Airfarewatchdog.com

A recent Airfarewatchdog poll revealed that after checked bag fees, the most hated airline fee is the one extracted for advanced seat selection. This used to be entirely free, but no more.

Say you log on to JetBlue’s Web site to book a flight. You choose one, you select a seat you like – paying $10 or more per leg for more room up front or in an exit row. Bang. You’re done.

Now try doing the same on Delta.com – what, you want an exit row? You want to sit up front? Better have your SkyMiles number handy.

Got none? Back of the bus, sir.

Let’s say you’re on the Web once more, surfing the site of Denver-based low-fare flyer Frontier. Here, you book the lowest fare available – clever you! –  there will be no getting anywhere near a seating plan, let alone any selecting of favorite aisle seats up front. Not until 24 hours before takeoff, you won’t – and then, let’s hope that all that's left isn't the dreaded middle seat.

Still, things could be worse – there’s Allegiant Air, which charges between $4.99 and $24.99 to anyone – anyone – who wants to get near a seat map before the day of flight. Leaving you, of course, to wonder if that Orlando flight you paid $39.99 for is going to be the worst of your life, sandwiched between two terrifyingly loud, sugar-charged children who’ve never been to Disney World (and are also recovering from nasty colds, cough cough.) Unless, of course, you cough up.

These days, flyers who don’t like surprises ought to take heed when booking a flight. Rare is the airline with an advance seat selection process that mirrors any other; what seems so sensible for one (open up the whole thing, charge an arm and a leg for the really good stuff and bring in a nice chunk of change per flight) seems so difficult for others to grasp (Southwest, which clings to its no-seat-assignments-ever rule, which its loyal customers continue to pretend to not mind.)

Policies all over the place

While it can seem as if there’s no rhyme or reason to the way each airline handles the divvying up of seats on its planes, there actually is. If you take a look at this chart, which goes over the current seat selection rules for 16 airlines, a pattern emerges – legacy carriers such as Delta and American continue to try and please their frequent flyers first, holding back the best seats (among them, exit rows) for their most loyal customers. Those that are new, new-ish or focused on low fares (and less on loyalty) tend to be a bit of a free-for-all.

Some of the legacy carriers like United, want to have it all. They want to please their long-time customers, but they also find the lure of making a buck off of premium seating too much to ignore. 

Thus, on United, you have Economy Plus, featuring five more inches of legroom in the upfront rows on all domestic and international flights. Elite frequent fliers are generally given these seats automatically. However, anyone can buy in, based on availability – rates start at $9 and go up to $109 for long-haul flights. United even sells a $425 annual Economy Plus pass, ensuring you’ll always have more legroom.    

Other airlines that have resisted making such bold changes are now giving in; Continental, for example, recently announced a similar program, where premium seats (including exit rows) will be made available for a fee for those who want to log on within 24 hours of departure and select them; the airline has said these seats will not be available for purchase at the airport. When last we tried, attempting to select an exit row seat within 24 hours of departure on a Continental flight yields nothing more than a rollover message instructing you to “request at check-in.” But unless they've changed their minds, this is probably fixed by now.

After checked baggage fees, probably the most disdained airline fee is the one for selecting your seat. Long a perk that came without charge--and one that costs the airline nothing extra to provide--it's now just another profit center. Here's what several airlines charge, if anything, for advanced seat selection.

Lots of new sales released today, including the usual Tuesday deals from AirTran. Their latest sale is valid for travel through November 16, with the lowest fares available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Tickets require a 10-day advance purchase. Avoid blackout dates on April 2, 3, May 28, 31, June 18-20, 25-27, July 2, 3, 5, 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, 30-31, August 1, and 6-8.

Also new, Frontier's sale is good for off-peak travel Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, through June 9. Fare must be purchased by 11:59pm ET, March 26, and require a 14-day advance purchase. Beware of blackout dates May 27, 28 and 31. Take note of their seasonal service schedule: Milwaukee-St. Louis service begins March 1; Milwaukee-Raleigh/Durham service begins April 1; Louisville, KY service begins April 19; Denver-Anchorage, Denver-Fairbanks and Denver-Jackson Hole service begin May 14. Non-stop service Denver to/from Green Bay, WI; Branson, MO begins April 20; Non-stop service Denver to/from Newport News, VA and Madison, WI begins May 3; non-stop service Denver to/from Grand Rapids, MI; and Long Beach, CA begins May 14; non-stop service Denver to/from Santa Barbara, CA begins June 4. Denver-Fargo and Denver-Tulsa service ends April 5. Kansas City-Ft. Myers, Milwaukee-Ft. Lauderdale and Milwaukee-Ft. Myers service end April 18, Denver-San Jose CA service ends May 13.

From Alaska Airlines, fly between April 6 and June 18, with fares starting at $79 one-way, before taxes. Sale fares are valid for travel Tuesdays through Thursdays, as well as Saturdays. Tickets require a 14-day advance purchase, and must be booked by April 2. Visit their sale page for more info.

Southwest's weekly 3-Day Sale is valid through June 10, for travel every day except Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Fares require a 14-day advance purchase, and all tickets must be booked by 11:59pm PT, March 25.

They call these fares "breathtaking" and they surely are, but not in a good way. Detroit to Milwaukee for $298 round-trip!?

Fares aren't quite as low as we've seen in previous Southwest weekly sales, but still better than what you'll find from other carriers along many of these routes.

Avoid blackout dates from May 27 through June 1, when you'll pay even more.

Fares include:

Nashville to Corpus Christi $248 round-trip

Cleveland to Kansas $218 round-trip

Denver to Boise $180 round-trip

Houston to Los Angeles $256 round-trip

Long Island to Chicago $166 round-trip

Omaha to Indianapolis $166 round-trip

Oakland to Burbank $118 round-trip

Portland to San Diego $216 round-trip

In researching fares for our UK site, we found another interesting discrepancy between flights from Europe to the U.S. vs. fares from the U.S. to Europe. Let's say you were looking for a very last minute fare from London to Boston. You could find seats at the time of writing for the USD equivalent of $684 round-trip on United and perhaps even less on Virgin (that would be leaving tomorrow, Mar 24). But the last minute flight from Boston to London, same dates, would set you back anywhere from just over $1000 to well over $2000 round-trip. Interesting, and another reason perhaps why fares are so high from the U.S. to Europe: seats are being offered to Europeans for less than they are to Americans. Check out Virgin Atlantic's "late deals" page for other examples and do your own price comparisons in the opposite direction.

Gosh! We had some trouble trying to choose a Fare of the Day out of all those great last-minute spring fares. We like them all, but we've managed to narrow it down to our top two faves. First, there's St Louis to Tokyo $562 round-trip, incl. all taxes:

This fare is good for travel on select days in late April and May. Next, we have Chicago to Dublin $545 round-trip, incl. all taxes:

You'll find this fare available for travel on a few days in April.

Some recent JetBlue and other airlines' sales haven't been all that stellar, but this is an excellent one indeed, with fares ranging from $29 on short hops to $149 on a few longer routes, each way with no round-trip purchase required.

Pay attention to the date restrictions, however, to avoid disappointment. For example, travel to/from Boston is only available for Tue/Wed travel for travel Apr 28 to Jun 16.

Continental Airlines will likely match this sale from Newark, and other airlines will match on competing routes, if history is an indicator.

New York JFK to Kingston, Jamaica for $69 each way plus tax is a standout, but travel at that fare is valid only on Wednesdays.

This is a short lived sale! Buy tickets between 3/23 (12:01 EDT) - 3/24/10 (11:59 EDT) for travel occurring between 4/13-6/16/10. Offers are for nonstop travel and are subject to change without notice. Offers may not be available on all days or on all flights. Offers must be purchased at time of reservation, and are one-way, nonrefundable and nontransferable. Fare offers (not Award flights) redeemed by telephone, or at an airport or city ticket office, have a $15 fee per person. 14-day advance purchase may be required. Offers do not include Passenger Facility Charges of up to $9 each way, September 11th Security Fees of up to $5 each way, and a Federal Segment Tax of $3.70 per domestic segment (a segment is a takeoff and landing). International offers also do not include government fees and taxes up to $127.60 each way. Puerto Rico offers do not include a U.S. Departure Tax of $16.10 each way. Taxes and fees must be paid at the time of purchase. JetBlue reserves the right to deny boarding to passengers without proper documentation. A second bag fee of $30 applies.

More fine print:

Travel window restrictions: For travel between New York City and Punta Cana: travel must not be before 5/6/10. For travel between Boston and San Jose, CA: travel must not be before 5/13/10. For travel to/from Boston: no travel between 4/14-4/28/10. For travel between New York City and Aguadilla: no travel between 6/9-6/15/10. For travel between Orlando and Newark and/or New York City and between Ft. Lauderdale and Newburgh: travel must take place on Tue., Wed., and/or Thu. For travel between New York City and Charlotte, Portland (ME), and/or Rochester and between Boston and Charlotte and/or Richmond and from Fort Lauderdale to Santo Domingo: travel must take place on Mon., Tue., Wed., Thu., and/or Sat. For travel between Boston and Montego Bay: travel must take place on Wed. For travel from New York City to Saint Lucia: travel must take place on Mon., Thur., and/or Sun. For travel from Washington, DC to Cancun: travel must take place on Sat. For travel between New York City and Richmond and/or Pittsburg: travel must take place on Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., and/or Sat.. For all other city pairs, travel must take place on Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays.

Change/Cancel Policies: NON-AWARD FLIGHT CHANGES/CANCELLATIONS may be made prior to scheduled departure for $100 per person plus applicable fare adjustment by visiting jetblue.com or calling 1-800-JETBLUE (1-800-538-2583), TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530, Dominican Republic (1-809-200-9898), Bermuda (1-800-884-9616), Mexico (1-800-861-3372). Aruba (1-297-588-5388), St. Maarten (1-801-365-2583), Costa Rica (0800-0121666) or Jamaica (1-800-963-3014). Cancellations are for a JetBlue travel credit only, which is valid for one year. If a reservation is not changed or canceled prior to scheduled departure, all money associated with the reservation is forfeited. TRUEBLUE AWARD FLIGHT CHANGES/CANCELLATION may be made prior to scheduled departure for $100 per person by calling 1-800-JETBLUE, TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530. In the case of cancellations, TrueBlue points will be re-deposited to the Member's Account. In the case of changes, TrueBlue Points can be applied toward changes, plus any increase in points as resulting from the change.

Shop the sale

Atlanta to Kansas City $159 round-trip, incl. all taxes

This fare is valid for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays through November 16.

Alaska Airlines is back with another round of Web Specials.  Travel rules and restrictions vary by city, but most are good for travel from April 12 through May 30, with a 14-day advance purchase. Fares include:

Anchorage to Juneau $298 round-trip

Denver to Ketchikan $614 round-trip

Fresno to Portland $238 round-trip

Oakland to Ketchikan $534 round-trip

Chicago to Portland $258 round-trip

Seattle to Houston $198 round-trip

Sacramento to Spokane $178 round-trip