<p>I used to love flying. I now HATE flying. I just don't need this kind of hassle. It's much more pleasant driving or staying at home.</p>
<p>"
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- American Airlines has discovered a new way to charge passengers for something they used to get for free: sitting near the front of the plane....</p>
<p>The size of the fee depends on the flight, with longer flights charging more. American provided the following introductory fees: $19 for St. Louis to Chicago, $29 for San Francisco to Dallas/Fort Worth or from Boston to Chicago, and $39 for New York City to Los Angeles or from Honolulu to Chicago." New</a> fee for American Airlines: sitting up front - Aug. 18, 2010</p>
<p>Geez!!! Another fee. It sounds like theater sitting - the closer you are to the stage, the more you pay. Aren't there some data showing that sitting in the tail section is a teeeny-tiny bit safer?</p>
<p>The airlines' options, especially those that travel internationally, are to either raise everyone's ticket prices or to price a la carte. It's the same reason food is so expensive at a movie theater or ballpark. The food could be cheaper, but then tickets would be more expensive.</p>
<p>"Airlines announce clothing surcharges. Travel experts say these new charges are a transparent effort to shame passengers into paying more. The naked truth revealed ... tonight on the ten o'clock news!"</p>
<p>"Just fly Southwest and you don't have to worry about any fees."</p>
<p>Southwest doesn't come to my city. I've gotten to the point of preferring to drive instead of flying, and I hate to drive! But I hate flying more!</p>
<p>Take a deep breath and a serious look around. The US is a nation in serious economic decline. We all are paying more for less. Our collective standard of living must compete with and eventually thus reflect the standard of living of our competitors around the world. This is the inevitable social effect of economic globalization.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Just fly Southwest and you don't have to worry about any fees.
[/quote]
Nope - Southwest has been doing these 'fees' for a while now (those people in front of you in the boarding line even if you were the first to 'check in').</p>
<p>I wonder if I'll be charged more for the flight I booked, but have not yet taken. I'm sure it's American and I took a seat near the front. What do you think?</p>
<p>And as for this:
[quote]
disabled passengers will continue to get priority seating for the front coach section, and they will not be charged extra for it.
[/quote]
When my son came home for the summer, he had a cane that someone gave him. All through the airport, he walked with a limp (like Dr. House). Soon enough, he was getting special treatment. When someone allowed him to cut in front in some line, he realized it was the cane. He apologized and explained it wasn't needed, but I wonder if others will start to "fake" a physical disability like that to get out of paying extra.</p>
<p>
[Quote]
Nope - Southwest has been doing these 'fees' for a while now (those people in front of you in the boarding line even if you were the first to 'check in').
[/Quote]
</p>
<p>Most of the time I have always been in the first group to board and I have never paid those fees.</p>
<p>In the past it was whoever was the most "aggressive"-"sweet"-"good looking"-"lucky" at the ticket counter etc. to get the good seats. Now, mostly it will be who pays for them whether through frequent flying or cash upgrades. I observed some different programs this summer. Easy Jet in Switzerland: you pay to board first so you can get the good seats because you can't get booked seats. KLM/Delta selling upgrades at the ticket counter to get a bulkhead seat out of Atlanta. Swiss just giving me good seats and "hot" boarding tags at the counter for free. Don't know why that happened. Here's a plug for Easy Jet: they cancelled a flight and refunded everything including hotel, meals, ticket costs that we were out and we flew the next day. Just keep all your receipts! So I am a frequent flyer with one airline group and got treated really well this summer. With the others, I could also if I paid for it. And I got an old-fashioned deal with one airline. With me, it just depends on how long the flights last.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Most of the time I have always been in the first group to board and I have never paid those fees.
[/quote]
If you're reasonably quick to do the online checkin when it opens you can usually get into the 'A' group but you'll probably find that you won't be in the first 15-20 or so of the group because that's usually taken up by those who pay the extra fee for 'priority checkin'. It'll depend somewhat on the routes and those which see a lot of business traffic - like SAN-SJC.</p>
<p>I'm not knocking Southwest - I'm just saying that they charge an extra fee for passengers who want the greatest selectivity of seats as some of the other airlines seem to be starting.</p>
<p>Some airlines reward its frequent flyers with the stuff that used to be free for all. Alaska does not charge a fee for first dibs on front row seats but instead reserves the seats for its elite members, MVPs and Golds. It encourages customer loyalty - DH prefers to fly Alaska for this particular reason (and no fees for checked bags) to maintain his "elite" flyer status. A mere mortal like me gets her choice of middle seats in the tail section :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Just booked a ticket for D1 to fly to her program in January on Southwest for $121 (including taxes & airport fees) plus I chose the $10 early boarding fee (my experience is that it is the best way to keep from getting bumped, then just be sure to check in as close to 24 hours ahead of time as possible). She will be able to check 2 suitcases for free, which is good as she needs extra clothes beyond normal for this program.</p>
<p>The major carrier that hubs through this city... $459 for the same flight. Although theirs was a non-stop, and Southwest has one stop of less than an hour in a city that isn't really out of the way... And I think she would pay $60 for checking those two bags. Bringing the total cost to almost exactly 4 times that of Southwest.</p>
<p>By the way, I heard on NPR last night that this new fee for seats in front applies to the bulkhead seats. I have always avoided those like the plague (no seat to stow stuff underneath ahead of you, so you HAVE to get up -- and it is the usual location of crying babies). So now someone can PAY for that privilege?</p>
<p>"By the way, I heard on NPR last night that this new fee for seats in front applies to the bulkhead seats. I have always avoided those like the plague (no seat to stow stuff underneath ahead of you, so you HAVE to get up -- and it is the usual location of crying babies). So now someone can PAY for that privilege? "</p>
<p>The only people who tend to want those seats are people who are very tall and people with babies and toddlers. How crappy of airlines to charge them extra.</p>
<p>limabeans - About 30 or so years ago I was dating a guy who commuted between NY and LA on a fairly regular basis and he discovered that if he requested a wheelchair (no justification required) he got preferred treatment from start to finish.</p>
