Air Canada charging seat selection fees for Asia flights
Jul 17, 2019, 6:35 pm
#1
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Air Canada charging seat selection fees for Asia flights
I just noticed that AC seems to be charging ~$50/segment for selecting a regular Y seat in TPAC flights....while pretty much no other carrier in the TPAC market is doing so; this is quite uncompetitive and instead of forking over $100 for seats I booked Delta instead. Why would they try to roll this out when the Chinese carriers are already offering a superior product at a lower price.
Jul 17, 2019, 6:49 pm
#2
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I just noticed that AC seems to be charging ~$50/segment for selecting a regular Y seat in TPAC flights....while pretty much no other carrier in the TPAC market is doing so; this is quite uncompetitive and instead of forking over $100 for seats I booked Delta instead. Why would they try to roll this out when the Chinese carriers are already offering a superior product at a lower price.
Were you looking at the Standard Fare. According to AC.com, there is a fee for the seats for those fares on International tickets.
Are the Chinese carriers or CX or BR charging the same fare for the same route (on the same dates?)
Looking at a random YYZ-PEK
This info is on the AC page https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...selection.html
Jul 17, 2019, 6:50 pm
#3
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No only for basic. The route I saw it on was SFO-HKG. Though I have flown AC's dirt cheap fares to Asia many times with no seat selection fees and assumed they would never add them because their low cost competitor did not charge for seat assignments.
Jul 17, 2019, 6:54 pm
#4
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Are the competitors you're looking at flying non-stop or via China?
Was DL's cost the same as the Chinese ?
Took a peek at SFO-YVR-HKG. Right, no free seat selection for Basic or Standard
Jul 17, 2019, 7:00 pm
#5
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I just noticed that AC seems to be charging ~$50/segment for selecting a regular Y seat in TPAC flights....while pretty much no other carrier in the TPAC market is doing so; this is quite uncompetitive and instead of forking over $100 for seats I booked Delta instead. Why would they try to roll this out when the Chinese carriers are already offering a superior product at a lower price.
PS-I was surprised to see them charging up to $292 for a preferred seat Toronto to Hong Kong? Really? $292 to sit in a seat with more legroom and less width due to the tray table? Unbelievable.
PS-on flights to HKG it did not show seat selection free for Standard, but when I clicked the seat map there was no charge for Standard, so not really sure what they are doing.
Jul 17, 2019, 7:08 pm
#6
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They don't charge it on all TPAC flights..only ones where "Basic" is one of the choices. Some of the other routes don't have Basic but have Standard as the lowest fare category. I know HKG flights have the basic fare, but I don't think thats the case to Japan/Taiwan/Shanghai.
PS-I was surprised to see them charging up to $292 for a preferred seat Toronto to Hong Kong? Really? $292 to sit in a seat with more legroom and less width due to the tray table? Unbelievable.
PS-on flights to HKG it did not show seat selection free for Standard, but when I clicked the seat map there was no charge for Standard, so not really sure what they are doing.
PS-I was surprised to see them charging up to $292 for a preferred seat Toronto to Hong Kong? Really? $292 to sit in a seat with more legroom and less width due to the tray table? Unbelievable.
PS-on flights to HKG it did not show seat selection free for Standard, but when I clicked the seat map there was no charge for Standard, so not really sure what they are doing.
The screen shot I posted for HKG from the flight selection page shows Basic and Standard seats to HKG are not free on OP's route.
If you saw no fee on the seat map, well, who knows.
Jul 17, 2019, 7:30 pm
#7
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If someone pays $292 extra each way to sit in a preferred seat Toronto to HKG, they should seriously think about getting a mental assessment done.
Jul 17, 2019, 7:41 pm
#8
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I was actually replying to your line
where I assumed you were talking about AC
Jul 17, 2019, 8:11 pm
#9
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Granted, they read it as "$40" when they clicked yes, but AC is by no means the most expensive "extra legroom" option.
And $400 + $400 may still be significantly cheaper than whatever the PY fare is. If you need the extra space, you go for the cheapest option.
Jul 17, 2019, 8:33 pm
#10
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I have two friends who recently paid $400 USD each for UA E+ on TYO-SFO.
Granted, they read it as "$40" when they clicked yes, but AC is by no means the most expensive "extra legroom" option.
And $400 + $400 may still be significantly cheaper than whatever the PY fare is. If you need the extra space, you go for the cheapest option.
Granted, they read it as "$40" when they clicked yes, but AC is by no means the most expensive "extra legroom" option.
And $400 + $400 may still be significantly cheaper than whatever the PY fare is. If you need the extra space, you go for the cheapest option.
But at least on AC you get 125% miles for PE vs 25% (or maybe zero?) for basic. On a very long haul, that PE cabin can earn some decent mileage but obviously price is the main factor. Still bugs me how much they charge extra for PE on certain routes.
Last edited by mapleg; Jul 17, 2019 at 8:39 pm
Jul 17, 2019, 8:41 pm
#11
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Lot's of tall non-frequent fliers will fork over that $292. They need the legroom to be comfortable-ish on a long flight, but not every tall person can afford premium economy or business.
Jul 17, 2019, 8:44 pm
#12
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Ha ha , that explains it as I am not in the "tall" demographic. At least for flying it has some advantages.
Jul 17, 2019, 8:44 pm
#13
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Yes, well, someone would explain the supply-demand-what-the-market-will-bear kind of thing to comment on pricing.
PE to YYZ-TPE, BR is consistently less expensive than AC and it's direct. For YVR-Asia routes it might be more interesting to compare, as AC is up against a very long list of airlines for direct and one-stop routes.
Anyway, if AC wants to charge for seats on Basic and Standard fares on some Asian routes, either it will cost them some business or it won't. Coin toss.
PE to YYZ-TPE, BR is consistently less expensive than AC and it's direct. For YVR-Asia routes it might be more interesting to compare, as AC is up against a very long list of airlines for direct and one-stop routes.
Anyway, if AC wants to charge for seats on Basic and Standard fares on some Asian routes, either it will cost them some business or it won't. Coin toss.
Jul 18, 2019, 12:54 am
#14
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