How would someone “boycott” or refuse to pay a fee and still get booked on a flight? I don’t think more than a handful of frequent flyers would, in protest, only book their flight at the basic economy fare. Or is the proposal that, whatever fare class you choose to fly, you don’t choose a seat that has a fee associated with it?

With certain fares and certain membership levels, you can have any seat you want, so if you’re of the “privileged” class, there’s really no way to boycott. The way the industry works these days, what one airline does, the others do. If, for example, a large number of people stopped flying on United and booked on another airline (and paid the seat fees there as long as they’re willing), perhaps United might take to the suggestion that “I’d fly with you if I didn’t have to pay extra for an aisle seat” and the rest of the airlines would follow. But for many, I feel that giving up their privileges on one airline for a possible greater good might be too much of an obstacle.

I’m only a peon, so the only way I get an exit row seat nowadays is on Southwest when I check in early enough to get a good place in line. I remember the Goode Olde Days when I was able to reserve any available seat in the cabin that I paid for, but a lot has changed since then. For what it's worth, on my last round trip on American (DCA-MCO), I looked at the seat map, found that nearly all of the available seats were in the center except for an exit row seat at a $59 premium (the Basic Economy fare was about $100), I took the cheap option and was pleasantly surprised that I indeed got a seat assignment when I booked the flight. Sure, it was a center seat within a row of the bathroom, but I anticipated not getting a seat assignment until I got to the gate. Small consolation, significant saving. If this was a 5-6 hour flight rather than a 2-1/4 hour flight I might have opted for a 'paid for' seat.

I'm not a Luddite, just a cheapskate.