Ed Markey wants no extra fees for families flying together

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey is pressing forward with his goal to force airlines to allow families to sit together during flights free of charge and hopes his old bill will have new wings this time.

Next week, Markey will be reintroducing the Families Fly Together Act, legislation that has been proposed over the years to ensure family members can sit with their children at no additional cost.

“Some airline fees are simply unconscionable,” Markey told reporters at Logan Airport on Saturday. “It is absolutely infuriating that airlines force consumers to pay extra to sit with their young children. That practice has to end.”

The Massachusetts Democrat sponsored S.4335 in 2020, the Senate version of the House bill H.R.5292 sponsored by Missouri Republican Rep. Ann Wagner, both of which were called “Fly Together Act,” according to Congressional records. Those, too, were reintroductions of the 2015 House bill dubbed “Families Flying Together Act of 2015.” All the bills stalled in committee.

A spokeswoman for Airlines for America, a trade group that represents the largest U.S. carriers, said its members — including American, United, Delta and Southwest — don’t charge family-seating fees, though some budget airlines do.

Markey is not aware know how many airlines charge extra fees for families that want to sit together during flights, but he added “there should be a complete prohibition.”

“That common sense reform alone should not be a partisan issue,” Markey said.

The official Congressional Research Service summary of the earlier version Markey’s bill said it would direct “the Department of Transportation to establish a policy directing all air carriers that provide passenger air transportation to ensure children age 13 and under are seated adjacent to their family members on flights without mandating extra fees unless such policy would require an upgrade or violate safety guidelines.”

President Joe Biden endorsed the legislation during Tuesday’s State of the Union address. It is included in the Biden administration’s proposed Junk Fee Prevention Act which seeks to abolish what Democrats call “junk” fees, hidden surcharges they say many businesses use to jack up costs.

“And we’ll prohibit airlines from charging up to $50 roundtrip for families just to sit together,” Biden said. “Baggage fees are bad enough — they can’t just treat your child like a piece of luggage.”

Forcing all airlines to abolish charging families who want to sit together has been discussed in Congress since 2016. The Transportation Department under the Trump administration did not draft rules on the matter, neither has the Biden administration.

Last July, the feds urged airlines to make  it easier for families to sit together on planes for free.  The Transportation Department issued a notice to airlines that the carriers “should do everything that they can to ensure the ability of a young child” 13 or younger to sit next to an older family member.

The Transportation Department last year said it had received more than 500 complaints in the last five years about families unable to sit together — just 1% of all complaints against airlines and is dwarfed by gripes about refunds and flight problems.

Markey will be introducing two other airline-related proposals this session. One would end bag, seating and change fees and the other looks to further protect consumers by requiring refunds for delays and cancellations caused by airlines.

The goal is to attach all of these proposed protections to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization which will be before Congress in the next several months, Markey said.

The Massachusetts Congressman spoke to reporters Saturday, just two days after the Senate Commerce Committee pressed Southwest Airlines executives and union representatives on a winter-storm debacle that affected hundreds of thousands of Americans during the holiday season.

“A happy holiday turned into a holiday nightmare,” Markey said. “The truth is the airline industry has been broken for years.”

The Associated Press and Herald reporter Flint McColgan contributed to this report.