At the beginning of the month, the United Kingdom’s government announced its move to ban airlines from charging parents and guardians additional fees to sit next to their children on flights.
On October 1, the country’s Department for Transport (DfT) published a press release about the regulation. The notice disclosed that under “new plans,” national airlines would have to seat parents and guardians with their children under age 14 for free. The department mentioned that fees for adults accompanying children are being “scrapped across airlines to help people with the cost of living.”
DfT highlighted that “Parents should not feel pressured to pay extra simply to sit beside their child – [as] currently, a parent and child could be charged up to £104 on a return journey.”
What Else Should Travelers Know About Additional Fees For Sitting Next To Their Children On Flights?
The U.K.’s family seating regulation is part of a broader rollout to support its jet-setters and improve air travel. The early October press release also said that under the new plans, travelers will be able to more easily fix name errors on their bookings without paying an extra fee. Additionally, the U.K. is moving forward with creating a database that formally documents unruly flyers’ behavior and shares information about them among airlines and the government.
“Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple,” noted U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham in the press release. “And being hit with a hefty fee for a simple spelling mistake on a booking form isn’t right either. People are fed up with these little charges that add up, so I’m putting a stop to them.”
According to the BBC, the regulations are associated with the pending national Civil Aviation Bill. The bill is reportedly awaiting royal assent, the final stage of the U.K.’s legislative process. The source also said that if the bill is ultimately approved, the changes will likely take effect by next summer.
The United States’ Department of Transportation says on its website that it “encourages all airlines to guarantee that young children are seated adjacent to an accompanying adult without charging any additional fee.” According to the department, U.S.-based airlines that don’t charge parents an additional fee to sit next to their children ages 13 and under include Alaska Airlines (and Hawaiian Airlines), American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and JetBlue Airways. Notably, those airlines are listed as upholding a “commitment for fee-free family seating,” though it is subject to conditions.
