14 CFR Part 382 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel (Air Carrier Access Act) (with amendments issued through May 2016)

(a) As a carrier that assigns seats in advance, you must provide accommodations in the following ways:

(1) If you use the “seat-blocking” mechanism of §382.83(a)(1) of this part, you must implement the requirements of this section as follows:

(i) When a passenger with a disability not described in §382.81(a) through (d) of this part makes a reservation more than 24 hours before the scheduled departure time of the flight, you are not required to offer the passenger one of the seats blocked for the use of passengers with a disability listed under §382.81.

(ii) However, you must assign to the passenger any seat, not already assigned to another passenger that accommodates the passenger's needs, even if that seat is not available for assignment to the general passenger population at the time of the request.

(2) If you use the “designated priority seats” mechanism of §382.83(a)(2) of this part, you must implement the requirements of this section as follows:

(i) When a passenger with a disability not described in §382.81 makes a reservation, you must assign to the passenger any seat, not already assigned to another passenger, that accommodates the passenger's needs, even if that seat is not available for assignment to the general passenger population at the time of the request. You may require a passenger making such a request to check in one hour before the standard check-in time for the flight.

(ii) If such a passenger is assigned to a designated priority seat, he or she is subject to being reassigned to another seat as provided in §382.83(a)(2)(i) of this subpart.