President Biden announced a proposal Monday that would require airlines and ticket sales websites to disclose additional fees up front, aiming to add a dose of transparency to the process of booking travel.

The disclosures would cover any fees for passengers to sit with their children, change or cancel a flight, and bring checked or carry-on bags, according to the Department of Transportation. The fees would be required to be displayed the first time a ticket price is shown.

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Ensuring that families with young children can sit together also has been a priority for consumer advocates, coming as the Transportation Department has urged airlines not to charge such fees. The new proposal requires that if carriers do charge for an adult and child to sit together, airlines must disclose the cost and allow it to be paid when a ticket is sold to avoid subsequent changes to the fees.

But Bill McGee, a senior fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project and a veteran consumer advocate, said he was disappointed the department didn’t propose banning family-seating fees.

“This is absurd that we’re even having to talk about it,” he said. “They have been dancing around this issue across three administrations now.”

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