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Why do airlines charge to sit together?

In order to provide “budget-airline-like experience, but on a full-service airline,” seat selection became a premium perk, requiring extra fees to secure choice seats. “Families traveling with young kids weren't exempted from this requirement,” Keyes says.



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If you want absolute certainty that you'll be able to sit together as a group on a flight, then paying for seats will usually be your best option. However, a few airlines will let groups sit together on a flight for free.

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Just say no. Within 24 hours of your departure, the airline will assign you a seat. Pro tip: If you want to avoid paying for a seat assignment, arrive at the airport early. That way, you'll have the pick of the unassigned seats.

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Speak with an agent If you don't heed our advice and find yourself at the airport with a less-than-desirable boarding group, Southwest advises that you speak with a gate agent or flight attendant. They will see if any passengers are willing to move to accommodate your family if you aren't able to get seats together.

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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 general, obese passengers on airlines who require a seatbelt extender and/or cannot lower the armrests between seats are asked to pay for a second seat on their flight, unless there are two empty seats together somewhere on the plane. Special size passengers have little to no choice when it comes to this rule.

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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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Seat details You can choose a specific seat at any time for a fee (complimentary for AAdvantage® members based on your status). Otherwise, seats will be automatically assigned for free at check-in. We can't guarantee that you'll be seated together.

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A seat selection fee allows you to reserve a seat in your class of service. Each airline ticket comes with a confirmed seat, but if you want to choose your seat location, most domestic airlines will charge an additional fee.

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Ask the gate agent for help.
If your flight isn't completely full, the gate agent may be able to make last-minute adjustments to the seating chart to allow you and your companion to sit next to one another.

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Round-trip tickets are usually cheaper than one-ways, sometimes significantly so. NerdWallet compared fares across multiple international routes and found that, typically, buying two one-way tickets costs 20% more than a single roundtrip.

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Airlines could reduce the amount of fees your group pays or give you a free ticket for every 15 or 30 you purchase. These could amount to a lower overall cost than booking individually.

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Seats are usually 3 in a row, but sometimes 4. I haven't flown many different planes, but on my last trip when I was around 350, I chose an aisle seat, so I could put the arm rest up and have a bit more room to uh.. 'spread into'? But honestly since it'll be the 3 of you, you should be absolutely fine.

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How fat is too fat to fly? Even though there are no weight limits for fat passengers, there are normally three basic requirements for flying while overweight: Passengers must be able to sit with both armrests down. Passengers must be able to buckle their seatbelts.

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There is no legal weight limit for passengers on U.S. commercial flights but some airlines such as Southwest ask customers who cannot fit into one seat to book two. It says if a passenger cannot lower the armrests on one set they must buy another - whatever they weigh.

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A parent who purchases airline tickets for a family should receive a guarantee from the airline that it will seat the parent and child together without fees or a last-minute scramble at the gate or having to ask other passengers to give up their seat to allow the parent and child to sit together.

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An adult must take the child to the departure gate and stay until the flight is airborne. When you get to the gate, tell the gate agent you have an unaccompanied minor traveling on the flight. We'll board your child early so they can meet the flight crew and learn about the plane's safety features.

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