American Airlines and United just made a startling change (it's not all it seems)
There hasn't been so much good news emanating from airlines since the last time you were told your flight was on time.
Suddenly, it's as if the very biggest people-flyers want to show how much they care about every single customer, especially the most stressed, the most harrassed and the most troubled.
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This change of heart -- or, perhaps, merely the finding of a heart -- began with United Airlines.
The airline suddenly realized it could use technology to give parents the one thing they all wanted. Well, most of them. The hope that they'll be able to sit with their children on flights. Yes, without having to pay extra for the privilege.
In a pulsating announcement, United launched "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."
The airline even grabbed a loud hailer of generosity to add: "including customers who purchase Basic Economy tickets."
This was just dripping with goodwill.
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What does United say has created the new family nirvana? Apparently, it's thanks to "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."
You can feel that new-found dynamism, can't you? You can feel the newfound newness too, surely.
United insists it's realized that humans are working and traveling differently -- even those humans who have children.
Said the airline's chief customer officer Linda Jojo: "In an era where more families are working in a hybrid environment, they're traveling more often – and they're flying United. We're focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents and know it often starts with the right seat. We look forward to rolling out more family-friendly features this year."
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It's odd that United described this as an improved family seating policy. Why, but five years ago, United's then-president and now-CEO Scott Kirby mused that if families wanted to sit together they should simply pay for the privilege.
He equated a flight with, well, something a touch more enjoyable: "Look, when you go to a concert, do you think you should pay the same price to sit in the nosebleed seats or to sit up front?"
I'll leave you to ponder a moment what might have now changed his mind, while I mention that American Airlines looked at this remarkable turn toward human sensitivity and attempted to soar above it.
Just a few days after United's lurch toward kindness, American announced it would "guarantee" that kids aged 14 and under would be able to sit next to their parents without additional charges.
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Naturally, there are kinks, which seem mostly understandable. Are there enough available seats in a row, for example.
I hear you still mumbling, however: "Why now?" Is it really that airlines have suddenly realized that so-called bleisure travel -- the mixing of business and pleasure via planes -- has become so popular?
Is it that they have been overcome with a sudden embrace of family life?
I want to believe that, of course. I fear, though, that another reason might be that the government is threatening the one thing airlines loathe above all others: more regulation.
President Biden, in his State of the Union address, offered these words: "Baggage fees are bad enough -- they can't just treat your child like a piece of luggage. Americans are tired of being played for suckers."
And while airline CFOs wondered: "What's wrong with playing our customers for suckers?" their PR and lobbying core muttered "Because they're going to come down on you. Hard. It's a vote-winner, don't you get it? The government is thinking about its customers, so maybe we should too."
So welcome, then, to an era where airlines finally care about families again.
Doesn't it make you feel warm all over?