United Airlines has improved its family seating policy to makes it easier for children under 12 to sit next to an adult in their party for free, including customers who buy Basic Economy tickets.
The US carrier said the new policy is thanks to investments in a new online seat map feature that dynamically finds available adjacent seats at the time of booking.
Customers travelling with children under 12 will start to see more adjacent seat options immediately and the complete policy change will go into effect in early March.
When adjacent seats are not available before travel – due to factors such as last-minute bookings, full flights or unscheduled aircraft changes – United’s new policy also lets customers switch for free to a flight to the same destination with adjacent seat availability in the same cabin.
Customers also won’t be charged if there is a difference in fare price between the original and new flight.
More: United Airlines appoints new UK and Ireland sales director
Linda Jojo, chief customer officer for United, said: “We’re focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents and know it often starts with the right seat. We look forward to rolling out more family-friendly features this year.”
The carrier said many other airlines use a more manual process to seat families together that can include blocking random seats or asking agents to arrange seat swaps at the gate. “Those circumstances often result in more stress and a longer boarding process for everyone,” said the airline.
The policy does not include United Polaris, United First Class or Economy Plus seats.
The issue of airlines charging for families to be seated together on flights has hit the headlines in the US after president Joe Biden spoke about them in his State of the Union address earlier this month.
A bid to outlaw such fees is included in the White House’s plans for the Junk Fee Prevention Act.
The White House said: “Many airlines today charge a fee to select a seat in advance, including for those travelling with children. Parents can find themselves unexpectedly not seated with their young child on a flight or paying large fees to sit next to their children.
“The President believes no parent should have to pay extra to sit next to their child.”