Everything with air travel feels like it comes with an added cost, and booking seats together can often be an extra financial burden just for the basic convenience of sitting with loved ones. Lately, parents have been burdened by young kids being assigned seats far away from their caregivers, meaning little ones may be unattended on a flight. There's no guarantee of seat switching, and the extra cost to secure a row of seats for a family isn't always feasible.
Some airlines have listened to young families' complaints and are updating policies to ensure that families are seated together. "In an era where more families are working in a hybrid environment, they're traveling more often,” United Airlines’ Chief Customer Officer Linda Jojo said in a statement. “We're focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents and know it often starts with the right seat.”
United is just one of several major airlines committed to securing kids a seat alongside their guardians. In late February, United released a new dynamic seat map, which allows families traveling with kids under 12 years old the ability to book a group of seats in basic economy, economy, and preferred seats. Should adjacent seats not be available, whether it's a last-minute booking, full flights or unscheduled aircraft change, United's updated family policy lets customers switch to a flight to the same destination, for free, so families can enjoy adjacent seat availability in the same cabin.
Frontier Airlines also has a new commitment to keeping traveling families together. On Frontier, at least one parent will automatically be seated with any children under the age of 14.
And while these new policies signify progress for family travel, many major airlines have yet to update policies on family seating. JetBlue's website states, "We will always do our best to seat children with an adult family member," but that doesn't guarantee group seating.
American Airlines offers no such promise, nor does
Delta,
Alaska Airlines, or
Southwest.
These policies impact all passengers, not just families. Few travelers want to provide ad hoc in-flight childcare to kids separated from their adults, and many travelers don't want to change their pre-selected (and maybe even pre-paid) seats during boarding.
