President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are calling on major passenger carriers to waive family seat fees after American Airlines changes its policy.
American Airlines updated its customer support plan on Tuesday, saying children under 15 can be seated next to an accompanying adult at no extra cost, including Basic Economy fares, so long as certain conditions are met.
Biden praised the Dallas carrier’s move, saying “nobody should pay extra for a seat with their children.”
“Time for more airlines to follow suit,” he tweeted partly.
Buttigieg joined the president in praising the airline, claiming it was the primary U.S. carrier “to commit to putting this guarantee in its customer support plan.”
The move comes just weeks after a United Airlines policy change that comes into effect this month to allow families to sit next to one another more easily and freed from charge.
![Pete Buttigieg agreed with President Biden for other airlines to follow suit by placing children under 15 alongside an accompanying adult at no extra cost.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Buttigieg_Road_Safety.jpg?w=1024)
The airline has created a latest seat map feature to help children under 12 be seated next to an adult at their event for free.
This includes customers who buy basic economy tickets, the airline said.
Customers traveling with children have already began to see more options for adjoining seats, but an entire rule change will come into effect early this month, United said.
![Biden praised American Airlines' policy change by saying this](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Biden-1.jpg?w=1024)
Buttigieg also announced on Twitter that Frontier Airlines has implemented the same policy and that “now could be a superb time for other airlines to follow suit.”
Last July, the Department for Transport issued a notice saying carriers are “doing every part of their power to be sure that children aged 13 or under” sit next to an adult at no extra cost.
Airlines for America – an industry trade group representing major US carriers – previously noted that airlines “have at all times worked to accommodate customers who travel together.
![The American Airlines Customer Service Plan allows any person under 15 years of age to sit next to an accompanying adult at no additional cost.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1246155129.jpg?w=1024)
Still Buttigieg said the Department for Transportation is trying to require airlines to guarantee families sit together and plans to publish a family dashboard to show which airlines guarantee families to sit together for free.
“A parent should have the opportunity to sit next to their child without paying extra, asking other passengers to switch seats or exposing themselves to a last-minute fight on the gate,” he tweeted.