DOT to airlines: Seat families together, or else...

Good morning and happy almost mid-July!

Hard to believe we are almost halfway through the summer travel season. And it’s been an interesting ride, to say the least. The main theme seems to be Covid and airport chaos be damned, we want to travel! On Monday, 2.3 million people passed through TSA security checkpoints, down only slightly from the 2.6 million screened on the same day in pre-pandemic 2019.

Still, we’re keeping a close eye on the fast spread of the latest Covid variant, which experts say is the most contagious yet. While some cities like Paris, New York and Los Angeles are encouraging a return to masking, there doesn’t seem to be any push for reimposing those mask and testing mandates that travelers love to hate. Quite the contrary in fact. But more on that later.

And, while airlines and the FAA continue to bicker over who’s responsible for the chaos in the sky, (we don’t care whose fault it is, just fix it!) the Department of Transportation is turning its sights on airline seating policies for families, telling carriers to make sure children and parents aren’t separated. That’s good news for families, but not so much for those who might be asked to give up a reserved seat they paid a premium to secure.

First, here’s a look at other news we’re watching this week:

• Heathrow to airlines: Stop selling tickets! Yes, you heard that right. So if you're still thinking about a last-minute trip across the pond, consider an alternate route. Keep in mind that last month, we told you that Heathrow ordered airlines to cut passenger loads at Britain’s busiest airport by a third. With yesterday's announcement, Heathrow went further, telling airlines to stop selling tickets for travel through Sept. 11. The airport's been besieged by everything from cancellations and delays to a baggage system problem that transformed the airport into a sea of suitcases and an e-gate crash that created a human logjam. Other European airports haven't fared much better, with Amsterdam’s Schiphol also slashing maximum daily passenger numbers.

• Cruise lines continue to ease covid protocols. While the latest, highly contagious Covid variant may be rising, cruise lines – which became the poster child for fostering outbreaks early in the pandemic – are following in the footsteps of many destinations and cutting back on testing rules. Major industry players Holland America Line and Norwegian Cruise Line last week dropped their pre-embarkation testing requirements on select itineraries in mostly European destinations. (They are still required on big ships departing from U.S. ports.) Likewise, most European river lines have ceded to local regulations, meaning vaccinated travelers can now sail without pre- or post-sailing tests

• Upgrade, please! Ever tried to get a reservation to visit national parks such as Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain or Zion? It can be a bear, to say the least. That’s why a group of 388 travel industry organizations on Monday sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and National Park Service Director Chuck Sams asking them to upgrade the outmoded visitor reservations system. They want a consistent process across all parks and the ability for visitors to book farther ahead – up to a year – since about a third of them come from overseas and need advance certainty. Our two cents: Way overdue!

Families vs. airlines: A new era of air rage?

Those mask mandates blamed for so much violence in the air are gone. But now we're bracing for a whole new round of battles in the sky after reading this Travel Weekly article by reporter Robert Silk. The Department of Transportation is warning airlines to do more to make sure families with children under age 13 can sit together – or face regulatory action. The agency is considering banning airlines from charging fees for such seating requests.

Family travel expert Sally Black, founder of Vacationkids.com Travel Agency and author of the book "Fearless Family Vacations,” tells Travel Essential that the issue of families being forced to separate “has been a forever problem.” So it seems an odd time crack down, given all the other problems with air service this summer.

Making sure parents are sitting next to their kids on a flight “is the LEAST of all the issues airlines are having to deal with," Black said in an email. "Parents need to be more concerned right now if the flight they actually paid for will get off the ground, be rescheduled or canceled altogether.”

Still, she said, seating is a “HUGE stress for parents. Even if they purchase an upgraded fare and/or pay for seat selection, there is absolutely NO guarantee they will receive the service they are paying, which is the really frustrating part."

“And with more and more airlines nickel and diming pax for seat selection," she said, "there will be less and less strangers willing to forfeit a position that they have paid out of pocket for. Airlines simply do not care about customer satisfaction – they don’t mind pissing everyone off.”

Tip: Start planning nine months in advance

So what to do if you’re booking air travel with kids? Black says she tells her clients that “‘planning a family vacation is exactly like planning a family – you need to start nine months in advance.

“It’s a silly line but parents remember the ‘nine months’ bit,” she said. “It’s simply supply and demand. … If you book in advance and purchase seats, at least it will cost less and there is a hope that the airlines will protect that fact.”

Still, Black emphasizes, since Covid, “all bets are off with the airlines – completely off!”

As for parents concerned about being separated, Black offers encouragement.

Airport innovates food offerings with ghost kitchen

As bureaucratic entities, airports don’t often win innovation awards. And food offerings are almost always a pain point. Smaller airports are particularly challenged when it comes to culinary (and we use that term lightly when it comes to airport food) options. How often have you had an hour to kill before your flight and only found one or two close options, usually a TGI Fridays instead of a cool, local independent restaurant?

So we’re encouraged by the surprisingly hip virtual food court that North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) recently launched in Terminal 2. The concept is believed to be the first of its kind at a U.S. airport, since the food comes from venues that don’t currently exist at RDU but rather a single ghost kitchen.

“The kitchen uses cutting-edge technology to meet evolving customer demand for more dining options, convenience and a contactless ordering and payment experience,” Landguth told Travel Essential in an email interview.

So, how does this all work? At RDU, fliers can:

• Order at a kiosk near Terminal 2, Gate C9 or online using a QR code

• Order one or more items from (soon) nine restaurant concepts that share one kitchen

• Either pick up the order at an Amazon-style locker using a code

• Or, have it delivered (limited to gates C and D gates after security)

We already know that gate-side food delivery is becoming common at major airports, with at least one in-airport delivery vendor, AtYourGate, delivering food in 17 airports from Boston to San Diego.

But the ghost kitchen takes the concept further by also expanding choice, letting you use a smartphone to order food from outlets that don't physically exist. You can order everything from burgers, pizza and wings to vegan food, Tex-Mex cuisine, sushi, matcha lattes – even French fries with truffle parmesan seasoning. The concept also removes operational issues stemming from labor shortages, since fewer humans are involved.

Readers, We want to hear from you: Are you seeing any remarkable changes at your favorite airport when it comes to food? Share: [email protected].

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