Jet2.com Seating Selection

I recently had to book some flights for my parents, them not being too confident with buying on-line, I tend to take care of the arrangements for them.  On a trip from Newcastle, Italy to Verona, Italy we found Jet2 to be the most reasonable from the airports available to them and decided to book.

If you met my parents then me the Tall Traveller, you would probably think I was the off-spring of the milkman or possibly when you bring my brother into the mix, then maybe adopted.  If it wasn’t for a few family traits and features I’m sure I could be convinced to go on Jeremy Kyle.  However, it’s safe to say, my parentals are those who certainly don’t require extra leg room seating….

I’ve had a long like for Jet2, they’re Northern for starters.  Almost amazes me when I talk to the Londoners about them and they’ve never heard of them.  The planes have always been good, even though they started with some converted cargo-carriers (their parent company imports flowers and other chilled items).  As an airline they’ve flourished and moved into holidays.

The service through my many travels has always been good.  However, I’ve always had to pay for the tall tax to get the leg room.

Paying the tall tax always means you have to pay the fee to select your seat and you never think about it any further.

With my parents, they were non-fussy and happy to get automatic assignment of seats.  This is incredibly frustrating with Jet2 with online check-in!

I had to visit the site several times trying to get seats sat together, without paying.  When they were sat apart, I had to sign back into the system later until I got two sat-together.

The sad fact of the matter was that there were oodles of seats free on the plane but because I refused to pay the extra fee, Jet2’s systems were automatically assigning my parents on different rows even with spare seats between them.  Whilst you know there’s always a risk on a full-flight that you won’t sit together, for this there was clearly an algorithm working against me.

Eventually I had to settle for two seats on a row with someone between them.  Although at the time of online check-in, the seat was free.  Not a problem, but on their flight they had to exchange with the chap in the middle.

The question is why?  Is Jet2 this hard up that they need to ask their passengers to pay more at every opportunity?  Do they really want to cause extra work for their crew on the flight to move people around?  In my book, most of the Jet2 crew are too busy trying to sell and make money on the plane that other than the usual safety related work, they have little time.

I’d really hope Jet2 revises this policy otherwise it’s heading down a route that Ryanair and Easyjet would take.  These airlines are also starting to see the light too.  Sort it out please Jet2, and let me really believe you are the North’s favourite airline!

TT