Here’s a decision most of us will have to make the next time we fly: Should we splurge for a “premium” seat in economy class — an aisle or a window seat — or leave it to chance, and possibly end up in a middle seat?
ANCILLARY
We got yet another painful reminder of how fee-crazy the airline industry has become when this video clip went viral yesterday. As if we needed one.
Yes, but hardly.
The sooner, the better.
Here’s the final piece of the ancillary revenue puzzle. It’s an amorphous category known as miscellaneous operating revenues, and although we may not know that much about it, we do know there’s a lot of it being collected by airlines. Like, almost $3 billion worth of it last year. And probably about the same amount in 2010.
What’s an airline ticket? Is it just an agreement to carry you from point A to point B? Or is there more to it? Airline executives seem to think that a ticket is a seat on a plane, and that’s all. Lately, the industry has been busy unbundling services that traditionally came with a seat, [...]
My friend Addison Schonland said it best: Anyone who thinks baggage fees are going away is living on another planet. And as if to underscore that point, IdeaWorks has released a survey that shows ancillary revenue is up 345 percent from 2006, to an eye-popping $10 billion last year.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
I'm on Facebook: Please "like" 
WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM? If you're having trouble with a travel business - any business - and you've reached a dead end, maybe I can help. Send me an