...the American Airlines agent clarified by saying that all aisle seats available for seat assignments to non “Preferred” economy class ticket holders were gone. But if Nader were willing to buy pay a full-fare, refundable ticket – for $2,680.40 -- he could get a guaranteed aisle seat .
Ah, he purchased his fare quite late in the game and wanted / expected special treatment.
Fact is he might have been able to purchase a *UP fare and ride up front for less, and "his 6'4" frame" would not have been any better accommodated in an aisle seat than in a middle seat - only in an exit row would he have had greater seat pitch.
So, the agent chose not to tell him he should plan further ahead, that he might be able to find a more desirable seat on an earlier or later flight, or even purchase an "instant upgrade" seat for less? And as a consumer advocate of longstanding experience, he was totally clueless about how the system works? But hey, let's blame the airline, it's such a popular thing to do these days... might get some column inches out of it in a publication still paying attention to Mr. Nader
Originally Posted by MCMAHONSmR
It's articles like this that show how biased some publications are. So, Nader is flying on 2/11. He purchased his ticket on 2/1. We know he is going BDL to DFW on AA. The article claims he paid $750 and that in order to get a guaranteed aisle seat, he'd have had to pay $2680. How on earth is this even possible?
I don't know what the fares were on 2/1 when this ticket was allegedly purchased, but a full fare F one way ticket from BDL to DFW on 2/11 is $1685, some $1,000 cheaper than what they claim the cost for him to buy a full fare Y ticket was. P fare is $1231. Y is $1357. And an L fare can be procured for $580. That would be if I ticketed BDL to DFW on AA 1525 or 357 today on a one way basis.
If you are a nobody, the seat maps for both of those flights are quite full. 1525 has some "preferred" seats available, one being an aisle right now. The later flight, AA357, is indeed quite full. But, where did this travel agent or whomever come up with the idea that Nader needed to cough up $2680 for an aisle seat? Just like so many one post wonders, there's as many holes in this story as there are in a wheel of swiss cheese. Rubbish. Pure rubbish.