Charging for "premium" J seats - is this a new thing?
Dec 13, 2012, 9:43 am
#16
Join Date: Jan 2010
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Dec 13, 2012, 10:02 am
#17
Join Date: Jun 1999
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I would point out that though BA does charge for advanced seat allocation (for non-elites), even in J, no other US airline has "premium" seating fees for J or F, so this would be a first.
And secondly, AA doesn't charge elites for the premium seats in Y, so I would find it hard to believe that they would start doing so for J.
Dec 13, 2012, 11:21 am
#18
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 446
It's incomprehensible to me that someone could pay the thousands of dollar differential to fly J instead of Y, yet be unwilling to cough up another $14 for the seat of their choice. And even upgraders, whether by SWU or miles + copay, $14 seems trivial for such a long flight.
Dec 13, 2012, 11:54 am
#20
Join Date: Oct 2011
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I just got my flight from GRU to JFK upgraded with an SWU. I selected my seat over the phone (EXP Desk) and they didn't mention any fee for choosing an aisle seat.
Dec 13, 2012, 11:59 am
#21
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Dec 13, 2012, 12:00 pm
#22
Join Date: Jan 2009
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I highly doubt AA would be stupid enough to annoy high paying premium passengers with such a trivial nuisance fee.
Dec 13, 2012, 12:45 pm
#23
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I bet this is a glitch on the website- fourteen dollars seems like a strange amount for them to be charging for this. If they were to sink so low as to charge a fee for seat selection in J, I would expect it to be a round number and significantly more than fourteen dollars.
I highly doubt AA would be stupid enough to annoy high paying premium passengers with such a trivial nuisance fee.
I highly doubt AA would be stupid enough to annoy high paying premium passengers with such a trivial nuisance fee.
Dec 13, 2012, 1:31 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2010
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Okay, that seems like enough to make it worth doing for BA and is still only a modest increment on top of the cost to buy into J. Many people won't care enough to bother and it makes more of the better seats available for those who do care, especially elites who won't be paying the fees. I don't know if BA does it this way, but it would make sense to apply the charge only to discounted or buy-up J, though.
Frankly I had been trained for so long to not expect advance seat assignments on foreign carriers at all that I might have been willing to pay when it mattered to me. It was actually quite a pleasant surprise to discover that not only will BA allow me (free) advance seat assignments, but even the best exit row seats are open to me. That goes a long way to replacing the (mostly-theoretical in my case) ability to upgrade LH flights with UA instruments.
Frankly I had been trained for so long to not expect advance seat assignments on foreign carriers at all that I might have been willing to pay when it mattered to me. It was actually quite a pleasant surprise to discover that not only will BA allow me (free) advance seat assignments, but even the best exit row seats are open to me. That goes a long way to replacing the (mostly-theoretical in my case) ability to upgrade LH flights with UA instruments.
Last edited by NiceLanding; Dec 13, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Dec 13, 2012, 1:53 pm
#25
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: DTW
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Posts: 592
Okay, that seems like enough to make it worth doing for BA and is still only a modest increment on top of the cost to buy into J. Many people won't care enough to bother and it makes more of the better seats available for those who do care, especially elites who won't be paying the fees. I don't know if BA does it this way, but it would make sense to apply the charge only to discounted or buy-up J, though.
Frankly I had been trained for so long to not expect advance seat assignments on foreign carriers at all that I might have been willing to pay when it mattered to me. It was actually quite a pleasant surprise to discover that not only will BA allow me (free) advance seat assignments, but even the best exit row seats are open to me. That goes a long way to replacing the (mostly-theoretical in my case) ability to upgrade LH flights with UA instruments.
Frankly I had been trained for so long to not expect advance seat assignments on foreign carriers at all that I might have been willing to pay when it mattered to me. It was actually quite a pleasant surprise to discover that not only will BA allow me (free) advance seat assignments, but even the best exit row seats are open to me. That goes a long way to replacing the (mostly-theoretical in my case) ability to upgrade LH flights with UA instruments.
Dec 13, 2012, 2:00 pm
#26
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It's incomprehensible to me that someone could pay the thousands of dollar differential to fly J instead of Y, yet be unwilling to cough up another $14 for the seat of their choice. And even upgraders, whether by SWU or miles + copay, $14 seems trivial for such a long flight.
Dec 13, 2012, 2:23 pm
#27
Join Date: Sep 2002
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It's incomprehensible to me that someone could pay the thousands of dollar differential to fly J instead of Y, yet be unwilling to cough up another $14 for the seat of their choice. And even upgraders, whether by SWU or miles + copay, $14 seems trivial for such a long flight.
Maybe aisle seat assignments are free, they are just charging extra for isle seats.
Dec 13, 2012, 3:20 pm
#28
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: New York
Programs: AA EXP 1.0mm, not sure where I am with hotels these days
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Have you called the web services folks to find out if the selection issues are web-related or real? (I'm guessing not or we wouldn't have a new thread on this without that information, but it's always worth asking if the obvious has been tried 
)
(And, btw, they're aisle seats...unless they're on an island
)
Cheers.
)(And, btw, they're aisle seats...unless they're on an island
)Cheers.
Dec 13, 2012, 3:29 pm
#29
Original Poster
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It's incomprehensible to me that someone could pay the thousands of dollar differential to fly J instead of Y, yet be unwilling to cough up another $14 for the seat of their choice. And even upgraders, whether by SWU or miles + copay, $14 seems trivial for such a long flight.
Dec 13, 2012, 4:30 pm
#30
Join Date: Feb 2006
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I'd go elsewhere if I were ponying up thousands of dollars for paid J and then they did something as foolish as this especially when they could have just added another $14 to the fare and I wouldn't have noticed
a resort fee within the J cabin I guess
a resort fee within the J cabin I guess