United Airlines announces a new policy to help families with young children

At the moment, anyone travelling with United Airlines has to pay extra to book seats together. However, the airline has announced that to make it easier for families travelling together, parents will be able to book seats next to their children for no additional cost. 

This change will save parents from needing to ask fellow fliers to switch seats or asking flight attendants to find spare spaces so they can sit with their young children. 

The new system will allow parents with children under the age of 12 to book adjoining seats for themselves and their children without paying the usual fees for selecting seats. 

To use this new feature, when booking a flight, customers will automatically be directed to a new seat map that shows the seats that are next to each other. Parents will be able to see where they will be able to sit with their kids on the aircraft and book those seats. 

If there aren’t any adjoining seats available on the flight because the flight is full or the aircraft has been changed, customers travelling with children will be offered the choice to switch to a different flight at no extra cost so that they can sit together. 

Additionally, travellers who purchase Basic Economy, a tier that doesn’t usually assign seats until check-in or reaching the gate, will be able to access this feature, removing the worry of getting randomly assigned seats away from their kids on flights. 

In a statement, United Airlines said: “In an era where more families are working in a hybrid environment, they’re travelling more often – and they’re flying United. We’re focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents and know it often starts with the right seat. We look forward to rolling out more family-friendly features this year.”