Does Delta let families board first?

Delta Air Lines: Families with car seats or strollers can board before first-class and elite members.



Delta Air Lines does not have a formal "Family Boarding" group that goes before everyone else, unlike Southwest or United. Instead, Delta typically invites passengers with car seats or strollers to board during the "Pre-boarding" or "Early Access" phase. For families without these large items, Delta’s policy is to board within their assigned zones (Zone 1–8). In 2026, Delta focuses more on "Family Seating" than boarding priority; their algorithms attempt to seat families with children under 13 together automatically. If you are traveling as a family, it is recommended to check in as early as possible to ensure your group is in an earlier boarding zone, or to use the Fly Delta app to request assistance if your seats are separated, as they no longer guarantee early boarding purely based on the presence of children.

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Family Seating Policy Delta strives to seat family members together upon request. If you are unable to obtain seat assignments together for your family using delta.com or the Fly Delta mobile app, please contact Reservations to review available seating options.

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Getting the top levels of priority boarding is reserved for the most frequent flyers, active military members and higher fare class. You can also board early by being an AAdvantage card member. However, if you prefer other airlines, look for other travel cards that offer priority boarding and compare your options.

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All passengers flying in a premium cabin get priority boarding. But the group you'll be assigned to depends on which class of service you're flying. Passengers in the front cabin board with Group 1.

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On most major airlines, kids must be at least five years old to fly alone, yet recently, infants as young as 11 months have been seated away from their parents.

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The first zone to board after passengers called for preboarding is first class or Delta One. Delta's top Diamond Medallion tier is the next group to board (unless the Diamond Medallion members were seated in the premium cabin). How many boarding zones are in the Delta boarding order?

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It's technically limited to one adult traveling with a child six years old or younger, but some agents allow multiple family members to board together at that time. Preboarding is for passengers with a disability that have specific seating needs and/or need assistance in boarding the aircraft.

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The most common reason for denied boarding is overbooking. This is when airlines sell more tickets than there are seats on the aircraft. The reason for this common practice is so-called 'no-shows'.

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Families with children under 2 years old can ask to board early at the gate.

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Can my baby and I board the aircraft first? If you're travelling with a young child or baby, priority boarding is certainly a good idea and a very useful service. Priority boarding allows you to board the aircraft first and settle your little ones instead of clamouring on board as part of a bustling crowd.

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Most U.S. airlines will permit children who have reached their fifth birthday to travel unaccompanied. Kids ages 5 through 11 who are flying alone must usually travel pursuant to special “unaccompanied minor” procedures. On some airlines, these procedures are required for unaccompanied children as old as 14.

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In fact, most regular airlines now charge for seat selection anyways. It's often around $10-$30 per seat per flight segment, so if you cave in and pay for that, it can add up quickly. You shouldn't do it. No matter which airline you're flying on, don't ever pay to select a seat.

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If you want a window seat, then suppose you choose from left to right (looking toward plane's nose): kid, kid, parent (aisle), parent (aisle). if in the middle then it's parent, kiddo, kiddo, parent. Mirror image it if you want the other side of the plane.

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The crux of the issue is that it can be costly and confusing to find seats together when traveling with young kids. Some parents assume they will automatically be seated with their kids. Others may end up separated from their families if they are rebooked due to a cancellation.

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With most airlines, if you DON'T pay and just check in online as early as you can, you WILL get to sit with the rest of your group – as long as seats are still available. All of the major airlines bar Ryanair told us their seat allocation systems will always try to seat groups on the same booking together.

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You can add Priority Boarding to your trip to get an earlier boarding group. If you add Premier Access to your trip you get Priority Boarding automatically and you get access to faster check-in and security lines.

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