The Biden-Harris administration announced a new proposed rule that would prohibit airlines from charging families to sit together.
In a statement provided to PolitcusUSA, the Department of Transportation announced:
Today, the Biden-Harris administration proposed a new rule that would ban airlines from charging trash fees to family members flying together. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed rule would require airlines to seat parents next to their young children at no charge when adjacent seats are available at the time of reservation. Mandating free family seats would reduce the cost of flying with young children — if a seat costs $25, a family of four could save up to $200 per round trip. The Department of Transportation’s proposed ban on trash fees for family seats is part of President Biden’s administration-wide effort to combat corporate fraud that could unfairly raise prices for consumers.
For many families, sitting next to their children is not optional, especially when they are too young to feed themselves, buckle up, go to the toilet, and in some cases even communicate. Yet despite the critical importance of adjacent seats for young families, many airlines still force parents to choose between paying to lock in an assigned seat or risking being seated separately. These fees add up and actually increase the final cost of air transportation for many people
Families traveling with young children. Parents who decided not to pay the family seat waste fee were left in limbo over how to sit next to their children during the busy boarding process. This could cause problems for other passengers on the flight. Once on board, airlines may ask these passengers to “voluntarily” abandon boarding
They may have paid for their seats in advance and moved to less desirable seats so parents and children could sit together. If passengers choose not to swap seats, they may be seated next to an unsupervised child, causing stress for the child, parents and surrounding passengers.
Second. “Many airlines still don’t guarantee family seating, which means parents are left wondering if they need to pay extra to sit with their young children,” said Pete Buttigieg of the Transportation Department. “Flying with children is complicated enough without “The new rules we are proposing today would prohibit airlines from charging parents to sit with their children, another step in the Biden-Harris administration’s effort to use every tool at our disposal to lower costs for families and protect children. Example. Consumer protection from unfair practices.
Family seat fees are a way for airlines to extort passengers
Flying is expensive, and one way travel becomes more expensive is for airlines to extort things from travelers such as wanting to sit with small children. When families can sit together, it’s a better and safer travel experience for everyone on the plane.
Parents should not have to pay more to take care of their children on the plane.
Garbage fees were one of the biggest issues in the massive deregulation pushed by Republicans and Democrats like Bill Clinton in the 1980s and 1990s. The effort to make people’s lives better and easier continues, and that work is expected to continue if Vice President Harris wins the November election.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association
