This is my first flight on AI since they started charging for seats. And based on what I could gather from their website and the OptionTown site it seems like yet another incredibly stupid implementation of a very simple idea. Here is what I could gather about the program. Please correct me if I’m wrong or missing any important points:
- Charged @ Rs. 200 for window & aisle, Rs. 100 for middle seat, Rs. 500 for first & exit row for domestic flights plus $1 for OptionTown. So the program isn’t too expensive
- No benefits for *A or AI elites - While I didn’t use my AI FFP# for this booking I couldn’t find anywhere that said I’d get the privilege if I switched it to AI, and I’m a Maharaja. Every other airline that I know that charges for seats always gives at least their elites better seat choices if not to the entire alliance
- All available seats are up for grabs at T-4
Now here’s the best parts:
- When you pay the fee the seat selection still isn’t guaranteed. You have to wait for a few hours for a confirmation email. If you don’t get your seat choice your money is refunded 5 days after the flight
And the better than the best part:
- Because AI is running this program stupidly through OptionTown you don’t get to see the seat map before you pay the fee. So you don’t know what seats are available and which ones have already been taken
And bestest better than the best part:
- You can’t even select the seat you want before you pay the fee! And from what I could make out from the site... you can’t even select it after paying the fee. So you can select the seat type you want like window/aisle/emergency/first row but you can’t select 12C for example. How moronic is that
Yet another example of how completely clueless AI management is. So far every single thing the mangement has done to help cut costs and boost revenues after the governement decided to put them up for sale can only lead to more people deserting the ailing airlines.
If I didn’t know better I would think that AI is purposely doing this to sabotage the sale and make the airlines unsellable and force the government to continue pumping money into it. But I know better. They’re just idiots.