BoeingBoy

Having no stake in this, it appears to me that the problem is -

1 - reduced number of "Special" coach seats available for no charge to elites since the Preferred seats are a subset of what were all Choice seats. Could this result in some elites paying for Choice seats on heavy Elite travel routes?

2 - Some Preferred seats appear to be inferior to Choice seats. One would think that seats reserved as Elite only would be either in addition to or at least the best of the Choice seats.

3 - Speaking of "Elite only" seats, I doubt US will stop selling tickets for a flight when only Preferred seats are left (like they didn't stop selling tickets when only Choice seats were left). Will the Elite running late lose a Preferred seat to a non-Elite without a seat assignment if the Elite gets to the gate after the non-Elite boards?

Jim

SS255

Considering the fact that the FAQ's explicitly state that Preferred's will have to pay for Choice Seats, I think your question has been answered. And as long as they charge Preferred's, the change will be impacting them.

I'm just relieved that I don't have any skin in this game.

uva185

This policy blows!!

I just booked a trip to TYS via CLT and all the aisle seats in front of the Exit Row were Choice Seats. I played dumb and called the CP desk to ask for the Choice Seat. The agent explained the new policy and I tried to act shocked and uninformed. I told her that was absurd. She then offered an Exit Row seat (A319, no thanks) or Row 4 (the handicapped row). I'm now happily assigned to 4C and a complaint was promptly sent to US.

It is great there are now Preferred only seats, however Preferreds should still have access to Choice Seats for free!!

wareagle98

Please someone correct me if I am wrong but until this crap policy was in place, wasn't the deal that preferred were able to book choice seats in advance for free and the exit rows where always saved for prefereds until 24 hrs before departure? This is how I recall the original policy. If I am right there is no benefit at all in my opinion because choice seats were usually open until check in cause the kettles didn't purchase in advance. I'm really looking for any positive at all.

steve65341

You're exactly right - there is no positive about the whole thing. If the "preferred" seats were actually something special it might have been a good thing but it currently sucks.

USPhilly

You're absolutely right, I couldn't agree more.

phlwookie

Has anyone booked onto a flight where the only seats left in Y were Choice seats, and as a result, you didn't get a seat assignment? What happens when you check in - do they attempt to force an upsell, or are they assigning a seat in this case? I doubt they'd be bumping preferred in this case.

ArizonaGuy

Just like before this change, I suspect you'll end up in the choice seat for free if that's all that is left and you didn't pay for it during check-in.

kimharp

This policy does indeed totally blow. I'm flying LAS/PHL next Wed. and am in 10D, a non-reclining exit row. When I booked the flight two weeks ago this was the only aisle seat available so I took it. Now 6D is open but since it's "choice" I can't switch to it. I can have the lovely 5B middle "preferred" seat if I want. What frosts me even more is, even if I wanted to pay for 6D I can't until 24 hours before departure, in line with everyone else. This sucks. I'm currently Silver preferred who bought two weeks out and I'm in a non-reclining seat. I should at least have the chance to pay for the better seat now if I want to.

dcpatti

US has reversed certain policies before; hopefully they'll see how poorly this is going over and rethink it too. The removal of the 500-mile minimums was gone in less than a year, and the Sodas for Purchase might have been gone as quickly too but I can't remember.

Other unpopular decisions have turned into the industry standard like paying for all checked bags. AA was the first to charge a fee for curbside bag check I believe, and I think more airlines are now doing that, than aren't.

The Preferref-Choice-Regular seats is a lot like AirTran used to be, although I think their current policy has evolved over time. They used to charge $6 for any advance seat assignment and I don't think their elites were exempt but that was a while ago so I could be wrong.

At any rate, all the airlines are looking for ways to get every last dollar from you once you've bought your ticket. This is just one more example.

I don't begrudge them trying to make a buck but I think this policy really isn't cool and I think it's important that everyone who is dissatisfied with it write a formal complaint. That's the only way they'll be encouraged to change it.

SS255

In my recollection, US has only reversed their policies on the 500-mile minimums (they implemented it, and I believe were the last holdouts), revocation of bonus miles for elites, and the non-alcoholic beverage charges. These all occurred right around the same time.......when the economy cratered. All customer-unfriendly "enhancements" during the "flush" times stuck.

My assumption is that US will only admit failure if somebody in Accounting beats them over the head with a stick, and shows them the red ink. You can send enough complaint e-mails to crash their server, but until they see a precipitous drop in Preferred bookings, the policy will stick. My recommendation is to send copies of bookings on other carriers along with your complaints.

757guy

And, here is what I received in response to a complaint:

Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at US Airways. We regret
your dissatisfaction with our Choice Seat program. The Choice Seat
program is similar to what we previously called "Preferred Seats."

Preferred members can still reserve a seat anytime after booking travel
and have the added benefit of exclusive access to exit rows.
Non-Preferred passengers may purchase Choice Seats during Web check-in
from 24 hours and up to 90 minutes before departure.

For more information, visit
http://www2.usairways.com/en-US/FAQs/choiceseats.html

Insightful, eh???? Okay, I'm taking this further...enough is enough.

Art234

Actually, the response you got is NOT accurate. Choice seats have been taken from Preferred Inventory and will now cost everyone. They can't spin that.

SS255

But they can always issue a retraction of this ludicrous policy.

veliger

I'm in the back of Flight 3381 in seat 15A on Friday 3/26. The only 2 open seats left are two Choice seats 3D and 3F. They will probably be assigned at the gate to L fare people with no seat assignments for free while I sit in the back.

On Flight 3298 on Sunday 3/21, I was in 2A, a very good seat. But someone who looked like a retiree who probably bought an L class fare six months ago ended up assigned (likely at the gate for no fee) to a window Choice seat a few rows back with an empty aisle seat next to him.

US is the only airline that charges elites for any coach seats, another first for US like trying to charge for non-alcoholic drinks.

I hate US, but unless I want to inconvenience myself out of PWM I'm stuck with them at least some of the time.

Please, Please, Please put F on the EMB170/175!!!! I seem to be on these planes half the time and US is the only airline operating these planes with no F!!!!!