Aussie mother claims Jetstar repeatedly seated her young children rows away from her

Published: 00:39, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 00:52, 12 August 2026 A Sydney lawyer has criticised Jetstar for repeatedly allocating her a seat several rows away from her children, despite the arrangement being contrary to the airline's policy.  Mother Bianca Marcellino booked a return trip between Sydney and Townsville in late July but was surprised when her three children, aged three, seven and nine, were assigned seats seven rows away from her. She claimed this wasn't a 'one-off' incident but the fourth time the system had separated her from the children in the last six months. 'On our last flight to Bali in February, my then-two year old was allocated a seat 13 rows away from me on a six and a half hour journey,' she said. Ms Marcellino told the Daily Mail she had been able to contact Jetstar and resolve the issue before flights, but claimed the problem had become more frequent during the online check-in process.  'It gives the impression that families are being encouraged to pay for seat selection, even though Jetstar's policy states that children will be seated with their parent or guardian,' she said. Ms Marcellino said she felt this was a 'significant safety concern' for many families with young children, including her own. 'I don't believe being separated from young children on a flight is acceptable, particularly as my children are too young to look after themselves during a flight,' she said.  Lawyer Bianca Marcellino (pictured) criticised Jetstar after claiming it allocated her a seat rows away from her children despite the arrangement being contrary to the airline's policy Ms Marcellino (pictured with two of her three children) claimed this was the fourth time she had dealt with the situation during the booking process in the last six months 'Realistically, they would also become extremely distressed if they were separated from me, which would be upsetting for them and disruptive for everyone on board. 'Some of my children also require additional assistance, so they rely on me for support and assistance throughout the journey.' Ms Marcellino said she had raised the issue with Jetstar multiple times through its online chat service. However, according to her, the airline had provided different responses. 'Initially, I am often told my fare does not include seat selection and am encouraged to pay for seat selection or wait until I arrive at the airport and have it sorted out at check-in,' she said. 'However, when I continue to push back and refer them to Jetstar's policy that children should be seated with their parent or guardian, the agents ultimately acknowledge it is a system error and manually change our seats so we are seated together. 'I have simply been asking Jetstar to honour its own policy by ensuring my young children are seated with their parent.' On the Jetstar website, it states the airline does its best 'to seat families together when we allocate seating and we'll make sure that young children, between two and 11, are seated with a parent or guardian' but cannot 'guarantee you'll be all together'.  Ms Marcellino had booked a return trip between Sydney and Townsville in July but said she was shocked to find her three children assigned seats seven rows away from her 'That's why it's best to select your seats when you book your flights,' the airline says. The Daily Mail understands passengers are not required to pay for seat selection for children to be seated with a parent or guardian.  If a family is separated by the automated allocation process, airport staff will work to re-seat customers together, prioritising that children are seated with at least one parent or guardian. However, Ms Marcellino argued the airline's promise to do its best to seat families together wasn't good enough. 'I think they should have a system that automatically recognises children travelling on the same booking and allocates seats together from the outset,' she said. 'Parents shouldn't have to contact Jetstar via online chat or phone at check-in to have this corrected.'  She also said parents should not have to rely on airport staff to fix the problem.  'While many people say staff will fix it at the airport, I prefer to check in online and head straight through security to avoid the risk of being separated for the flight,' she said.  'Travelling with young children is stressful enough and avoiding unnecessary queues and delays makes a big difference.'