U.S. proposes ban on airline fees for seating parents next to kids

13 only? I'd like that option all the way to 18. 1) 14 year olds can be harassed or taken advantage of. 2) If I'm legally responsible for their behavior, I want to be nearby.

Between this and the airbag thing, the USA just continues to blow my mind like, "Just when you couldn't think they couldn't be second-class citizens any more..... BAM!!! Here's some shit developed nations didn't even consider could be a thing."

We'd send aid, but with that GDP, just assumed everyone super rich. You're all super rich, right? Well looked after? Healthy? Educated?... Aight I'll stop.

You're all (mostly) actually really nice people and don't deserve this shit. Excellent huggers too.

Glad you qualified it with "mostly." I hate this hell hole and can't wait to leave.
- Just curious: Where do you plan on going?
- Mostly is a bit generous, honestly.
The first story eh
- Yinz gettin yer ahrbahs torn aht, what jagoffs.

I give it about 4 minutes before airlines add a completely unrelated fee and a credit for not picking seats.

put a ban on rubbish fees to pick your seats all together

So I don't get all this. Everything I buy tickets, I choose my seats unless I fly southwest. And even they are going to move to assigned seats.
Is this a new thing that you don't get to pick your seats on some airlines? And if so, do they not seat everyone in your reservation together?

You've never flown budget airlines like Frontier, Spirit then. They'll charge you $20-$100 to pick seats (per seat)
And also even on mainline carriers like American/Delta with Basic Economy fares they do much the same
- Even now on a major like Delta: pay to pick a seat. Pay more to sit next to your kid
So I don’t get all this. Everything I buy tickets, I choose my seats unless I fly southwest. And even they are going to move to assigned seats.
At least when my kids were young, you'd have to pay extra to pick a seat, at least if you purchased through Expedia or Travelocity.
And if so, do they not seat everyone in your reservation together?
You know how you print your boarding pass and it has your seats? When my kids were young on multiple trips via United, AA and Delta, the boarding pass would not have a seat assignment and we'd have to go the gate agent at every gate, even on the same airline if it was not a direct flight and get our seats assigned last minute. So no, we weren't always seated together. On one flight, none of us were in the same row with anyone in our family.
Since we were scraping by back then we always booked months in advance for cheaper tickets. I thought originally it was a fluke with just United but after the next trip, I had learned to pay extra and pick seats ahead of time.
- That has to be seriously outdated before digital tickets. I’ve been flying United with kids for 16 years and haven’t had to pay extra to pick seats.
Seat selections are extra most of the time. If I'm traveling on a budget the cost of the seat is the same as a meal so I don't pick it
The worst offender is Turkish airlines that charges $40 per person per leg of trip, so I'd need to pay $160 to pick seats for my upcoming trip to SEA
Lately, airlines tend to separate travellers who reserve together, probably so they'll spend extra to change seats.
Do you have a source on SW moving to assigned seats? That’s devastating news to me :(
- Early next year.
  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southwest-seating-change-what-it-means/
  There's hundreds of stories on this, not sure what the best news source is for this info, but there's a ton.
- Southwest Airlines plans to start assigning seats, breaking with a 50-year tradition

Inb4 the airline companies cry "Chevron" and the Supreme Court gets to ~~decide~~ strike it down.

That's not what the Chevron doctrine was. The Chevron doctrine stated that courts should defer to agency interpretations of the law.

If they don't have this instituted already, if I were a parent, I'd say "Yeah, ok. You can keep me not seated with my kid. But what are you going ho do when they start crying, and kicking and punching because they're in an unfirmiliar environment, surrounded by strangers, with no firmiliar faces? How are YOU going to calm my kids down? Because you're saying right now that you're taking away MY ability to do so, so then it just becomes YOUR legal responsibility who he hits, or kicks, or bites, because he's scared. Because what are YOU going to do? Smack a kid? You think you could calm him down without violence? The whole reason he's scared is because planes are scary, and strangers are scary. You think you, a stranger, will in any way help the situation? Oh, you just found seats together for us? Yeah. I thought so."

Yeah they're real annoying at 15.
I've flown with a 2 and 3 year old on budget airlines. And just not booked seats because. They legally can't separate toddlers from parents. Every time they just seat us in the back all 4 together.

Makes sense. Otherwise, the flight attendants end up having to ask for volunteers to play musical chairs to make sure they have a place to sit together.

On flights with sufficient seating, I’ve seen families shuffle themselves around to find seating together. Glad there will be a better way to do this now

Biden ordered the FAA to tell airlines to not charge to seat families with young kids together. This was respected by most airlines, but not all, I think. Alaska Airlines, at least, was good about it, but it was annoying since you always had to do it at the gate and was subject to availability.

Mayor Pete, doing good work here.

I'd pay not to sit next to kids.

Maybe that's the route they should take. Doesn't even matter if you're a parent, perhaps you're just sick of the little shits

You mean you dont enjoy getting your seat kicked while listening to wailing for hours in a cramped cabin?
I would pay so much money for "no children allowed" flights.

airlines would be required to seat parents and kids 13 and younger together free of charge when adjacent seating is available at booking.

They should even go further and require to move other passengers if neccessary, so that the families can sit together always, no matter what.

- Don't airlines usually charge a bit extra to pick your own seat? I'd imagine/hope that there are enough people selecting the cheaper "whatever" option that they're going to bump one of those.
Nah, that ain't it. If I book my seat and then find out that I got moved for a kid, I'll be pretty annoyed.
What happens when the only way to seat a family together is to break up another family. What if you need to separate a couple who is engaged and traveling together?
- I would be sad if my wife and I got split up to accommodate a parent and child. But we'd get over it because we're adults and the parent/child need adjacent seats more than we do.
- Would that couple want to sit next to an unattended child bc the airline refused to keep the family together?
- What happens when the only way to seat a family together is to break up another family.
  Then their software may be clueless, so it needs some Natural Intelligence [tm], and maybe even an experienced person to solve that.
  I am sure there will be a way. Most planes can carry more than 2 families.
  What if you need to separate a couple who is engaged and traveling together?
  They are going to survive ;-)
  No problem at all.
- Settle it in the Thunderdome!
- separate a couple who is engaged and traveling together?
  we call those people adults and understand that they have less requirements than children.
I agree to an extent. It would be beneficial if they could book any AVAILABLE seats together for free. This practice should be standard for everyone.
being surrounded by entitled twat passengers who think the world is obliged to accommodate them is one of many many reasons i refuse to ever fly again
Why? Can people not sit apart for a few hours? I agree with no charging but moving because you didn’t book in advance with enough time to sit together shouldn’t result in others being inconvenienced.
- People...as in children? you want a toddler to sit by themselves for a few hours?
Disagree. I have a four year old and have flown with them. I made it a point to select for seat reservations when booking everything. That’s my responsibility and someone else shouldn’t lose their selected seat because I planned poorly.
I’m not entitled to someone else’s seat.
Do not move my fucking seat without my consent. I booked early to make certain I could have it. The families can take another flight. Fucking hell. Flying is miserable enough already without being shuffled into a middle seat because of someone else's problem.

Why is this something that needs to be mandatory by law? Some airlines voluntary do it, and there is usually more than one airline to choose from unless you're flying to a really small airport. Recently I flew on an airline that charged $50 for carry-on luggage (I didn't bring any because it was cheaper to buy new clothing when I arrived) and $5 for a glass of water. I deliberately chose this airline because it was the cheapest. I like having the "lowest price but we deliberately treat you like shit" option available if the alternative is paying even a little more and apparently lots of other people do too. I don't want to lose it.

Next stop, you'll be defending having the option of "even cheaper but they may have skipped some security and safety checks on the plane"... I DoNT waNT tO LOse iT!
- Possibly I would defend that option. Flying is so safe that even a large increase in relative risk corresponds to a tiny increase in absolute risk. Absolute risk rather than relative risk is what matters to me, so maybe I would choose to fly on an airline that was, say, twice as dangerous in order to save fifty bucks. I suspect that the FAA prioritizes safety over cost savings significantly more than most consumers would if given the choice.
  (And I might even pay more to fly on an airline with reduced security.)