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“No more seat envy” — a devious spin on new fees

November 11, 2008

Looks like Sigmund Freud is inspiring the marketing folks at Delta Air Lines who have the unenviable task of telling us what else we will have to pay for when we fly. The airline’s latest letter to its customers would probably make the good doctor proud.

Say goodbye to seat envy! We’re giving you more power over where you sit on upcoming flights.

With our new Coach Choice Seats, you may now purchase select window, aisle or exit-row seats when you check in online or at a Delta airport kiosk.

Prices range from $5 to $25 per flight depending on distance traveled and seat location. So what are you waiting for? Simply check in online within 24 hours prior to your scheduled departure to make the change and claim your new seat. The choice is yours.

Seat envy? Have Delta’s marketers just coined a term?

If so, they may wish they hadn’t. Seat envy is an acknowledgment that some — if not many — of Delta’s economy class seats are unenviable. Did they really mean to imply that?

It’s a clever letter, but savvy air travelers will probably find it laughable. They know that Delta is just making another money grab — cashing in for seats that used to cost them nothing extra.

There’s another term Delta should look up in the medical dictionary before they write another letter: delusional

(Thanks for the tip, Tab.)

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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6 comments

  • http://g3visas.com Summer Jenkins

    AirTran already has similar fees in place. If you book online, you have to pay extra if you want to choose your seat. It costs $6 to select one of the standard coach seats, and even more if you want to sit in an exit row, bulkhead, or other more-desirable coach seat.

    I recently paid $24 to ensure that I’d get to sit next to my 5 year old son on AirTran flights to and from DC… and that was for back of the plane, window and middle seats! The next time I fly AirTran I’ll skip the pay-to-pick process, and sort it out either at the airport check-in counter, or on the plane.

    On the plus side, AirTran doesn’t charge a fee for the first checked bag, and they were generous with the ginger ale.

  • http://cestbeth.wordpress.com Beth

    I received this e-mail as DL Silver Medallion and choice seats do not cost me any more anyway, I just have to wait until 24 hours before departure. However, the sad thing is that most of these seats, save the exit rows, are NO better than any other seat. The only advantage to some is that they are at the front of the cabin, so you can get the heck off of there quicker! :)

    I just wish airlines would just bump up the fare instead of tacking on fee after fee if they are not earning enough!

  • LAURA

    Charging to pick your seat is an outrage. If I bought my ticket first then I should have first pick of seats within my travel class. And it’s not like we were all paying the same fare within the same class anyway.

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  • frostysnowman

    I had my first experience with “choice seating” on Delta when I flew from Tampa to ATL last Thursday. I checked in for my flight and had been reassigned from seat 21C, which I had chosen three weeks earlier when I booked the ticket, to 44F (back row, window seat). When I scrolled up on the seat assignment diagram I found I could have my original seat back for the low price of $5.00. So I paid it because the few aisle seats that were in the “no extra charge zone” were all taken. I picked seat 20D and upon boarding the plane discovered there was no overhead space because the area above that row was for the medical equipment on this particular plane. My computer bag, which isn’t that large, would not fit under the seat, so long story short my bag ended up in the bin over row 31! So I paid five bucks to sit in a “premium” seat, only to have my bag 11 rows behind me (and wasn’t it fun trying to get to it during deplaning). I would not have chosen that row if I’d gotten a message during check in saying that row had limiited or no overhead storage, which I believe it should have since I was paying extra to sit there. I’m still fuming…

  • http://www.clarkecomputer.com Charles Clarke

    @frostysnowman – seatguru.com tells you which seats have limited overhead space. Though, since I don’t like waiting in the plane and usually board later, I’ve had times I’ve had to stick my 2nd bag several rows behind me.

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