The U.S. Department of Transportation, which two years ago decided it didn’t need to do anything to ensure families with young children are seated together on planes, is under new management and has agreed to take a second look.
Told by Congress two years ago to look into it, DOT concluded that no rules were needed to make sure children 13 and under sit next to a family member at no additional cost. DOT based its conclusion on the fact that less than 1/2% of the complaints it received were about that issue.
Consumer advocates have suggested that the low figure results from people either paying extra seat selection fees, or having had airline personnel take pity on them. It’s a problem that has only existed since airlines discovered they could make seat assignments another fee.
The advocates, including Charlie Leocha of Travelers United and Bill McGee of Consumer Reports, have argued that rules are needed not because of the number of incidents, but because of the seriousness of the issue, both for emotional and safety considerations.
Surprisingly, consumer advocates are not the only ones pushing DOT Secretary Buttegeig to move on the issue. They’ve been joined by Jay Sorenson, head of IdeaWorks, a company that advises airlines on how to increase their ancillary revenue. His view: “I am an advocate for ancillary revenue, but it needs to be ancillary revenue done smartly and correctly. Too often, in their rush for ancillary revenue, airlines are remiss in dotting every I and crossing every T.”
Sorenson pointed out that Ryanair, an airline known for squeezing every penny it can, has a policy that for each adult who purchases a seat assignment, the company allows free seat assignments for up to four children in the group.
