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Airline Industry

Airlines tell parents to pay up or risk sitting rows away from their kids. That's wrong.

Airlines know how old every passenger is on their planes, including children. So why are families separated and why hasn't the government stepped in?

William J. McGee
Opinion contributor
Seat rows in an airplane cabin.

Have you ever had to plead with a fellow traveler to switch seats with you so that you could sit with your toddler after striking out with gate agents who were unable to assist?  Been asked to pay more than $100 in fees just to ensure that your family could sit in the same row on an airplane? Or found yourself seated next to a terrified child whose parents are three rows away?

As airlines have begun to charge passengers extra fees to choose seats or to board early, families are being confronted with fees just to sit together on the plane. And even those who pay those fees can find that their seat assignments changed before they arrived at the airport.

Three years ago, Congress acknowledged this as a serious problem and instructed the Department of Transportation to “review and, if appropriate, establish a policy” to ensure that children 13 and younger can sit adjacent to family members “to the maximum extent practicable and at no additional cost.”

To date, DOT has done virtually nothing to fix the problem. Its excuse? “Based on the low number of complaints received and review of airline family seating policies, the department determined that it was unnecessary to direct airlines to establish policies on family seating.” 

DOT took the words “if appropriate” in the law and turned them into a loophole big enough for a Boeing 737. And its statement simply doesn’t make sense.  

Separating parents and children

Through a Freedom of Information Act request Consumer Reports submitted, we have seen the complaints filed with the government. We received summaries of 136 complaints filed against dozens of U.S. and foreign airlines, with the majority lodged against the domestic Big Three and their marketing partners — American Airlines (35), United Airlines (30) and Delta Air Lines (17). 

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I read all 136 complaints, and I’m shocked at DOT’s conclusion. Consider these claims from consumers, and remember — all airline bookings today require passenger dates of birth:

►In two cases, United knowingly separated families traveling with 1-year-olds, in one case on a two-leg international itinerary. 

►In seven cases, 2-year-olds were seated separately from family, including on American, Delta, United and Spirit Airlines.

►In three cases, 3-year-olds were seated apart from family.

►A family on American with a 2-year-old and another child who suffers seizures found both kids seated separately (and their car seat was denied onboard even with a seat reservation).

►In three cases the separated children were autistic. 

Airlines have no plans, no solutions

It is hard to imagine how the Department of Transportation could read such complaints and determine it’s “unnecessary” to act. These testimonies make it clear the airlines’ internal systems break down at every phase of travel — during booking, check-in, boarding and even on the airplane — and the airlines have no plans to address the problem. 

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A recent FBI report on sexual assault on airlines — which found children as young as 8 have been assaulted — only further demonstrates that the risks to children sitting alone are simply too high. Furthermore, separated families pose a tremendous safety risk to all passengers during emergency evacuations.   

The airlines could easily fix this, but they haven’t. Doing so would mean forsaking revenue from millions of dollars in fees from parents who simply want to keep their kids safe. The Department of Transportation needs to step in, as Congress directed.  

If you have a complaint about airlines charging families to sit with their children, we encourage you to send your experience to Consumer Reports, where you can also submit the complaint to the Department of Transportation. 

You can also tell us your story about frustrating fees in general at our "What the Fee?!" page.

It’s not enough for DOT to merely echo airline industry platitudes about caring for families. It’s past time for the airlines — and our government — to demonstrate such concern.

William J. McGee is the aviation adviser for Consumer Reports. Follow him on Twitter: @WilliamJMcGee

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