Airlines Face Potential New Mandate To Seat Kids With Adults At No Extra Cost
If you’re a frequent traveler, it’s important to be aware of all the upcoming travel requirements, updates and rulings that could affect your future trips, from special travel authorizations and IDs, to passport stipulations you might not be aware of and automatic refunds.
Most recently, the Department of Transportation has proposed a new family rule that would help seat children under the age of 13 with an accompanying adult for no extra cost beyond the general airfare. Accompanying adults are considered to be a member of the family 14 and above.
The reason for such a rule comes from the Department of Transportation’s explanation that family seating is considered a “basic service” and “essential” for “adequate air transportation.” Many complaints to the DOT expressed parents incorrectly assuming they’d automatically be seated next to their child upon purchase without an additional cost “because a parent would need to supervise and tend to their child during a flight.”
Moreover, “a carrier’s failure to provide family seating harms not only passengers traveling with young children, but also other passengers on the aircraft who may be asked or directed to give up their seats to accommodate families on the day of travel or who may be required to sit next to an unsupervised child.”
Though a 2020 review by the Department of Transportation showed that 10 of the largest U.S. airlines often made great effort to accommodate family seating, it was commonly met with an extra fee for guaranteed seating.
If this ruling were to be instated, any carrier that does not allow for family seating will be subject to civil penalties on a per child passenger basis. Carriers who fail to comply and charge families a fee to ensure adjacent seating on a flight will be subject to civil penalties based off of each fee issued.
The public has until October 8, 2024 to comment on the proposal via online submission, mail, fax or hand delivery.
To learn more details about the Department of Transportation’s proposal, see here.
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