LBD,

Please refer to the dedicated Monarch thread. As seating is assigned at check-in, as long as you are there in plenty of time (recommended 2 hours before departure), you should be ok and get seating together. It's generally only when you arrive late after most others have checked and seats are filled that you run the risk of not getting seats together. You're normally ok on your outbound flight as the time you get to check-in is within your control. If you're on a package holiday however, you're at the mercy of the transfer coaches and you could be the first or last to get to the airport. There's a greater risk of being spit up on your return flight than the outbound because of this and hence, the optional extra of pre-booking seats. For peace of mind, some prefer to pay the extra and pre-book them. The airline will do their best to seat you all together, or if that's not possible, as close as possible. There are guidelines provided by the CAA to ensure families are sat together or as close as possible, expecially children, but it's only a guideline. They'll do their best though and it's personal choice whether to pay the extra or not.

EDIT: You posted again in the Monarch thread while I posted here! Please post in the relevant airline thread only to avoid duplication.

Darren

Thanks Darren.

I posted again in the correct place and then couldn't delete my first post! My apologies.

Thanks for the information, very helpful.