{"id":513,"date":"2019-10-01T09:25:19","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T09:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/?p=513"},"modified":"2019-10-01T09:25:19","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T09:25:19","slug":"can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With the rise of basic economy and budget airline models that charge extra for seat selection, it\u2019s become a lot harder for groups, but especially families with kids, to secure seats next to each other. And that\u2019s a sore spot for many parents who travel: Once a child is above two years old, they\u2019re typically no longer considered a lap-seat infant. And of course, small children want to be with their parents\u2014so should you have to pay more just because you\u2019re a family if not enough free, consecutive seats are left? Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but the problem has apparently become so widespread that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is addressing it, though not guaranteeing you won\u2019t have to pay for it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-514\" src=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family-696x462.jpg\" alt=\"family\" width=\"696\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family-696x462.jpg 696w, https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family-1068x710.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family-632x420.jpg 632w, https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family.jpg 1141w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Before booking, understand your airline\u2019s seating policies<\/strong>: And know that \u201cMany airlines allow consumers to reserve seats next to each other without paying an additional fee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Book tickets as early as possible<\/strong>: \u201cThe earlier you book your family\u2019s travel, the more likely it is that you will be able to reserve seats that are next to each other. If you tried to book your tickets early, and seats are not available together, contact the airline through reservations to ask whether additional seats will become available later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keep all family members on the same reservation record<\/strong>: \u201cAirlines generally know travelers belong to one party only if all the passengers are on the same reservation record. Airlines assigning or reassigning seats give priority to parents and children on the same reservation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>After booking, if you can\u2019t initially be seated together, contact your airline<\/strong>\u00a0and ask it to accommodate your family: \u201cDiscuss with the airline your concerns about a child being seated alone.\u00a0 Even if the airline is unable to seat the whole family together, they may be able to assure you that each child is seated next to an adult family member. If you booked parents and children on different reservations, contact the airline as soon as possible to ask if the party can be put on the same reservation record or have their reservations cross-referenced in the booking notes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you book through a third party online agency, verify reservations and seat assignments directly with the airline<\/strong>: \u201cIf you did not book your travel directly with an airline, obtain or confirm your seat assignments directly with the airline as soon as possible before the day of travel.\u00a0 This can be done either on the airline\u2019s website or over the phone by contacting reservations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Confirm reservations and seat assignments again<\/strong>\u00a0before you leave for the airport: \u201cYou may wish to confirm your seat assignments before you would normally go to the airport as your seat assignments could have changed after booking due to an aircraft substitution with a different seating arrangement.\u00a0 If your seat assignments have changed, you can contact the airline to ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"stia-root\">\n<p><strong>Arrive at the airport early\u00a0<\/strong>to leave enough time to make last-minute adjustments, if needed: \u201cAirlines will do what they can at the airport to help families who self-identify to their agents as needing to sit together.\u00a0 Even if the airline is unable to seat the whole family together, they may be able to assure you that each child is seated next to an adult family member.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>After traveling, report any problems to the DOT<\/strong>: \u201cIf you should have a problem during your trip, you may\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.transportation.gov\/airconsumer\/file-consumer-complaint\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">file a complaint<\/a>\u00a0with the airline or DOT. The feedback you provide to the airline may influence the way an airline interacts with families <a href=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/find-out-real-time-info-on-airport-queues\/\">traveling<\/a> together.\u00a0 \u2026 The Department also sends every family seating complaint it receives about an airline to that airline. Airlines must respond to written consumer complaints.\u00a0Your comments or complaint will be reviewed by the Department and the airline.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What the DOT has\u00a0<em>not<\/em>\u00a0done is implement any rules requiring airlines to seat families together. And it\u2019s evidently up to you to pick the correct airline\u00a0<em>and\u00a0<\/em>cabin class that won\u2019t charge you for seat selection, and even then you might need to work with the airline to make sure you\u2019re seated together. Here are the airline family seating policies, according to the DOT, for nine airlines:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the rise of basic economy and budget airline models that charge extra for seat selection, it\u2019s become a lot harder for groups, but especially families with kids, to secure seats next to each other. And that\u2019s a sore spot for many parents who travel: Once a child is above two years old, they\u2019re typically [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tips"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra? - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but we offer you some tips on how to get a seat in the airplane next to your family members.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra? - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but we offer you some tips on how to get a seat in the airplane next to your family members.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-01T09:25:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1141\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"758\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra?\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-01T09:25:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":718,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/travel-with-family.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/\",\"name\":\"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra? - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/travel-with-family.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-01T09:25:19+00:00\",\"description\":\"Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but we offer you some tips on how to get a seat in the airplane next to your family members.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/travel-with-family.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/travel-with-family.jpg\",\"width\":1141,\"height\":758,\"caption\":\"family\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere\",\"description\":\"Travel tips and tricks that could help you make your next destination booking easier\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Vookbook\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/vookbook-logo-2-180.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/vookbook-logo-2-180.png\",\"width\":180,\"height\":180,\"caption\":\"Vookbook\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vookbook.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra? - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere","description":"Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but we offer you some tips on how to get a seat in the airplane next to your family members.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra? - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere","og_description":"Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but we offer you some tips on how to get a seat in the airplane next to your family members.","og_url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/","og_site_name":"VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere","article_published_time":"2019-10-01T09:25:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1141,"height":758,"url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra?","datePublished":"2019-10-01T09:25:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/"},"wordCount":718,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family.jpg","articleSection":["Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/","url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/","name":"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra? - VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family.jpg","datePublished":"2019-10-01T09:25:19+00:00","description":"Airline family seating policies vary by airline, but we offer you some tips on how to get a seat in the airplane next to your family members.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/travel-with-family.jpg","width":1141,"height":758,"caption":"family"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/can-families-sit-together-on-the-plane-without-paying-extra\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can Families Sit Together on the Plane without Paying Extra?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/","name":"VookBook Blog | Travel everywhere","description":"Travel tips and tricks that could help you make your next destination booking easier","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Vookbook","url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/vookbook-logo-2-180.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/vookbook-logo-2-180.png","width":180,"height":180,"caption":"Vookbook"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vookbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}