The End of the Family Seat Fee
The Civil Aviation Bill will make airlines seat under-14s with a parent for free and fix simple name errors at no charge. Useful for advisors, but not yet law.
Two of the small charges that irritate families and trip up agents are on their way out. The government says the Civil Aviation Bill will require airlines to seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult free of charge, and to let passengers correct simple name errors on bookings without paying. For UK advisors, the second measure may matter as much as the first: a misspelt name on a ticket is one of the most common and most costly admin errors in the business. But neither change is in force yet.
What the government announced
The Department for Transport (DfT) release, published on 1 October and updated on 2 October, sets out three measures:
- Family seating: airlines must seat children under 14 with a parent or accompanying adult at no extra cost. The DfT says a parent and child can currently be charged up to £104 on a return journey to sit together.
- Name corrections: passengers will get “greater flexibility to correct simple name errors on bookings for free, ending unfair and irritating charges – sometimes as much as £40 – for minor mistakes or admin tweaks.”
- Disruptive passengers: the government is working with airlines and trade unions on a system to share information on persistently disruptive passengers, so airlines can decide whether to extend a ban to their own flights. The DfT says airlines logged more than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents in 2025.
“Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple,” said Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who called the package part of his “everyday fixes”. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Parents should not have to feel the pinch just to sit next to their child on a flight.”
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “It’s clearly unfair to force parents and children as young as three to pay an extra fee just to sit together.” Which? says it has pressured many airlines into dropping these fees over the past decade.
When it applies
Not yet. The DfT says the changes “are set to be delivered following Royal Assent of the Civil Aviation Bill, with industry engaged to ensure swift and fair implementation.” No start date has been given. The release does not say how a “simple” name error will be defined, or exactly which airlines and routes the rules will cover.
For advisors
- Don’t promise it yet: for half-term, Christmas and February bookings, keep paying for or pre-assigning family seats where the fare doesn’t include them.
- Keep checking names: until the rules are in force and defined, name errors can still cost money or a reissue. Passport-match checks at booking remain essential.
- Watch the detail: the definition of a “simple” name error and whether the rules cover non-UK airlines will decide how useful this is for long-haul family itineraries.
- Use it in conversation: families comparing a package or advisor booking against direct budget fares will notice the change. Be ready to explain what is and isn’t covered.
Sources
