JetBlue becomes the latest airline to guarantee family seating

Today, JetBlue became the fourth major U.S. airline to guarantee families can sit together when they fly. Following in the footsteps of Frontier Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, JetBlue is now in compliance with the U.S. Department of Transportation's plea that airlines adopt seating policies that allow families to sit together.

"We know traveling with young children can add challenges, and we want to do everything we can to put parents and families at ease by providing a smooth trip each time they choose JetBlue," said Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue's president and chief operating officer. "This enhanced family seating policy reflects our commitment to continue to meet the needs of our customers and provide exceptional service."

Related: Are airlines required to seat families together? Guide to airline family seating policies

JetBlue's new family seating policy ensures that children ages 13 and younger will be seated next to an adult traveling with them on the same reservation; it will do this by identifying reservations with children and adults traveling together without seating assignments. The booking system will then assign seats together for at least one accompanying parent as long as adjacent seats are still available when you book your flight.

If no adjacent seats are available, JetBlue will still do its best to seat parents and children together when they arrive at the airport. You will need to speak with a gate agent if you cannot get seats together during the booking process.

This new policy applies to all of JetBlue's fare classes, including Blue Basic fares, which typically charge for advanced seating assignments. To ensure your family can enjoy the benefits of this new policy, you must book all family members on the same reservation, and you must not make changes to the seat assignments made by JetBlue.

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This policy is in addition to JetBlue's other family-friendly features, including in-seat screens with live TV and movies (including family-friendly movies on flights longer than two hours), free Wi-Fi for all travelers and allergy-friendly snack options.

In addition to the DOT's airline family seating dashboard, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg introduced a legislative proposal earlier this year requiring airlines to seat children ages 13 or younger with an accompanying adult free of charge. If passed, fee-free seating would be guaranteed for all families flying together, regardless of fare class.

For now, we are glad to know a few airlines, including JetBlue, are taking the initiative to seat families together when they fly.

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