August 12, 2024
Very soon it could be illegal for the airlines to charge you an extra fee to book a seat next to your kids on a plane. That’s according to a new rule being proposed by the department of transportation….which says free family seating will be considered a basic service.
The new rule if it’s finalized would work like this. When you book a flight, the airline has 48 hours from the time of booking to seat a child next to his or her parent for free. The proposal defines “next to” as seats next to each other in the same row and not separated by an aisle. In situations where it’s impossible to provide adjacent seating for multiple young children, airlines would be required to seat them across the aisle from, directly in front of, or directly behind the parent or accompanying adult. The rule defines “child” as 13 years old or younger. This rule would apply to every class of service and prohibits the airline from defining a class in a way that limits available of family seating. For example the airline cannot structure ‘basic economy” to consist of only middle seats, that way there would be no way to allow for family seating.
If adjacent seats are not available at the time of booking or no seats can be found together after that 48 hour window the airline must provide the passenger with a choice of a full refund or the passenger can choose to wait to see if a seat opens up. If the passenger chooses to wait, and gets to the gate and adjacent seats are still not available, the airline must give the family the option to rebook for free on the next flight with available family seating or stay on the flight in seats that are not together. Now — if there are two parents travelling with one child this rule does not guarantee both parents sit with the child. It only requires one parent to be seated next to the child.
This is all part of President Biden’s attempts to eliminate what he calls “junk fees.” But when it comes to this new proposed rule – the authority that gives the dot the power to create it – came from congress. Back in may congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act. And on page 173 – it says the Transportation Secretary shall issue a proposed rule to establish a policy directing air carriers to assign seats or allow individuals to select seats in advance to sit each young child adjacent to an accompanying adult.
Now – I know recently we’ve seen a lot of these rules get shot down in the courts. But when I brought up my skepticism that this rule could survive the legal system, Secretary Buttigieg told me he is confident this new rule will survive because of the explicit language directing the dot to create it in the FAA Reauthorization Act. It’s also worth noting that according to Secretary Buttigieg several airlines are already complying with this rule. They include American, Alaska, Frontier, and Jet Blue.
More info about the FREE family seating here.
Post your comment about this rule here.
