Families may have to pay extra to sit together on a flight

Less-than-desirable seatmates on a flight include the drooler, the chatterbox and the space hog. These days, you could get someone who’s all three: a kid, with nary a parent in sight.

With airlines charging extra for more and more seats in coach, some families who want to sit together in the cheap seats can find themselves scattered about.

“The airlines aren't charging families to sit together, per se,” said Chris Elliott of Consumer Traveler. “They are charging extra for certain economy class seats. So if families want to sit together, and one of the seats is a premium seat, they'll have to pay for it. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess.”

Airlines stress that they do what they can to have families nestled together in the air, but that’s no guarantee.

NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon recently tweeted his frustration upon discovering that booking tickets offered no assurance that he’d be sharing armrests with his two young daughters.

“If there's a problem in air, shouldn't parents be near children? Do you really want strangers entrusted to help them?” Simon tweeted.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Although Simon did not name the airline, American Airlines responded to his tweet, noting that for prices starting at $4 a seat, customers can get “preferred seats” in coach. Tim Smith, a spokesman for the airline later elaborated to msnbc.com, “We always try to seat the younger children in the party with parents and guardians, even if it cannot be worked out for the entire party.”

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Seating fees are now as much a part of flying as jet fuel. United–Continental, for example, charges for the first several rows of economy, where there’s more legroom. Discount airlines AirTran Airways and Spirit Airlines charge passengers to reserve a specific seat. But no worries on Southwest Airlines, which doesn’t bother with seat assignments.

Elliott suggests that parents with scattered seat assignments get to the airport early and ask a gate agent to seat them together.  If that doesn’t work, talk to a flight attendant once onboard. And as a last resort, ask fellow passengers to make your flight a wee bit less stressful — just don’t try to trade away a center seat a nose away from the bathroom.

More on Overhead Bin

• Red-eye flight with a toddler — and Ben Bernanke
• Getting seats on a plane ... together
• Playing musical chairs with seat assignments