Originally Posted by
ningyo
Since today, flight booking on Air China's website has a new interface --- fancier looking and less informative than the old one --- and introduced fees for seat reservations. I can't say anything about business class, but in economy, the only seats you can select for free now are at the very back. The fees are higher the further the chosen seat is to the front.
When I was booking my January Japan trip last December, seat reservation in the front Y cabin was for a fee. Seat reservation in the rear Y cabin was free. In flight, there were much less people in the front Y cabin than in the rear though, many people in the front had entire rows of 3 seats to themselves.