Airlines 'Playing Chicken' With Passengers, Charging 'You-Get-To - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Airlines 'Playing Chicken' With Passengers, Charging 'You-Get-To-Sit-With-Your-Kid' Fee

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NBCNEWS.COM - You know about airline change fees, baggage fees, premium seat fees and food fees. But how about a "you-get-to-sit-with-your-child" fee?

John Parish is giving his 5-year-old daughter the birthday present every child dreams of: a trip to Disney World. But he's afraid American Airlines has booked a travel nightmare for his family and other fliers. There's only one way out of the nightmare, he was told: Pay an additional fee, months after booking the trip.

Parish bought his tickets months ago, in March, and scored three seats together on a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Fla., for his wife, Amanda, and daughter, Megan. Then, in July, bad news arrived. American Airlines had changed the flight schedule for the return trip, and it had changed the plane, too. It was a bigger plane, but no longer could the family sit together. In fact, Megan had been moved onto the other side of the plane, rows away. click here to read more