Sitting together on the plane

Book the family on one reservation

Airlines generally know that travelers belong to one group only if every passenger is on the same reservation record, and when they assign or reassign seats, parents and children on the same reservation get priority. If you booked the adults and the children separately, contact the airline as soon as possible and ask whether the group can be put on the same reservation record or have the reservations cross-referenced in the booking notes.

Before you book, you can also look at the family seating dashboard of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). It shows which of the U.S. airlines it lists commit to seating a child of 13 or under next to an accompanying adult with no added fee on every fare type, under limited conditions, and which do not.

Choose your seats early

The earlier you book your family's trip, the more likely it is that you can reserve seats next to each other. Look for tickets that let you reserve specific seats, or consider an airline that guarantees fee-free family seating for all fare types: basic economy fares are often lower, but they may not let you select a seat.

If you tried to book early and there were no seats together, contact the airline through reservations and ask whether more seats will become available later.

After booking and at the airport

If your family could not get seats together, or you are not sure about the status of your seats, contact the airline directly through reservations. Ask how it may be able to seat your family in advance of the flight or at the airport, and tell it you are worried that a child in your group could end up seated alone. Even if it cannot seat the whole family together, it may be able to assure you that each child sits next to an adult family member.

If you did not book directly with the airline, get or confirm your seat assignments with the airline itself as soon as possible before the day of travel, on its website or by calling reservations.

Check the seats again before you would normally leave for the airport: an aircraft substitution with a different seating arrangement can change them after booking, and if they have changed, you can ask the airline for help. On the day, plan to arrive early. That gives your family and the airline more time to solve a seating problem, and airlines will do what they can at the airport to help families who tell their agents they need to sit together.

Children 13 or under next to an adult in the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Transportation encourages every airline to guarantee young children a seat next to an accompanying adult, with no additional fee. On an airline that assigns seats and makes that commitment, the guarantee can depend on each of these conditions:

• The child and the accompanying adult are on the same reservation.
• Adjacent seats are available at the time of booking in the class of service you selected.
• The aircraft is not substituted for a smaller one.
• The adult either chooses seats for the whole reservation or skips seat selection for the whole reservation, and does not change the seat assignments once they are made.
• The seat layout makes it physically possible to seat the number of young children traveling next to the accompanying adults.

When those conditions are met, an airline that assigns seats and guarantees fee-free family seating gives the adult traveling with a child of 13 or under adjacent seat assignments no later than the day before the flight. On an airline with open seating, the guarantee can depend on the child and the adult being on the same reservation, on the adult telling the gate agent before boarding starts that they need adjacent seats, and on the seat layout making it physically possible.

Check each airline's policy

You can get each airline's family seating policy directly from the airline: it may be on its website, and if you cannot find it there, you can ask through reservations. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recommends always contacting your airline or the national aviation authority when you fly with children, because the requirements can differ from one country or airline to another.

Even if you buy your ticket with one airline, one or more legs can be operated by another airline whose policies may differ, so check each one. Airlines may also limit how many children can travel with one adult, and EASA states that the airlines set that policy, not EASA.

Sources

• Tips for Families and Links to Airline Webpages, of the U.S. Department of Transportation: an airline's family seating policy may be on its website or can be requested through reservations; shop for tickets that allow you to reserve specific seats or consider airlines that guarantee fee-free family seating for all fare types, as basic economy fares may not provide the ability to select a seat; book as early as possible and book children on the same reservation as adults; after booking, contact the airline through reservations if the family could not obtain seats together, and confirm seat assignments with the airline if you did not book directly with it; before going to the airport, confirm the seats, which an aircraft substitution can change; and arrive early. Airlines assigning or reassigning seats give priority to parents and children on the same reservation. — transportation.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Airline Family Seating Dashboard of the same department: it encourages all airlines to guarantee that young children are seated adjacent to an accompanying adult without charging any additional fee, shows which of the listed U.S. airlines commit to adjacent seats for a child 13 or under and an accompanying adult at no additional cost for all fare types, and lists the limited conditions that an airline assigning seats, or one with an open seating policy, can attach. If the conditions are satisfied, airlines that assign seats and guarantee fee-free family seating provide the adjacent seat assignments by the day before the flight at the latest. — transportation.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Flying with children, of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA): it recommends contacting the airline or the national aviation authority, as specifications can vary between countries and airlines; one or more legs of a ticket bought with one airline can be operated by another airline with different policies; and airlines might have rules on the maximum number of children travelling with one adult, a policy specified by the airlines and not by EASA. — easa.europa.eu (checked 21 October 2026)