Picking the perfect plane seat could be the thing that makes or breaks your holiday flight experience. Unless you have excess pounds to spend on business or first class, chances are you will find yourself in economy, and not all airlines allow you to pick your seat. In fact, many now make passengers pay to select a specific seat – even if they are travelling in groups. UK air carriers who impose a cost for a choice of seat include Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2.
According to MoneySavingExpert, a family of four could spend up to £240 extra to guarantee they will be sat together on a return flight.
Although some airlines say they try to seat groups together, particularly those with children, many say they do not priorities customers who bought their tickets as one party.
However, there are some ways passengers can decide whether it is worth the additional cost.
Nicky Kelvin, content director from The Points Guy UK, spoke with Express.co.uk to share his top tips on how to determine whether the spend is right for you.
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The best way to do this is to figure out how much a seat is going to cost you.
“Seat selection fees can run from as low as about £1.50 per seat on a short-haul route with a low-cost carrier like Ryanair to £50 for an exit row pick on a long-haul route with Air India for example to more than £80 for preferred or premium seats on international routes with carriers like American Airlines,” explains Nicky.
Every now and then, an airline may not show the cost of seat selection online at all, which is why having a phone number for the carrier on hand is useful.
Nicky also suggests being sure about where you want to sit and knowing exactly why, before dedicating the additional money.
“Deciding where it is you want to sit isn’t always an exact science,” he continues. “You could be a die-hard window seat person, more maybe you really only like to have the window on red-eye flights when you prefer to sleep and otherwise prefer the aisle. If you’re flying a route you know has turbulence, maybe you’d prefer to sit over the wing.
“Or, if you have a short layover, you may want to sit closer to the front to deplane first.
“And, if you’re flying with a group, you’ll have to consider not only your needs but your family’s or travelling companions preferences too.”
Luckily, if you are absolutely certain you want a specific seating arrangement, there are some tricks you can test out.
One is using a seat-review website which will map out the plane and even compiles reviews from other recent fliers.
“SeatGuru can help you determine exactly where on the plane you’d like to sit to be near or far from the loo, if that exit row is worth it, or keep you from selecting a seat without a window or with limited recline,” says Nicky.
If passengers don’t want to spend the cash, they can always risk it and see where the airline randomly places them.
Although Nicky adds: “While it may be a full flight with many seats already allocated, if you approach the agent with a smile and kindly make your request, it may just be granted.”