FAMILY SEATING
policies YOU should KNOW
"On February 1, 2023, Secretary Buttigieg announced the Department's plan to launch a dashboard that displays which airlines guarantee family seating. Since then, some airlines have stepped up to guarantee adjacent seats for young children traveling with an accompanying adult at no additional cost. While this represents significant progress, USDOT is not stopping here. Secretary Buttigieg recently submitted to Congress a legislative proposal to require that airlines provide fee-free family seating." - Transporation.Gov
I've gathered our domestic family seating policies in one place, so you can decide which airline works best for your family. I always encourage caregivers to pay for assigned seating.
HOW I PERSONALLY FEEL ABOUT EACH AIRLINE POLICY...
Alaska Allegiant American Delta Frontier Hawaiian JetBlue Southwest Spirit United
WHAT THE POLICIES ACTUALLY ARE ...
✈️ @Alaskaair
“We guarantee that children 13 and under will be seated next to at least one accompanying adult at no additional cost, including for Saver fares”
✈️ @Allegiant
“While we will do our best to accommodate families, the availability of seats together cannot be guaranteed. To ensure that your party is seated together, we recommend reserving seats when you book your travel, or by logging in to Manage Travel or during online or mobile check in.”
✈️ @Americanair
“If you’re a family traveling with children under 15, and do not already have seats assigned, our system will search for seats together automatically before the day of departure. We’ll try our best to keep you together, but if seats are limited, we’ll assign seats so children under 15 are next to at least 1 adult”
✈️ @Delta
“Delta strives to seat family members together upon request. If you are unable to obtain seat assignments together for your family using delta.com or the Fly Delta mobile app, please contact Reservations to review available seating options.”
✈️ @Flyfrontier
“When flying Frontier, at least one parent will automatically be seated with any children within their family group who are under the age of 14. At no additional charge, the airline automatically assigns seats based on family members’ ages before the check-in window opens.”
✈️ @Hawaiianair
“We'll do our best to seat children under age 14 with an accompanying family member. Select your own seats as far in advance as possible by logging in to My Trips..”
✈️ @Jetblue
“We will always do our best to seat children with an adult family member. For the best seating options, we recommend booking early and selecting seat assignments at the time of booking or with a reservation crewmember (third party service fees may apply). If seats together are not available, please let our airport gate crewmembers know when you arrive at the airport. They will do their best to find a seating solution. We cannot guarantee that seats together will always be available.”
“Up to two adults traveling with a child six years old or younger may board during Family Boarding, which occurs after the “A” group has boarded and before the “B” group begins boarding. Southwest will endeavor to seat a child next to one accompanying passenger (14 and older) to the maximum extent practicable and at no additional cost”
✈️ @Spirit
“Spirit will randomly assign you a seat at check-in for free, but we can't guarantee that you'll get to sit with your friends or family. If Guests with children aged 13 and under do not opt to pre-select seats at the time of booking, our gate agents and Flight Attendants will work to provide adjacent seats when possible. ”
✈️ @United
“If you’re flying with children under 12, we have new tools that make it easier for them to sit next to an adult in your party for free. This includes families who have Basic Economy tickets. If seats next to each other aren’t available on your flight because of last minute bookings or unscheduled aircraft changes, you can switch to another flight with availability in the same cabin for free and won’t be charged for the difference in fare.”
What Our Clients Say
Did you know?
Although children can fly for free as an "in-lap" infant until 2 years of age, it is safer to put them in their carseat on the airplane.