Originally Posted by
Lux Flyer
Preferred seating zone assignments exist absent BE fares, and non-BE passengers currently also run into the issue when all the non-preferred seats have already been taken. The problem exists regardless of BE fares being present or not. This is not a BE vs. no BE issue as people want to try to make it out to be.
Fine, then phase out the idea of preferred seats if need be. This variable didn't exist until the 2000s and I don't recall reading many horror stories here before it came along.