DOT CALLS FOR CONGRESS TO PROHIBIT FAMILY SEATING FEES; PROPOSES NEW LAW TO BAN FAMILY SEATING FEES
April 14, 2023
On March 13, 2023, the Secretary of Transportation sent a letter to the U.S. Congress urging it to pass a new law to ensure that families are allowed to sit together onboard the flights of U.S. airlines for no additional cost. This comes as the Biden administration and Congress have been continually pushing to either get a new law passed, or have DOT implement a new rulemaking to ban so called “junk fees” like those charged for family seating.
Relatedly, on March 10th, DOT also sent letters to the Vice President of the United States and the Speaker of the House of Representatives proposing new legislation that would require both U.S. and foreign airlines to allow young children and at least one accompanying adult to sit together on flights at no additional cost, subject to certain conditions. As written, the legislation would also require that airlines that do not assign seats in advance, or allow consumers to select seats in advance, board passengers in a manner to ensure that families can sit together. DOT noted that the legislative proposal was based upon a recent review of airline seating policies that uncovered “concerning evidence” that many airline policies still do not guarantee adjacent seating for families, and that many also do not guarantee adjacent seating for no additional cost.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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