Chuck Schumer calls for ‘family-friendly’ seating policy
One of the airline industry’s most vocal critics is taking aim again.
New York Senator Chuck Schumer wants airlines to keep families together rather than using them as a cash cow.
Schumer wrote to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao calling for a new federal rule to keep families together on flights
An amendment was added to the FAA Reauthorization Bill three years ago to ensure families are seated together but was never implemented.
"The friendly skies deserve a family-friendly cabin. The real turbulence is the family seating policy which has become a game of musical chairs that is neither fun nor fair," Scumer said.
He said families shouldn’t have to ‘plead with strangers to swap seats’ or be forced to pay for the privilege.
The DOT says implementing the rule is unnecessary as there are few complaints about the issue.
"Based on the low number of complaints received and review of airline family seating policies, the Department determined that it was unnecessary to direct airlines to establish policies on family seating," the DOT says in its website.
According to Schumer, there were 136 complaints between March 2016 and November 2018 by families separated on flights.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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