UK child seating fees: what the airline plan would change

By AtheneNet

The UK government has announced plans to stop airlines charging extra to seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult, and to make simple booking-name corrections free. Neither protection is in force across all airlines yet. If you are booking a family trip now, check your airline’s current seating and name-change terms before deciding whether to pay.

What would change for families flying with children?

Under the Department for Transport’s plan, an airline would have to seat a child under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult without an additional seating charge. The department says a parent and child can currently face up to £104 in seating charges on a return journey. That figure is an example of a possible charge, not a standard fee for every airline or flight.

The proposal concerns seating a child with an adult. It does not establish a general right for a whole group to choose particular seats for free. Families who want specific rows or seats should check what the airline includes in the fare and what it charges for optional seat selection.

Would correcting a booking name become free?

The plan would also allow passengers to correct simple errors in booking names without a fee. The department says a minor correction can currently cost as much as £40. It has described the protection as covering simple corrections; travellers should not assume it would cover changing the person travelling or every type of name change.

Check names against travel documents before paying for a booking. If you spot an error afterwards, contact the airline promptly and ask whether it treats the change as a correction and whether its current terms allow it free of charge. Keep a record of the answer.

When would the proposed rules apply?

The Department for Transport says delivery of the changes follows Royal Assent of the Civil Aviation Bill. Its announcement does not mean the protections already apply to every booking. Until the rules take effect, an airline may still charge under its existing terms.

Before buying tickets, read the airline’s policy on seating children with adults and its fees for correcting names. If a charge appears during booking, confirm what it covers before paying. For an upcoming trip, use the airline’s current written terms and booking confirmation as your guide; check for a confirmed start date for the new protections before relying on them.

Source: UK Department for Transport