Families Flying Together Act of 2015

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations with respect to ensuring families are able to sit together on flights, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Families Flying Together Act of 2015 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Airlines need to prioritize seating families traveling with small children together. (2) The Department of Transportation continues to receive unsatisfactory seat assignment 3. Seating families together on flights (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue regulations directing each air carrier to— (1) establish a policy to ensure, to the extent practicable, that a family that purchases tickets for a flight with that air carrier is seated together during that flight; and (2) make the policy described in paragraph (1) available to the public on an appropriate Internet Web site of the air carrier. (b) Definitions In this section, the following definitions apply: (1) Air carrier The term air carrier (2) Family The term family (A) a child who is 12 years of age or younger; and (B) an individual who is— (i) 18 years of age or older; and (ii) responsible for accompanying that child, including a parent or legal guardian of that child. 4. Families traveling together Section 41712 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (d) Families traveling together (1) In general It shall be an unfair or deceptive practice under subsection (a) for any ticket agent, air carrier, foreign air carrier, or other person offering to sell tickets for air transportation to fail to disclose, whether verbally in oral communication or in writing in written or electronic communication, prior to an individual’s purchase of more than one ticket for a covered flight, the notification in paragraph (2), if such purchase includes a ticket for a minor. (2) Notification The notification required under paragraph (1) shall include the following statement: It is not possible to assign 2 or more seats together on at least 1 of the flights you have selected. Please be advised that you may not be able to sit next to other members of your travel party, even if you are traveling with a minor. (3) Covered flight For purposes of this section, a covered flight (A) a purchaser of a ticket may specify an advance seat assignment, with or without the assessment of any charge or fee; and (B) 2 or more laterally adjacent seats are not available on the flight for advance assignment. .

Summary: Families Flying Together Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Transportation to issue regulations directing each air carrier to: (1) establish a policy to ensure that a family that purchases tickets for a flight is seated together during that flight, and (2) make the policy available to the public on the air carrier's website. The bill defines "family" to mean a grouping of individuals that includes, at a minimum: (1) a child age 12 years or younger, and (2) an individual age 18 years or older who is responsible for accompanying that child. The bill makes it an unfair or deceptive practice for any ticket agent, air carrier, foreign air carrier, or other person offering to sell tickets for air transportation to fail to disclose, prior to an individual's purchase of more than one ticket for a covered flight that includes a ticket for a minor, a notification that: (1) it is not possible to assign two or more seats together on at least one of the flights selected, and (2) the individual may not be able to sit next to other members of his or her travel party even if he or she is traveling with a minor. The term "covered flight" is defined as a flight for which: (1) a purchaser of a ticket may specify an advance seat assignment, with or without the assessment of any charge or fee; and (2) two or more laterally adjacent seats are not available for advance assignment.