It's really all about how you perceive this. You see it as a hidden cost, others see it as a discount.
I don’t want to have to explain to a kid that they need to put their phone in silent or use headphones, I don’t want to have to keep them from kicking the seat in front of them, etc.
The reality is that there is a base level of decency that should exist. That includes not splitting up children from their guardians.
If you want to charge people for picking their seats, fine. Charging parents to not be separated from their kids is just plain evil. Choosing your seat for $50, and seating a person with their legal companion (or disability aide), even if you didn’t pay extra, are possible at the same time.
As an aside, I’m not entirely convinced that my ticket is $50 less than it would have been with seating fees.
Your complaint has to do with price discrimination. Different levels of service have different prices the same way a Volkswagen costs less than an Audi made in the same factory.
I’m also wondering if before the fee was added as an option the price was $50 more since everyone got to choose their seat. I suspect that the fare is about the same, but now you get to pay $50 more to choose your seat.
You are also missing that there is an external cost of splitting up parents and children. The airline is shifting the cost of babysitting onto other passengers when it should be forced to be a responsibility/cost of the guardian.
By the logic of the airline if I don't get to pick my seat, and get placed next to a minor, shouldn’t I get compensated more for that than someone who is sat next to a person who doesn’t need my assistance in an emergency? Should I also get compensated for not getting a drink, what about if I don’t use the restroom.
At a certain point, it is ok to say that a part of living in society is that you don’t get to separate parents from their children.
I understand the economic argument (You’ve used “price discrimination” incorrectly here, incidentally, since price discrimination has to do with receiving the same product at a different price, not receiving an additional service for an additional price). I’m just saying that this is irresponsible and unethical corporate behavior even if it is economically maximizing profit (in the short term anyway)
At some point it will become your problem whether you are active or passive.
If you want, you can wait until you have a lapful of juice and snacks spilled on you.
And it provides a method of price discrimination between people who care where they sit and those who don't.
A hidden charge would be if you had to pay for seat selection to sit anywhere at all and it wasn't included in the original price.
Airfare is (generally) cheaper than when it was regulated.
That being said the US rule that requires airlines to give you 24hr window to cancel a flight after booking is great.