by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:46 AM ET, Mon February 20, 2023
United Airlines announced an improved family seating policy that makes it easy and free for children to sit with their families.
The carrier invested in a new seat map feature that dynamically finds available adjacent seats when booking, allowing travelers with children under 12 to see more seat options immediately.
"In an era where more families are working in a hybrid environment, they're traveling more often - and they're flying United," United Chief Customer Officer Linda Jojo said.
The complete policy change-including for customers who purchase Basic Economy tickets-will go into effect in early March. The online seat engine first reviews all available free Economy seats and then opens complimentary upgrades to available Preferred Seats, if needed.
If adjacent seats are unavailable before travel, United's new policy lets customers switch for free to a flight to the same destination with seat availability in the same cabin, with passengers not being charged if there is a difference in the fare price.
"We're focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents and know it often starts with the right seat," Jojo continued. "We look forward to rolling out more family-friendly features this year."
United officials said the company has worked since last summer to seat families together more efficiently by optimizing its seat engine to prioritize families who did not have seats assigned before their day of travel and prioritize adjacent seating for families during schedule changes, aircraft swaps or irregular operations.
United Polaris, United First Class and Economy Plus seats remain separate products and are excluded from this family seating policy change.
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