The United States Department of Transportation has issued a online control panel The second allows passengers to see which airlines guarantee free family seats. This is the latest initiative by the Biden administration to push for more consumer protections in the airline industry.
So far, only three airlines – Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and Frontier Airlines – have guaranteed seats for the family at no extra charge.
Families can now use the dashboard to see which airlines guarantee family seats without charging children 13 and under, with a green checkmark indicating that the airline that airline meets the requirements of the DOT. Currently, the majority of US airlines have a red “X” on their dashboards, meaning they don’t meet the requirement.
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The dashboard can now also influence which airline families should book. Securing seats together is a hassle, with seat assignment fees sometimes forcing families to spend hundreds of dollars to make sure they can sit next to their little one.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “Parents traveling with young children can sit together without the airline forcing them to pay a garbage fee. “We’ve been pressing airlines to secure seats for families at no extra charge, and now we’re seeing some airlines starting to make this change to common sense.”
In order for an airline to receive a green check mark on the dashboard, that airline must ensure that a parent can sit next to a child 13 years of age or younger for free if adjacent seats are available at the time of ticket booking. According to the department, the airline must also include securing a seat for the family in its customer service plan, so that it can be stopped by USDOT enforcement if they fail to deliver.
The family seating panel comes after the DOT initiated a four-month review that found no major US airlines would guarantee seating for families in their customer service plans. after a notice issued by the DOT in July that said airlines must ensure children 13 years of age and younger are seated next to at least one accompanying adult. DOT hopes the panel will pressure airlines to revise their family seating policies.
Since President Joe Biden airlines are blamed In his State of the Union address charging what his administration considers an exorbitant ancillary fees for services such as checked baggage and seating, family seating has become a hot topic in the industry. air.
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unified airline the title was recently made to amend the family seating policy, allowing families with children under 12 years old to sit together for free in certain cabins. However, United’s policy does not currently meet the requirements of the DOT. A spokesman for United said the airline did not plan to make any changes to the policy in the future, adding that it believed it was the only airline to publicly commit to children sitting next to their fathers. mother at the time of booking.
border suitable for right after United, but because Frontier’s policy extends to children under 14, it can meet DOT requirements. American policy also covers children under the age of 14.
Alaska ensures that children 13 years of age and younger can sit next to an accompanying adult at no additional charge.
However, some airlines have rejected the notion that they do not meet the new requirements on the DOT dashboard. A Delta Air Lines spokesperson said the airline has a policy in place to ensure children 13 and under can sit next to a family member or accompanying adult. At ultra-low-cost airline Allegiant, a spokesman described the DOT line’s dashboard as “misleading”, saying it was the airline’s policy to always have children seated next to a parent or guardian during the flight. fly.
Southwest Airlines says it never charges extra fees for children to sit next to a parent or guardian, and it offers family boarding, allowing families with children 6 years and younger to travel up flights between groups A and B. For children ages 7 and up, a Southwest spokesperson said parents can ask flight attendants to help find an adjacent seat.
In addition to the dashboard, the DOT said it is also working to implement a rule that requires airlines to seat small children next to an accompanying adult. The Biden administration also plans to send legislation related to the issue to Congress in the coming weeks.
