Only three of 10 major U.S. airlines do not charge parents extra to sit with their young kids on a flight.
“Parents traveling with young kids should be able to sit together without an airline forcing them to pay junk fees,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “We have been pressing airlines to guarantee family seating without tacking on extra charges, and now we’re seeing some airlines start to make this common-sense change. All airlines should do this promptly, even as we move forward to develop a rule establishing this as a requirement across the board.
For the airlines, nickel and diming adds up. Last year, the worldwide airline industry brought in $103 billion by charging ancillary fees for things like checked bags, priority boarding and preferred seating, according to data from IdeaWorksCompany, a consultancy on ancillary revenue. Ahead of the DOT’s announcement, some airlines have made tweaks to their systems to be more accommodating to families. This month, United Airlines will begin using new technology to give parents or guardians accompanying a child younger than 12 access to “preferred” seats at the time of booking, as needed. But that falls short of earning a green checkmark.
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