The Delta Airlines Basic Economy seat class doesn’t allow you to pick your seats. So if you’re traveling with children there are some things you should know before you book.

1. You do have an option to select your seats but you have to pay a fee and you have to wait until 7 days before departure. If you’re on a flight full of other families in the same position (say, going to Disney World over spring break), you might have a lot of competition on that day to find a seat next to your child(ren).
2. Are your kids 5 or under? Delta will assign you a seat next to your child for free. Just call Delta’s customer service number and talk to a representative (1-800-221-1212).
3. If you don’t want to pay and your kids are older than 5, your only other opportunity to select your seats for free is to wait until Delta opens check-in which is 24 hours before your flight’s departure time.
4. If you are unable to find seats next to each other at check-in you will have to rely on the kindness of strangers to switch seats with you. Good luck!

Pay attention to the seat class before you book airline tickets, whether you’re flying Delta or any other airline. Many airlines have similar seat classes that allow them to offer lower fares but with more restrictions such as seat assignment, no checked baggage, last in boarding, etc.

This may be especially important when browsing airline tickets on travel websites such as Expedia or Travelocity. These sites allow you to compare a lot of different flight options and sort by the lowest cost flight, but it may not be readily apparent that you’ll have to pay extra to choose your seat or check a bag.