United Airlines has adjusted its seating policy to better accommodate families traveling with young children.
The Chicago-based airline announced Monday that it had altered its family seating policy to make it easier for children under 12 to sit next to an accompanying adult. The benefit will apply to customers who purchase a Basic Economy ticket, the airline said in a press release.
Under the new policy, United Airlines customers would be able to choose their plane seats using a dynamic online tool designed to identify and locate adjacent seating during booking.
United’s online seat-map tool “first reviews all available free Economy seats and then opens complimentary upgrades to available Preferred Seats, if needed,” according to a description of the new seat map feature.
In the case of a last-minute booking, full flights, or unscheduled aircraft changes where adjacent seats are unavailable, United says its new policy would allow customers to swap out their scheduled flights for an identical trip with available same-cabin seating. If the price fare between the two flights is unequal, United customers will not be charged a fee for the difference.
United is “focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents,” which typically begins with the right seating arrangement, said Linda Jojo, chief customer officer for United, in the press release.
“In an era where more families are working in a hybrid environment, they’re traveling more often,” and United Airlines looks forward to being able to roll out more “family-friendly features” that better accommodate this group of travelers, Jojo said.
Although United Airlines said that its policy update was “made possible through a series of investments in a new seat map feature,” recent pushback from lawmakers and regulators over the industry’s “junk fees” and poor customer service practices suggest otherwise, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Last summer, The U.S. Transportation Department sent out a notice encouraging U.S. airlines to have policies that enable children 13 years old or younger to be seated adjacent to an accompanying adult.
President Biden has also directed criticism toward the airlines regarding their fees and practices.
“We’ll prohibit airlines from charging $50 round trip for a family just to be able to sit together,” President Biden said during the State of the Union. “Baggage fees are bad enough. Airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage,” he said.
Changes to United’s family seating policy will go into full effect beginning in early March, according to the press release. In the meantime, United customers with children under 12 will see an immediate boost in available seating.