Passenger anger as airlines seat families, couples apart on long-haul flights

As airlines increasingly adopt charges for seat allocation, families with young children or members with special needs are being left behind.

The issue has become so prevalent in the United States that President Joe Biden raised it in his State of the Union address, vowing to take action with a "Junk Fee Prevention Act" that would target bogus travel industry fees, including airline charges for parents to sit with young children.

"Baggage fees are bad enough – they can't just treat your child like a piece of luggage," said the US president.

But it's also happening to Australian travellers.

Like McIvor, Sydney-based university teacher Kym Haines checked-in to find Etihad Airways had allocated him and his wife seats several rows apart on a recent London to Sydney service.

"It had never occurred to us that this was a possibility," he said. They were advised to try to swap seats with other passengers on the plane – a seemingly hopeless task given they were assigned middle seats.

Against odds, they were successful, but Haines still found the situation unbelievable.

"I am sure most travellers are not aware of this," he said.

Paid seat allocation has long been a staple of low-cost airlines, but full service carriers are increasingly adopting this revenue model, which puts a premium on its most sought-after seats (usually windows or aisles).

While not a new issue, it has worsened amid global flight capacity restraints.

Professor Rico Merkert, an aviation expert at the University of Sydney, said some airlines now view free seat selection as another carrot to dangle over its most loyal customers.

"Airlines want you to be higher in the loyalty program where choosing your seats comes with the loyalty tier, such as platinum," said Merkert.

However, splitting up families who don't pay up isn't just inconvenient, but hazardous.

"In most countries, like the UK and Europe, air safety regulators recommend airlines sit families together because not doing so may create a safety hazard in case of emergencies," said Merkert. "Imagine an evacuation with parents trying to find their kids at the other end of the aircraft."

Airlines will strive to seat families together where possible, but Australian regulators don't legally require or encourage them to do so.

A $7 million aviation reform dubbed the "Aviation White Paper" may address this; it will consider regulated protections for air passengers, among other issues.

"We encourage any interested individuals or organisations to make a submission," a Department of Transport spokesperson said.

In Australia, Qantas and Virgin Australia offer free standard seat selection on most flights for frequent flyer members, with the exception of flights departing international airports, and for customers flying on a value fare category, such as Virgin's Economy Lite.

Low-cost carriers Jetstar, Rex and Bonza tend to charge an additional fee for preferred seats, such as extra legroom, front of aircraft, aisle or window.

However, if you read the fine print, airlines often state that they can't guarantee your reservation, even if you've paid for the privilege.

A spokesperson from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that although airlines can set their own terms for seat selections and pre-purchases, if they don't honour that seat selection you may have some recourse.

"Consumers should raise this directly with the airline in the first instance. If they are unable to resolve it with the airline they can contact their local state or territory consumer protection agency, who may be able to assist," said the ACCC.

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