Summer holiday warning for anyone with a BA, Virgin or Tui flight booked who want to sit together for free
Holidaymakers can end up forking out hundreds to sit together on flights, with airlines encouraging families or groups to block book rows of seats for an extra fee.
However, MoneySavingExpert.com has warned families that they may be unnecessarily paying these fees when certain airlines will let you sit together for free.
" A family of four could have to stump up £250+ to book seats to sit together on return flights," the website's experts said.
But they added that "you may be able to do it for free" with several big airlines, including British Airways, Virgin and Tui.
However, they warned that the trick may not apply to Ryanair customers, saying "even we struggle to find a way to overcome Ryanair's charges".
How to sit together for free
The key thing to remember if you want to sit together for free is to check in early.
"With most airlines, if you DON'T pay and just check in online as early as you can, you WILL get to sit with the rest of your group – as long as seats are still available," according to MoneySavingExpert.com.
The consumer champions says that all major airlines bar Ryanair will always try to seat groups on the same booking together.
However, they also warn that there is no guarantee you'll all be sat together, and you'll need to pay if you want that peace of mind.
"But if you're willing to take a small risk to save some cash, this is a no-brainer," they add.
If you're travelling with kids and are worried you might be split up, most airlines guarantee that children will get to sit next to at least one adult, even if you don't pay extra.
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British Airways, Tui and Virgin Atlantic all guarantee that children under 12 will be sat with at least one adult in their group.
Meanwhile, British Airways also lets you choose a seat free of charge if you're travelling with a child under 2.
Wizz Air and American Airlines guarantee that children under 15 will be sat with at least one adult in their group.
Jet2 says it always tries to sit children under 12 next to adults in their booking, but they can't always guarantee it.
If you can't sit right beside them, you'll be sat no more than one row away.
EasyJet says its booking system tries to sit families together, but if it can't then it will make sure that children under 12 are sat close to an adult from their booking.
If you're travelling with Ryanair in a group with children under 12, the airline makes it compulsory for at least one adult in the group to make a seat reservation, which start from £4.50.
You can then reserve seats for free for up to four children.
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