So - 3 seats in a row if they available.

It would appear not, only if you buy a seat for your 16 year old as well

Masala

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

It would appear not, only if you buy a seat for your 16 year old as well

So.... booking 2 'kids' seats will get all three seating together - in effect the adult get his seat FREE.

Bit unfair on a party of 3 x Adults... they need to book 3 seats to guarantee to sit together.

A Dub in Glasgo

Masala wrote: »

So.... booking 2 'kids' seats will get all three seating together - in effect the adult get his seat FREE.

Bit unfair on a party of 3 x Adults... they need to book 3 seats to guarantee to sit together.

The seat selection for the 16 year old will be standard pricing so it is 2 seat selections for 2 adults and 1 child. It is only unfair on the 3 x adults if Ryanair start introducing mandatory seat reservation for everyone

Spanish Eyes

Don't have kids, so is it only €4 per adult with accompanying kids?

OMG. Think of the stress saved for a few quid all the same.

And think of all the moolah you will spend when you get there that just disappears into the ether.

Sorry, I just do not understand this saving a few bob to cost a lot in the end!

Jayop

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Don't have kids, so is it only €4 per adult with accompanying kids?

OMG. Think of the stress saved for a few quid all the same.

And think of all the moolah you will spend when you get there that just disappears into the ether.

Sorry, I just do not understand this saving a few bob to cost a lot in the end!

This is adding stress to me, not removing it.