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Pay-to-pick seating trickery
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Current posts | CategoriesPay-to-pick seating trickery
Q. I am flying United this week and just checked in online. I was forced to buy an "Economy Plus" seat with extra legroom because there were no remaining seats in regular economy. This is the second time this has happened to me with United, but it has never happened with other airlines. I fly nearly every week and I am about to cross United off my list of airlines. Is there any way around this in the future if I have to fly United?
A. This is a growing problem not just with United but also with other airlines, such as US Airways, that sell "premium economy" seats for an extra fee. One method is to not choose a seat assignment when checking in online. You'll probably get the extra legroom seat for free, but you won't be able to choose your exact seat location, meaning that you might end up in a middle seat. But you'll avoid the extra fee.
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It is possible to not select a seat, but because United tends to oversell their flights (pretty much every flight, if they can), you run the risk of not getting a seat on the flight if you don't buck up for the extra legroom. Yes, you may get the seat for free at check-in at the airport, but you may also be one of the unlucky ones stiffed with getting on a different flight, since you didn't pick a seat in advance. It's a sneaky trick by United that borders on extortion. I wish I could avoid United, but unfortunately they are impossibly to avoid sometimes.
by Dave on Monday, January 09, 2012
No trickery involved. If you're not willing to pay for the extra room, you should not expect to get it for free just because it's the only seat available at check in. Premium seats should be left open if they're not paid for...bonus room for those extra-fee-paying customers seated next to the empty seat. Those who pay the extra fees upfront shouldn't be expected to subsidize open seats for the cheapskates at check-in!
by Debmure2 on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A frequent flyer(weekly!), I am sorry to say, is either uninformed or otherwise refuses to maintain loyalty with a particular airline. With United 1K, for example, you receive free systemwide upgrades, worldwide. Just puzzled with this flyer's situation, that's all....
by gleebeck on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
On United you don't have to wait until check-in to select your seat (how do you think all the other seats were already reaserved?) Whether you purchase on-line or over the phone -- even if you are just making a reservation, you can select a seat at that time. If you don't select then, you can log into your reservation anytime after the ticket is issued and select a seat. It stands to reason that the longer you wait, the less selection of preferred seats you will have, so why would you wait until check-in or when you get to the airport? This has nothing to do with trickery or this airline's policies. It's about finding out how other's got their seats and acting like them.
by StanScan on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
I have seen this too on a few airline sites, so I did just as selected. I bought the ticket and didn't select a seat at the time of purchase. On one, later, when checking into my flight, I was able to select the seat I wanted. On another trip I had to wait til I got to the gate and ask the agent for a seating assignment.
by Speak on Tuesday, October 18, 2011
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