Following Southwest Airlines’ quiet expansion of family boarding on some flights to allow families to board together with children up to 13 years old, the Biden administration is looking to expedite banning fees altogether for family members to sit together with young children on planes.
“Parents can find themselves unexpectedly not seated with their young child on a flight or paying large fees to sit next to their children,” the White House said in a statement Feb.1. “The President believes no parent should have to pay extra to sit next to their child.”
Most airlines charge travelers to select seats in advance when flying with certain fare types, which is the only way to guarantee seats together in these cases.
Even if your fare type includes complimentary seat selection, whether a couple could find two seats together, let alone three or more for a family, depends on the number of seats available at the time of booking.
