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

By: Charles Clarke

Charles Clarke — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 01:32:49 +0000

@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.

By: frostysnowman

frostysnowman — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:10:01 +0000

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…

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Freud’s Psyche - Psyched on Freud | Open_Secrets — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:44:57 +0000

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By: LAURA

LAURA — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:29:04 +0000

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.

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:13:36 +0000

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!

By: Summer Jenkins

Summer Jenkins — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:49:15 +0000

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.