Furious parents ‘forced to pay £126 to sit next to child’ in Wizz Air nightmare

Tristan Dudouet was flying from London Gatwick to Lyon, France with his partner, Mona, 30, and two-year-old daughter, Naia, when they were charged the ‘unbearable’ fees

A livid couple were left out of pocket after being stung with a £126 fee to sit next to their toddler on a Wizz Air flight.

Tristan Dudouet, 35, was jetting off from London Gatwick to Lyon, France with wife Mona, 30, and their two year old daughter Naia. He alleges that he tried to check in and pay for adjacent seats next to his little one three days before take-off, but the website wouldn’t allow it.

Tristan had hoped that he could sort it out at the airport but when they arrived at Gatwick, he claims the staff handed them a £126 bill for the trio to sit together.

The shocked couple reluctantly paid up to ensure they could keep an eye on their tot during the flight. With the original tickets costing just £30 per person, this unexpected extra more than doubled their travel costs.

“It added a lot of stress to the travelling,” Tristan, from Oxford, told Luxury Travel Daily. “It’s unbearable to charge that much to sit next to a young child.

“A lot of people are tight on money and would have to take their child home instead of going on holiday. I felt like they were looking at me like a piece of meat and wondering how much money they could get out of me. I was so frustrated and we didn’t have a choice but to pay. It’s not acceptable to have to pay to sit with your child.”

Logistics manager Tristan thinks there must’ve been a glitch with Wizz Air’s website when it wouldn’t let him check in ahead of his trip.

He complained that parents have a ‘narrow’ opportunity to check in with your child for free.

Tristan added: “I’d tried to check in online a few days before but it wouldn’t let me. Basically, you can’t check in online with your toddler before 24 hours.

“The only window to check in online with your child for free is 24 hours to two hours before departure time which is a tight window.

“So if you try too early then you don’t have the option to check in online for free with your toddler.

“The rules aren’t made clear and it seems like they’re meant to confuse the customer. They say it’s your fault because you didn’t read it properly.”

“I thought it was a problem with the website and I’d be able to sort it at the airport because we had to sit with our daughter.

“It feels like they’re trying to catch you out.”

The family’s flight was on 9 March.

A Wizz Air spokesperson responded: “The passengers did not check-in online, and were therefore charged for check-in when they arrived at the airport.

“The £126 fee you refer to was not a seating fee, it was instead the total fee for airport check-in. The passengers then travelled in their originally assigned seats – one of which was situated next to the child.

“Wizz Air always automatically assigns seats together for a child under 14 years old and one adult passenger.

“Instructions on how to avoid fees are clearly provided during the booking process, on the Wizz Air website and via email on how to check-in to avoid charges.”