travel
Up in the Air
How to keep your family together during flights
22
HOLIDAY 2018 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE
paying extra, whether you’re a
business traveler, a couple or a
family with kids.
Whether airlines separate passen-
gers unintentionally or on purpose to
convince you to pay extra for a seat
assignment, it’s never fun. Business
travelers often book seats together
to get work done. Leisure travelers
vacationing together don’t want to be
separated, or they may be traveling
with young children who need
attention.
In 2016, Congress passed a law
requiring airlines to seat families with
children together without charging
them more. But the Transportation
Department hasn’t written the
required regulation and seems unlike-
ly to do so anytime soon. Airlines
claim they seat families together
whenever possible, but they’re also
motivated by the fees they collect
whenever someone reserves a seat.
So, what do you do if you can’t
sit together on a plane? Here’s a
checklist:
• Remember, you still have a seat.
Airlines like to leave you with the
impression that you don’t have a seat
on the plane if you don’t pay for a
seat assignment. That’s not true. If
you don’t pay extra for a guaranteed
A
irlines love to play
musical chairs with
their passengers, a
game that pressures
travelers to pay extra
for assigned seating.
No one knows how many passen-
gers get separated on flights.
No one even knows for certain how
much money the U.S. airline industry
makes from seat reservation fees; the
government doesn’t require that they
report those figures. But we do know
there are thousands of frustrated
passengers.
Fortunately, we also know there
are ways to sit together without
WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT