Sitting together - Family international AirNZ

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1047 posts

Uber Geek

#3261607 19-Jul-2024 20:58

hairy1:
Are you sure you are being charged to select any seat on the aircraft? The seats further back in the aircraft should be free to seat select.

We normally break up into a 3 and a 2 sitting behind each other for the 5 of us which works really well (rather than all in a row)

Minimum cost per seat is $19 both ways.

I see comments about just sucking it up.
It seems pretty nickel and dining to charge $19 on an $1800 ticket when I'm not fussy about where I sit, and I just want to sit beside my kids. This whole thing feels pretty unpleasant.
I don't feel like it's being entitled for people regardless of age to be seated together if they book together. Yes, choosing seats is a paid for privalidge, but man it's just unpleasant.

If I get split into two groups of three that's OK. Though with one of mine being over 11 not sure that will happen.

When I have some free time to next week I'll give them a call.

kiwikurt

33 posts

Geek

#3261619 19-Jul-2024 21:38

CokemonZ:
hairy1:
Are you sure you are being charged to select any seat on the aircraft? The seats further back in the aircraft should be free to seat select.

We normally break up into a 3 and a 2 sitting behind each other for the 5 of us which works really well (rather than all in a row)

Minimum cost per seat is $19 both ways.

I see comments about just sucking it up.
It seems pretty nickel and dining to charge $19 on an $1800 ticket when I'm not fussy about where I sit, and I just want to sit beside my kids. This whole thing feels pretty unpleasant.
I don't feel like it's being entitled for people regardless of age to be seated together if they book together. Yes, choosing seats is a paid for privalidge, but man it's just unpleasant.

If I get split into two groups of three that's OK. Though with one of mine being over 11 not sure that will happen.

When I have some free time to next week I'll give them a call.

The call centre may not be able to help much but the check-in staff certainly will try to do their best depending on how full the flight is. As some have said the charge for seat select is pretty reasonable given what other airlines charge.

This kind of unbundling has been going on for decades even in "full service" airlines and I really don't see it changing.

I understand the principle but lots of other people will have paid for specific seating for all sorts of reasons and it's not necessarily fair for them to be inconvenienced.

Hope it works out for you.

johno1234

2736 posts

Uber Geek

#3261637 19-Jul-2024 23:16

richms:
So many reddit threads about entitled people with kids wanting others to give up their seats to suit their cheapness with not paying to get them by each other, and the comments normally roast the cheap parents. Why would it go any different on here?

You don't have to pay to be seated with your child.

Zeon

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#3261703 20-Jul-2024 08:08

You would have to be pretty unlucky to not sit together by default. With the kids the checkin agent will try to make you as close as possible if there aren't 6 in a row.

Re plane balancing I don't think this is a thing on jes after a trip a few days ago. Was flying southwest and they don't do seat assignments - it's like a bus and you can sit where you want. Pretty much everyone was at the front with no one at the back and no issues on a 737.

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freitasm

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Geekzone

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#3261716 20-Jul-2024 09:17

Zeon: Re plane balancing I don't think this is a thing on jes after a trip a few days ago. Was flying southwest and they don't do seat assignments - it's like a bus and you can sit where you want. Pretty much everyone was at the front with no one at the back and no issues on a 737.

That's exactly my point. It's not a thing that companies use as an excuse. I've heard it before.

hairy1

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#3261720 20-Jul-2024 09:30

It's most definitely a thing. C of G is critical for a number of reasons. Read some crash reports and centre of gravity is a factor in a percentage of crashes. C of G must be within the aircraft certified envelope for every flight.

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freitasm

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#3261722 20-Jul-2024 09:32

hairy1: It's most definitely a thing. C of G is critical for a number of reasons. Read some crash reports and centre of gravity is a factor in a percentage of crashes. C of G must be within the aircraft certified envelope for every flight.

Sorry, I probably wrote in the wrong way. It's a thing and I know the companies will rebalance if needed. But they don't know until all the tickets have been sold. But they use it as an excuse to charge for seats.

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Danite

42 posts

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#3261921 20-Jul-2024 20:40

Possibly not every airline does it but on some when online check-in opens 24H before you can then select remaining seats for free. The downside is that with kids sometimes it won’t allow you to checkin online..

tchart

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#3261926 20-Jul-2024 21:03

wellygary:
How old are kids?? Pretty sure they can't legally sit minors without a non parent/guardian

I would give them a ring, tell them you don't want to select seats but just to find out what the process is for kids seating flying international?

We flew to the US once, not on Air NZ, we didnt pick our seats and they split the family up (4 of us). Including the kids who were probably 12 & 14 at the time. Fun times.

After that debacle I’m happy to pay $19 to pre-book my seat.

CokemonZ

1047 posts

Uber Geek

#3268258 5-Aug-2024 09:15

After a call with them.

You will always be sitting next to a child 11 or under (on the same ticket/booking)
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, they will seat people on the same booking together
On the phone there is no clear definition of extenuating circumstances, so assume that all groups of 3 are booked aligns with extenuating circumstances

My wife makes the same point as a lot of people here - we should just pay it to reduce the risk.

In conclusion - I hate it.

My current "screw the system thought" is to pay for the adult and teen on each booking, with the assumption they will not split an under 11 from their parent. But that's me just being a bit bitter really.

Earbanean

916 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3268280 5-Aug-2024 10:25

Semi-related issue. We have a family of 5. On long haul flights we would book 3 in one row and then the 2 aisle seats in the middle block of the same row (or row in front). i.e. leaving the middle seat free. If the plane is not full, middle seats will be empty and we get 3 seats for 2 of us and a kid can lie down. If the plane is fuller and someone is in the middle seat, then we just offer one of the aisle seats to them - which they always take. In that case, we end up no worse than having booked the aisle and middle.

However, Air New Zealand don't allow a booking to leave a single seat in middle of your group, so this won't work with them. I'm not sure if that's a new thing or not. I guess you could still do 2 separate bookings, but IMO that's into the not-worth-the-hassle basket

johno1234

2736 posts

Uber Geek

#3268282 5-Aug-2024 10:28

Earbanean:

Semi-related issue. We have a family of 5. On long haul flights we would book 3 in one row and then the 2 aisle seats in the middle block of the same row (or row in front). i.e. leaving the middle seat free. If the plane is not full, middle seats will be empty and we get 3 seats for 2 of us and a kid can lie down. If the plane is fuller and someone is in the middle seat, then we just offer one of the aisle seats to them - which they always take. In that case, we end up no worse than having booked the aisle and middle.

However, Air New Zealand don't allow a booking to leave a single seat in middle of your group, so this won't work with them. I'm not sure if that's a new thing or not. I guess you could still do 2 separate bookings, but IMO that's into the not-worth-the-hassle basket

You can get around that by splitting your group into two separate bookings.

Earbanean

916 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3268293 5-Aug-2024 11:03

johno1234:

You can get around that by splitting your group into two separate bookings.

Yeah, as I said above: "I guess you could still do 2 separate bookings, but IMO that's into the not-worth-the-hassle basket"

afe66

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#3268335 5-Aug-2024 13:45

Is being a koru member have benefits here?

I have travelled a few times overseas longhaul with my family and i just pick the seats and we have always been together.

I realise than koru is more expensive than just paying the cash for picking each but if true this i suppose is another koru benwfit i didnt appreciate before.

CokemonZ

1047 posts

Uber Geek

#3268340 5-Aug-2024 13:57

In a previous corporate life I was Gold and Koru - so maybe I'm just noticing all this now. First big trip with the whanau since covid.

Quick look at Koru and for us still not ideal - going through Houston so not a AirNZ Lounge, so no kids, and even for in in NZ 3 kids only - and I have 4.

So even outside of paying for seats it still doesn't quite work unfortunately.

So yeah, slowly becoming resigned to paying - now just have to figure out if I can use airpoints for it. That at least will be a small consolation.

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