Federal regulators plan to ban airline seat fees for children traveling with their parents • Alaska Beacon

The federal supervisory authorities are preparing a new regulation that Require airlines to waive fees for children travelling with their parents.

In a notification A new policy is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday. The U.S. Department of Transportation intends to require airlines to allow children ages 13 and younger to sit next to their parents at no additional cost.

Seat selection fees have become common practice on many airlines, and U.S. Department of Transportation officials said requiring parents to pay a higher price to sit next to their children discourages families from traveling together.

Alaska Airlines, American, Frontier and JetBlue already guarantee that parents and children can sit together at no additional cost; Allegiant, Delta, Hawaiian, Southwest, Spirit and United do not offer this guarantee, according to a count kept by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The proposed rule would not apply to aircraft with 30 or fewer seats, meaning Alaska's small regional airlines generally would not be affected.

The new rule was approved by Congress as part of the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. That law, signed by President Joe Biden in May, passed with the support of all three members of Congress from Alaska.

Friday's announcement opens a 60-day public comment period that begins the formal rulemaking process. After the comment period ends, the agency can make additional changes before issuing a final rule.