In his State of the Union speech, President Joe Biden took aim at what he called "junk fees," imposed by airlines, hotels, internet service providers and Ticketmaster.
He’s also introduced the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which will curb the extra and hidden fees that eat into American’s budget, noting in his speech “junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most folks in homes like the one I grew up in.
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“They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for you to pay the bills or afford that family trip.”
The family trip is a treasured ritual in most households, a chance for parents to make memories with their children that can last a lifetime. They can also be very expensive for a variety of reasons, one of which is that many airlines will charge parents extra to make certain they sit next to their child.
It’s a common practice, and one that seems to especially capture the President’s ire.
"Americans are tired of being played for suckers," he said. "Baggage fees are bad enough—airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage."
Airlines Are Responding To The White House
The aviation industry as a whole has been under intense public scrutiny of late, as it had a record number of flight delays and cancellations last year. (And that was before Southwestern’s holiday meltdown.)
But the Junk Fee Prevention Act seems to represent a new level of public backlash, and the airlines are responding in kind, perhaps as a way to head the issue off at the pass and prevent further negative attention.
United Airlines (UAL) has introduced a new policy where children 11 and under can sit next to an accompanying adult without extra charges, provided they are willing to switch flights if necessary.
Starting in March, United’s latest technology upgrade will find available adjacent seats at the time of booking for parties that include a child 11 and under.
If no adjoining seats are available, United will provide families and traveling parties the option of booking preferred economy seats, which normally costs extra, free of charge.
Additionally, passengers with children that fly Basic Economy can select adjoining seats free of charge. While United never specifically charged a fee for families to sit together, the company did charge for advance seat assignments, which had the same basic effect.
If no adjoining options are available in free economy seats or preferred economy seats, United will allow parties to switch for free to a flight to the same destination that can accommodate adjacent seat availability, and United will wave the difference in fares between the original and new flights.
United did not specify whether this upgrade would be available for bookings via third-party websites like Travelocity, or only directly.
Frontier Also Changes Its Family Policy
Frontier has also introduced a new policy in which at least one parent will automatically be seated with any children under the age of 12 that they are traveling with, for no extra charge.
Before this change, Frontier tended to charge an average of $36 per seat assignment, which families and guardians would have to pay to make sure they sit next to their child.
