Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines confirmed the accuracy of this table on July 9, 2019.  Airline policies are subject to change.  Additional information is available on Alaska’s website here.

Tips for families: How would an adult best ensure he or she is seated next to a family member under the age of 14 when flying your airline?

• Book as early as possible and reserve seats together at the time of purchase.
  • Alaska Airlines does not recommend “Saver Fare” tickets for families that want to sit together because, unlike all other tickets, “Saver Fares” have limited seating available at the time of booking.  Seats unavailable during purchase will be assigned at the gate.
• Book children on the same reservation as adults.
  • This will enable the customer to take steps to obtain seats together during and after booking (see information below). 
  • Alaska Airlines prioritizes keeping groups together if it must reassign seats due to an equipment change.
• Confirm any seat selections made through an online travel agent on alaskaair.com.
  • Indirect booking channels may not offer real-time seating inventory. 
• If you are unable to get reserved seats together with your child during booking:
  • Call an Alaska Airlines’ reservations agent to review available seating options.
  • Check-in online or through Alaska Airlines’ mobile app 24 hours prior to flight, which is when the majority of unclaimed seats previously restricted become available. (Note: Saver Fare tickets that have not been pre-assigned seats, are assigned seats on the day of departure at the gate.)

Arrive at the gate at least 60 minutes prior to departure and talk to the gate agent.  Alaska Airlines blocks a limited number of seats until the day of departure, at which point those seats become available to accommodate family seating and other needs on a first-come-first-available basis.  If all such seats have been assigned, Alaska Airlines’ agents will make efforts to seat family members as closely to each other as possible.

Seating Policy

Seating Model: Does your airline provide seat assignments or does it use an open seating model?

• Alaska Airlines provides seat assignments to customers.

Advance Seat Selection: Does your airline enable consumers to reserve seats at booking?

• Alaska Airlines enables customers purchasing First Class, Premium Class, or Main Cabin tickets to select seats during booking.  A limited number of advance seat assignments are available for Saver Fares tickets and, depending on the availability of these seats, customers purchasing Saver Fare tickets may also be able to select seats during booking.  Customers who purchase Saver Fares tickets for which no advance seat assignments are available at booking will be assigned seats at the gate.

Fee: Does your airline charge an additional fee for these advance seat reservations?

• No, advance seat assignments are complimentary for First Class, Premium Class, Main Cabin, and, if available, Saver Fare tickets.

Disclosures

Airline: What disclosures relevant to family seating does your airline provide to consumers during the booking process?

• Customers shopping for Saver Fares online at alaskaair.com are notified by “pop-up” notice prior to purchase that (a) advance seat selection is limited, and seats unavailable during purchase will be assigned at the gate, and (b) Saver Fares are not recommended for parties of two or more.
• Customers purchasing tickets from Alaska Airlines by phone receive a similar notification verbally prior to purchase.

Travel Agent: If your airline allows others to sell tickets on its behalf, do the family seating disclosures provided by these entities differ from the disclosures provided when booking directly with the airline?

• Online travel agents do not use a “pop-up” notification, but provide a written disclosure to customers prior to purchase that advance seat selection is not available with Saver Fares.