For families hoping to sit together without paying (even) more for airfare, see below for each airline's family seating policy.
Alaska Airlines
In March 2023, the Seattle-based carrier promised that families would sit together as part of its long-standing policy. The child (13 and under) and accompanying adult must be booked on the same reservation and in the same class on an aircraft with a layout that allows for adjacent seating. This applies to all classes, including Saver.
Allegiant
Allegiant tells Traveler they do not charge for children under 13 to sit next to a parent or guardian. “Though we can’t assign the seating at the time of booking, we do have several layers built into the check-in and boarding process to ensure that happens,” a spokesperson for the carrier says. Kids will normally be assigned the adjacent seats for no cost during check-in, and if they aren’t, they can talk to the agent at the counter. If they’re still not together upon boarding, flight attendants can also help. Families are recommended to check in 24 hours before departure.
“We find that family seating is not an issue for our customers, so we don’t intend to make adjustments to our policy at this time,” the spokesperson says. Seat selection, which ranges from $0 to $80, can be purchased ahead of time for those that prefer the peace of mind or a certain seat.
American Airlines
Chicago-based American Airlines led the pack with family-friendly bookings last year, with Buttigieg tweeting in February 2023, “I appreciate American Airlines becoming the first US airline to commit to putting this guarantee in its customer service plan.”
While the new DOT proposal calls for children to be 13 and under, American's policy one-ups by including those 14 and under in all its classes, including Basic Economy.
Delta
The biggest US airline to not have a set rule, the family seating section on Delta's website simply says, “Delta strives to seat family members together upon request.” If the arrangements can’t be made on the site or app, the carrier suggests calling. The company did not respond to a request for comment on the DOT proposal.
Frontier
Like American, Frontier’s policy for fee-free family seating also applies to children 14 and under. In fact, the Denver-based company will automatically assign the grouped seats based on ages as soon as possible, before the check-in window opens.
Hawaiian
A rep forHawaiian Airsays, “We offer advanced seat selection at no charge to allow families to travel together.”According to their website, this applies to children under 14 with an accompanying adult. If adjacent seats aren’t assigned, the airline suggests asking at the airport.
Jet Blue
Last September, the New York-based carrier introduced its family seating guarantee for kids 13 and under, including for basic economy. Bookings made within 24 hours may require an agent to manually assign the seats.
Southwest
With its open-seating policy, family seating has been less of an issue on Southwest, especially with the airline allowing up to two adults traveling with a child six or younger to board during its Family Boarding time, between groups A and B. “There should be enough open seats to enable the child to sit next to at least one accompanying adult,” the Dallas-based airline’s policy says. Additionally, the airline will make efforts to seat at least one adult next to kids ages 7 to 13.
That said, with the recent announcement that Southwest will start seat assignments in 2025, it's unclear how the carrier will adjust its family seating policy going forward. The airline is currently reviewing the proposed DOT rule, a representative for Southwest tells Traveler.
Spirit
Spirit randomly assigns seating at check-in for free, but that won’t guarantee families will stick together. They encourage adults traveling with those 13 and under to pre-select seats, which can start at $5, but can climb as high as $200, according to Nerdwallet. The airline did not respond to a request for comment.
United
Technically speaking, United is not one of the four airlines complying with the DOT’s request to allow children to sit together, as reflected in the dashboard. But that’s because their policy is off by one year, only applying to children 12 and under. However, United's online seat engine will review all economy seat options and then offer complimentary upgrades if needed to keep families seated together, according to a policy announced last February.
