The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require airlines to seat families together for free, even if they have purchased ‘Basic Economy’ fares.
The rule, which would apply to domestic US carriers, as well as foreign airlines operating flights to and from the United States, would require airlines to seat children aged 13 and younger adjacent to an adult family member at no extra cost.
Many US carriers say they will do their best to seat families together but families are encouraged to purchase advanced assignments for an additional fee if they want to be assured that young children won’t be separated from their parents and guardians and forced to sit with strangers.
The issue of family seating has been reviewed by federal officials on several occasions over the last decade but in 2017 and 2019, the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection concluded that the government shouldn’t take any action to compel airlines to sit families together for free.
In 2021, the Biden administration started to look into the issue once again and the following year, the DOT started to encourage airlines to seat children next to their parent or guardian fee-free.
In early 2023, the DOT published a dashboard to show familiy seating policies at major US carriers. The publication of the dashboard was not only meant to educate travelers but also encourage airlines to alter their policies in favor of families.
In response to the DOT creating its dashboard, United Airlines said it would allow families to book adjacent seats together using a new took embedded within its website. A short time later, American Airlines changed its customer service policy to ‘guarantee’ families the ability to sit together regardless of the fare-type they had bought.
Frontier Airlines also told the DOT that it had introduced a software update that gave families the ability to choose seats together for free but many other carriers remained silent on the issue.
Because the majority of US airlines have been unwilling to amend their seating policies to be more family friendly, the DOT now says a rulemaking is necessary because it “views family seating as a basic service, essential for the provision of adequate air transportation”.
“According to complaints received by DOT, some parents mistakenly assume that they will be seated next to their young children when they purchase tickets for air transportation,” the proposed rulemaking explains.
“These passengers assume that fee-free family seating is already required because a parent would need to supervise and tend to their child during a flight, not to mention the potential harm that may occur from a child being separated from a parent during a flight.”
“Based on the nature and severity of the complaints the Department has received, and the reluctance shown by the majority of the largest U.S. airlines to amend their family seating policies to guarantee family seating at no additional cost, demonstrates a need for action in this area.”
Some of the complaints reviewed by the DOT included from a mother of a four year old who was separated from her son because she had bought a Basic Economy ticket. Her young son was seated between two men she did not know and the flight attendant refused to help because the flight was full.
In another case, a 10-year-old suffered an anxiety attack when it came to board the flight, and they realized they had been seated in a different row from their parents.
The DOT estimates that the cost to the airline industry to implement this rule would be around $21 million, but it could cost airlines a combined $85 million in lost revenues from seat fees in the first year of the rule coming into force.
Hold on a second! This is government overreach personified. If I book and pay for a seat…that seat should be “mine”. Can anyone see the rampant abuse of this policy? It’s like the “bereavement fares”, wheelchair at the gate, people in fake uniforms pretending to be soldiers. Come on “Buttahole”…just another power grab by government.