Airlines

United Makes It Easier for Families to Sit Together

United announced an improved family seating policy that makes it easier than ever for children under 12-years old to sit next to an adult in their party for free – including customers who purchase Basic Economy tickets.

United’s new policy is made possible through a series of investments in a new seat map feature that dynamically finds available adjacent seats at the time of booking. The online seat engine first reviews all available free Economy seats and then opens complimentary upgrades to available Preferred Seats, if needed.

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Customers traveling with children under 12 will start to see more adjacent seat options immediately and the complete policy change will go into effect in early March.

In instances when adjacent seats are not available prior to travel – due to things like last-minute bookings, full flights or unscheduled aircraft changes – United’s new policy also lets customers switch for free to a flight to the same destination with adjacent seat availability in the same cabin. Customers also won’t be charged if there is a difference in fare price between the original and new flight.

Many airlines try and use a more manual process to seat families together which can include blocking random seats or asking agents to facilitate seat swaps at the gate. Those circumstances often result in more stress and a longer boarding process for everyone.

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Today’s announcement reflects the investments United has made in its technology and tools. Since last summer, the airline has worked to improve its ability to seat families together more easily by optimizing the airline’s seat engine to prioritize families who did not have seats assigned before their day of travel and prioritize adjacent seating for families during schedule changes, aircraft swaps or irregular operations.

United Polaris®, United First Class® and Economy Plus® seats remain separate products and are excluded from this family seating policy change.

Airlines

Federal Court Imposes $100M Fine on Qantas for “Ghost Flights” Scandal

In a major ruling, the Federal Court has confirmed a hefty A$100 million penalty against Qantas for its involvement in the “ghost flights” scandal. As reported by FlightGlobal.

The court found that Qantas misled consumers by offering and selling tickets for flights that the airline had already decided to cancel. Adding to the controversy, Qantas failed to promptly notify ticket holders about these cancellations.

The penalty follows Qantas’ admission of violating the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The airline agreed with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on the penalty amount, aiming to deter Qantas and other businesses from similar breaches in the future.

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The ACCC emphasized that this substantial fine sends a clear message: misleading customers will lead to serious consequences, regardless of a company’s size. In addition to the penalty, Qantas has committed to paying approximately A$20 million to affected passengers who unknowingly purchased tickets for canceled flights.

This compensation comes on top of any refunds or alternative flight arrangements already provided. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb praised the penalty, underscoring the importance of robust compliance programs red energy qantas in large corporations like Qantas.

She pointed out that Qantas has since made changes to its operating and scheduling procedures to prevent similar issues in the future.