Why do airlines split up families?

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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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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The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which regulates aviation safety in the UK, doesn't have any specific rules about seating families together but it does recommend that the seating of children close by their parents or guardians should be the aim of airline seat allocation for family groups.

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Ryanair says if a person doesn't pay for their seat assignment, they are “randomly” assigned, which may result in them not sitting with their party. But the CAA found that when a passenger flies Ryanair, as compared to other airlines, the likelihood of being separated from their party doubled.

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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. Regardless of the reason, airlines are not legally required to seat families together.

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Tammy Nelson was flying on Delta Airlines from Cincinnati, Ohio, to San Jose, California, when she was asked to swap seats with a woman who wanted to sit next to her two children.

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Whilst our seating system will always try to seat families together, seats are allocated on a first come first served basis so the earlier you check in the more likely you are to be seated 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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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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Children traveling with grandparents, cousins, other relatives, or school groups will need to have a signed document, such as a Child Travel Consent, allowing them to travel without a parent or legal guardian.

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Depending on their ages and which airline you have chosen, some airlines invite families to board in front of everybody else, while others allow those with kids to slide in somewhere between elite passengers and regular coach-flying folk.

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While we will try to seat your group together, we cannot always guarantee it, particularly if your group travel is split across separate bookings. To ensure your group is seated together, or if you would like specific seats, you can pay to reserve your seats in advance (for groups booked in the UK and Ireland only).

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We always aim to seat families together, but we might not be able to do so because of seat availability and your specific requirements. There are several options available to you, from paid seat selection and bringing your own car seats to using our bassinets or seatbelt extensions.

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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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After takeoff, passengers are free to move about the cabin without fear of disrupting critical weight distribution. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's OK to take over empty seats without warning.

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When a flight has more passengers who are ready to fly than there are seats available, airlines must first ask passengers to give up their seats voluntarily, in exchange for compensation, before bumping anyone involuntarily. Airlines may offer passengers incentives, such as money or vouchers, to volunteer.

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Yes, but MAKING you switch seats instead of ASKING you to do so is possible only when flight safety is a real concern. Actually yes. If you are a disabled person sitting at an emergency exit, you're gonna switch seat. If you are too fat and sitting at an emergency window, you have to move.

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