Biden admin proposes free family seating mandate for airlines

The Biden administration proposed a new rule Thursday that would require airlines to seat parents next to their young children for free.

The proposal would bar airlines from charging fees for parents to sit next to their children under 13. If adjacent seats are not available, airlines would be required to offer a full refund or free rebooking.

“The idea that parents ought to be seated next to their own children on a flight is common sense and also seems like something that ought to be standard practice,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a call with reporters Monday.

“As somebody who has personally experienced flying with toddlers, as my husband and I have taken our two-year-old twins on trips many times, families don't need any additional stresses or costs when flying,” he added.

Seating fees can raise the cost of air travel for families with children, who may be too young to feed themselves or go to the bathroom on their own, a press release from the Department of Transportation noted.

Other passengers may also be asked to give up seats that they paid for in advance to accommodate families.

“When those scenarios arise, it's not fair to anyone on board – the parents, the children, the other passengers – and it puts onboard flight crew in a difficult position too,” Buttigieg said.

The proposal follows similar efforts from the Biden administration to crack down on so-called “junk fees” in the airline industry. 

In April, the Department of Transportation finalized two rules requiring airlines to offer automatic refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights and to share fees for checked or carry-on bags and changing or canceling reservations upfront.

However, a coalition of major airlines sued the administration over the fee disclosure rule in May, arguing that it would confuse customers who would be inundated with information during the buying process.

A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the rule on Monday, finding that it likely exceeded the agency’s authority and would “irreparably harm" the airlines.