In a quest for revenues, US airliners have taken steps that make it difficult for parents to sit next to their children writes Scott McCartney:

• Many seats in an airplane cabin are now given a designation such as “extra legroom” which requires a charge to reserve.
• It vastly limits the number of open seats on an airplane at the cheapest fare.
• This means that families are finding it increasingly difficult to travel together.
• The American government is trying to change this. The upper house passed a unanimous provision to require that children be seated next to their parents. However it’s unclear if the lower house will allow it to go through.
• Other airlines are taking their own steps to assuage the problem. United Airlines is allowing people with young children to board the plane early once again, giving them first dibs on seating.

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Source: The Wall Street Journal

Via: Gizmodo