Is it safe to make groups/families sit apart from each other?

score:9

Accepted answer

Some airline authorities recognise the exact scenario you raise. The UK CAA state:

Young children and infants who are accompanied by adults, should ideally be seated in the same seat row as the adult. Children and accompanying adults should not be separated by more than one aisle. Where this is not possible, children should be separated by no more than one seat row from accompanying adults. This is because the speed of an emergency evacuation may be affected by adults trying to reach their children.

The FAA state:

4) Passenger Assessment Process for Exit Seating. While the regulation specifically defines the criteria for persons occupying an exit seat, the method by which the airline employee assesses the person assigned to an exit seat should be defined by the air carrier in its company manual. This process generally requires a physical observation of the person and should require additional processes, such as conversation with the person, to determine if he or she meets the selection criteria (the person has the ability to hear, understand, and impart information, and is not distracted by other responsibilities such as caring for small children or other traveling companions, etc.).

Airlines may re-seat adults sat in the exit row if they are responsible for children as they understand that the adult may not take their exit row responsibilities above the care for their children.

Update: A new law has just been passed in the US.

SEC. 2309. Family seating.

(a) In general.β€”Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall review and, if appropriate, establish a policy directing all air carriers providing scheduled passenger interstate or intrastate air transportation to establish policies that enable a child, who is age 13 or under on the date an applicable flight is scheduled to occur, to be seated in a seat adjacent to the seat of an accompanying family member over the age of 13, to the maximum extent practicable and at no additional cost, except when assignment to an adjacent seat would require an upgrade to another cabin class or a seat with extra legroom or seat pitch for which additional payment is normally required.

Upvote:6

There are a few regulations towards passenger seating:

  1. All passengers must have a designated seat with a seat belt.
  2. Passengers cannot sit on seats designated for crews.
  3. Minors, elderly or anyone else deemed unsuitable or unfit (by the cabin crew) cannot be seated in an exit row.

There are no other obligations or regulations or rules that airlines must follow with respect to seating of passengers.

The other rules such as "seats must be upright and tray tables stowed" and that you cannot put carryon luggage on the exit row are towards the safety of the aircraft, and it is enforced even if no one is sitting on the seat.

Therefore, it is perfectly fine for an airline to seat people randomly and charge for preferred seating. Although airline staff try (for the sake of harmony inside the aircraft and to make the lives of the crews easier) to seat families together, but this cannot be guaranteed.

More post

Search Posts

Related post