The major airlines across the country are looking at charging customers higher prices to sit in the window or aisle seat. More and more airlines are looking at charging a premium for the window or aisle seat as they are considering the coveted seats to be luxury options, as opposed to the middle seat.
Passengers of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines “had to pay for seats in advance or risk having the airline put them in whatever seat is available,” according to Scott Mayerowitz in an interview with ABC News.
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Other airlines have looked for other ways of charging passengers for a good seat. Southwest Airlines does not assign seats to fliers, but rather passengers are allowed to pick their own seats as they board. The airline recently jacked up the price of early boarding by 20 percent, and requires fliers cough up $15 each way in order to get priority boarding to get a preferable seat.
Delta Airlines does not allow fliers traveling in their least expensive option, basic economy, to select their seat until 24 hours before departure. Typically all of the coveted aisle and window seats have already been taken by those who paid a higher fare.
“American Airlines and United are following Delta’s lead on this and will be launching their own basic economy fares in coming months although they haven’t yet released the details of those plans,” Mayerowitz stated.
The best way the experts suggest avoiding the middle seat or the ones right by the bathroom is to frequently check airlines websites especially in the 24-hour-before departure time. Often times elite fliers are upgraded and their seats open up allowing you to snatch up the good seats. Another suggestion from the experts would be to enter flight information into ExpertFlyer.com, and the website will automatically send an email to travelers when an aisle or window seat becomes available.
Are you surprised that the major airlines are going to raise prices for window and aisle seats?
