The news headlines today are good for many, as United Airlines plans to introduce a new feature that will allow a family with kids under 12 to find seats together without any additional fees.

The airline announced on Monday, emphasizing some of the best features, such as the basic economy ticket and a new seat map feature will locate anemically available adjacent economy seats during the booking process. It will also introduce and make available complementary upgrades to other seats as needed.

If there is a circumstance where the side-by-side seats are unavailable, customers can switch to another flight to reach their destination with the seats of their choice in the same cabin without paying additional fees. The fare difference will not be charged to the customers in such scenarios.

The new change, a better relief

CEO Scott Kirby of United Airlines acknowledged the customers facing the issue during family seating and adjustments. In an interview, he told the media that, as a father of seven, he understands the concerns of parents who see children sitting in the opposite corner of planes.

With such a policy, United can reduce people’s stress that usually comes during the up-front process. If you want to book the tickets and know what seats you want, you don’t have to wait for them at the airport. You can get the seats of your choice through a hassle-free process. However, the new family seating policy does not apply to the United Polaris, Economy Plus, or First Class seats.

There are different adjacent seating options that United Airlines will make available soon. The entire policy change will be in effect beginning in early March. US airline customers have raised seating issues, as they often don’t get to sit with their young kids. They further added that the price related to purchasing a seat to sit together has been there, but the satisfaction of seating in comfort has never been there.

Considering such government efforts, President Biden has decided to lessen the fees in the State of the Union while touting the act of junk fee prevention, which would target resort fees and concert ticket fees, to name some.

Biden made a statement that baggage fees are already high and that it is unfair to treat the child like a piece of luggage. Last year, the Department of Transportation praised US airlines’ policy for allowing adults to save money while still being able to sit next to their children.

Even the team of advocates for the American Economic Liberties Project appreciated President Biden’s take on the issue and stated that the government must take this policy seriously to end the problem of family seating permanently.

In response to this policy, a senior aviation and travel executive, William McGee, stated that under intense scrutiny, United has now publicly acknowledged family seating as a problem. This has been a problem for a long time, and other US carriers have yet to accept it. He feels that such voluntary actions by United Airlines are well justified and can prove helpful to some extent.

Conclusion:

With this news headline today being the highlight, people are also hoping that the government will also bring about a permanent change in their regulations to deal with the seating issues.