US Proposes New Rule Banning Airlines from Charging Fees to Seat Families Together

Have you ever been frustrated by the fact that you have to pay extra fees to be seated with your children onboard a flight? Maybe you've been affected by the problem, being forced to give up your favorite seat on the plane so someone else can sit with their kid. The United States Department of Transportation is trying to find a solution to that.

Several US airlines charge 'junk fees' that can reach up to $25 per seat, forcing families to pay hundreds of dollars in extra payments for a round-trip. Many families do not have the option to avoid this cost, as it is necessary to sit beside their young child aboard a flight. If they do end up skipping on the fees, it can end up slowing down the boarding process since parents/guardians are frantically finding a way to sit with their child, and can often create a stressful experience for children and other passengers as well.

Current US President Joe Biden addressed this issue in 2023 during a speech to Congress, motivating four of the country's top ten airlines to implement procedures to avoid the problem. Alaska, American, Frontier, and JetBlue have already guaranteed seating children 13 and under with a parent or guardian with no extra fees, but Allegiant, Delta, Hawaiian, Southwest, Spirit, and United are yet to do so.

Here's what's included in the proposal:

The new rule would ban all extra fees that force parents to pay to sit next to any accompanying children 13 and under.

It would require airlines to seat young children adjacent to their accompanying adult within 48 hours of booking the flight. As the definition of adjacent, the children must be seated in the same row as the accompanying adult, not separated by an aisle, while if it is not possible, they must be seated across the aisle from, directly in front of, or directly behind their accompanying adult.

If adjacent seats are not available, the law will force airlines to give passengers the choice between getting a full refund or waiting for adjacent seating to open up later, possibly on a separate flight.

The rule would also require airlines to clearly state that families have the right to have adjacent seats without paying extra fees, not allowing them to hide the fact that the families have a choice.

Lastly, any airline that doesn't obey the new requirements could be penalized with fines for each time they charge extra fees to families for adjacent seating.

The Department of Transportation has not disclosed any sort of timeline for the new rule, but laws take time to be approved and it may take over a year for it to go into effect.