Airlines have been in the news recently. That’s rarely a good thing. When was the last time you saw a headline that read, “Airline completely satisfies customer?” Still, they do manage to read the room correctly once in a while, something we’ve seen with recent airline family seating policy changes. Oddly, the positive news came from two airlines that are not known for customer service, United and Frontier. United’s is particularly generous. I guess when the president addresses “junk fees” in the State of the Union,” airlines listen. To be fair, other airlines such as American and Alaska, offer very similar policies but haven’t gotten the publicity.

Still, it’s not easy to figure out whether you can sit next to your kids on the flight. The DOT even created a dashboard, but there are plenty of holes. So we’re putting together a somewhat more complete guide to help you choose. Of course, policies vary by airline, type of ticket and, occasionally, even by the representative that you speak with. When in doubt, hang up and call again.

How to Get The Seats You Want, Every Time

With the exception of Southwest Airlines, every airline allows you to choose seats ahead of time. Of course, they may charge you, particularly if you don’t have elite status or buy the no-frills fares. Is that fair? Doesn’t matter. Seat assignments are now revenue generators.

Here’s Who Gets It Right. And Who Doesn’t.

Note: These policies change frequently, so verify with your airline before you book.

I’ve taken a look at all of details for each airline family seating policy and tried to break out what they mean. I say “tried” because they don’t always make it easy to understand. And let’s face it: what might happen in policy could be very different from what you actually get.

American: For the most part, they make it doable. Children 14 and under sit next to an adult for free, subject to a few conditions, the most onerous of which is that the seats have to be available at the time of booking.

Alaska: The policy is very similar to American’s above, although they make it applicable to children 13 and younger.

Delta: You’ll get nothing and you’ll like it. Delta says that they will attempt to seat you together but makes no guarantees.

Frontier: I give Frontier bonus points because is an ultra-low cost carrier that typically charges for, well, everything. They’ll assign you and your minor together prior to check-in, which matters for an airline that charges for advance seat assignments.

JetBlue: The typically family-friendly airline isn’t so friendly when it comes seating. They say they’ll try to put you together but are unwilling to make any guarantees.

Southwest: You’ll get early boarding, between groups A and B, if you have a child six or younger. Other than that, well, buy up to board early.

Spirit: A more typical ultra-low cost carrier, Spirit won’t guarantee you anything. Be sure to pay for your seat assignments.

United: Winner of the “above and beyond” award. United will look automatically look for free seats together and, if not available, will bump you and your child up to preferred seats. If no adjacent seats are available, they’ll allow you to switch to a different flight for free.

And there you have it. But as I mentioned above, the best way to guarantee that you will be sitting where you want to sit is to choose your seats ahead of time and not rely on the integrity of your airline’s family seating policy.