Comments on: Airline considers $10 surcharge for baby-free seating, priority disembarking

By: ajaynejr

ajaynejr — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 15:20:02 +0000

I think there should be special dispensation available every once in awhile for various things including for guaranteed space in the cabin for certain baggage. This should not involve having to step up to a much more expensive fare like first class. The idea of ten dollars for this, fifteen dollars for that makes sense. I would be in favor of making it less expensive for very infrequent instances such as one guitar or picture frame in ten years of occasional flying, and more expensive for those who want more privileges regularly, but that would be too complicated to administer.

By: Mark from the real world

Mark from the real world — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:12:03 +0000

Sorry to all whom don’t know what’s going on, all the time. I have two active children, which most of the time are well behaved but do get bored easlily. We bring everything we can from books, to toys to our own movie players. But what do you do when one of your kids is mild audtistic? Do we ban him from Disney or can people realize that there are things out there that no one can control. Maybe the people who have issues should rent a car and to their destination, because I wouldn’t survive that long with my two. They don’t intentionally upset people, but if they happen to bump a chair or a table, so what. I recently flew back from Mexico and we were reading to keep them calm and our 3 year old slid off his chair and bumped the chair ahead. One instance and the guy turned and suggested we control our children. If that is the level of patience from an adult, how can you expect more from a child. Just a thought.

By: Andrew Brown

Andrew Brown — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:51:31 +0000

I’d pay $200 extra for an annoyance-free flight. That means: no babies, no kids, no people that stink, and no drunkards wanting to tell me their life story. :P

By: tripso.com | Why corporate denials are hurting air travelers

tripso.com | Why corporate denials are hurting air travelers — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:35:27 +0000

[...] I reported earlier this week that one reader had been asked by the Canadian carrier if she would pay more to avoid sitting next to families with children, and “priority” disembarking, among other [...]

By: News of the Week: Upgrades and Downgrades | Flight Wisdom

News of the Week: Upgrades and Downgrades | Flight Wisdom — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:57:39 +0000

[...] is considering a variety of new surcharges, which they inquired about in a recent survey sent to their customers. [...]

By: D. Kyle

D. Kyle — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:30:41 +0000

This is an internet hoax. From any other airline I would believe them but this is WestJet, one of the best run airlines in the world.

By: wandermom

wandermom — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:08:18 +0000

The vitriol expressed about “screaming children” always surprises and saddens me.

I wish the airlines would come to some industry agreement and all raise prices by 5% – and stop this nickle-and-dime-ing everyone.
But then again, I’ve flown Ryanair enough times to know where this is going and it isn’t pretty.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:05:08 +0000

I’d be willing to pay $10 for several of these things ~ the crying children, of course…but especially the (hopefully) 10 minute security line or priority disembarking if you had a tight connection.

My issue would be that by charging $5 for this and $15 for that and $10 for something else….pretty soon we’ll just have to automatically calculate an additional $50 in our head when searching for good (cheap) prices…

By: mathew

mathew — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:38:08 +0000

I, too, would pay $10 extra to be guaranteed a seat away from screaming children. It’s something I’ve suggested to airlines in the past when taking surveys.

By: Globetrotting Bride

Globetrotting Bride — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:52:46 +0000

I would definitely pay $10 for a baby free flight. Worse than the crying is the kid who sits behind me and kicks my seat the whole time while the parents pretend to not notice!

By: Cathy Jolly

Cathy Jolly — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:32:06 +0000

I can’t imagine the airlines being able to manage who paid for what services. That said, I would be happy to trade inflight internet access for checking in at a kiosk.

By: Carver Farrow

Carver Farrow — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:34:53 +0000

Of course, marketing notwithstanding, there is no econominc difference between a fee for a service you use or a discount for not using a service. That being said, it would depend on the purpose of a given trip.

On an overnight business trip,I would be happy to save money by not checking bags. On a one week trip to Europe, I’d rather check the bags.

The real problem is to make sure that the airlines do not devalue their frequent flyer programs by duplicating the benefits for a $10 fee.

By: Mark P

Mark P — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:56:01 +0000

Absolutely! I would pay extra to sit far away from kids kicking the back of my seat..babies crying while parents either ignore, or try their best to quiet the child down. It would be better to have a “baby/child” zone in the plane, but that will never happen. $10 is a small price to pay for peace.

Yes to $10 to clear security check points. Would be nice to pass by the line especially when you are running late to catch a flight.

Yes to $10 Internet and Power connectivity. Would make the flight go by much quicker and not have to worry about carrying extra batteries for the notebook.

All in all the majority of these upgrades look like the perks in first/business class without the huge difference in price. Granted you don’t get the big comfy chair, but for the price, it does add value.