American Airlines is now legally bound to ensure families sit together

After having my 11-year-old nephew in town for a week, one thing has become abundantly clear: pre-teens and teens don’t really care about sitting next to you—not on a rollercoaster, not at the restaurant, and not by cuddling up on the couch. If this is just a me thing, excuse me because I’m bitter. At least American Airlines is keeping the option alive. 

Airlines have been hurriedly trying to redeem themselves following the flight debacles that wreaked havoc at the end of 2022. With one of the biggest issues being families separated once they got to their gate despite often paying an extra fee to score seats together, airlines are finally shifting their policies. 

While United recently announced new tools to allow families with children under 12 to choose seats together free of charge, American Airlines is taking it one step further by officially stating its commitment to seating families together by submitting its policy document to the US government. In short, American is willing to face penalties if it doesn’t keep its word. 

What those penalties will entail is still a blur, but it’s a step in the right direction, making it so I don’t have a hovering parent’s armpit above my head as they lean on my chair and pass off open bags of snacks. 

But in all seriousness, there’s a big reason airlines need policies such as the one American Airlines has implemented: safety. In addition to separated families posing a huge safety risk to all passengers during emergency evacuations, there have also been cases of separation from children who suffer medical issues including seizures, cases of sexual assault, and more. 

Though American says it’s never charged families to sit together, and uses an automated process to ensure it, the new plan makes them legally bound. In it, the policy “guarantees” to seat children under 15 with an accompanying adult, so long as everyone is booked under the same reservation, the aircraft isn’t suddenly switched to a smaller one, and various other blunders they don’t have control over. 

When things go awry, the carrier said it will “rebook you at no extra cost or provide you a refund if you choose not to travel.”