Northwest is going to start charging extra for some seats:

Northwest Airlines is expected to announce today that it will begin charging customers more for seats with added legroom, including coveted emergency exit row and some aisle seats. The price: an extra $15 for each leg of the flight. Northwest calls them "Coach Choice" seats.

Airline experts believe such nickel-and-diming of air travelers is just beginning. By as early as the summer travel season, they say fliers could be paying for nonalcoholic beverages and the privilege of checking luggage.

Bundling all of these services is one of the last holdovers from the old days of the CAB and airline regulation, in which they used amenities to compete, because the ticket prices were regulated. But by doing so, they aren't letting the market work, and they're not getting any signals as to what passengers actually want. When I do carry-on, but pay the same ticket price as someone who is checking two pieces of luggage, I'm subsidizing them. It makes perfect sense to me to have a basic fare for people who just want to get from here to there, and have others who want more to pay for it.

Of course, it works great for me, because I don't like aisle seats, and it may make it easier to get my preferred window (something I'd happily pay fifteen bucks for to be assured of it). Not all seats are created equal, and just as there is a separate first-class section (though those are disappearing from some airlines, like Delta's Song, as well), it makes sense to price them separately rather than this nonsensical egalitarian notion of first-come first-served. I had the Worst.Seat.Ever on my red eye from LA Friday night--a center seat in an exit row that wouldn't recline. I'd have paid quite a bit to swap for at least the window, if not one that would recline (I suppose I could have just asked if anyone wanted to sell me their seat...)

The best thing to me, though, is that if we separate out the services of delivering passengers and luggage, it will make it easier to transition to a regime in which the luggage flies on a separate plane. I don't worry about hijackings since September 11 (not because of the idiotic, expensive and time-wasting security measures, but because the passengers will never allow it to happen again). But I do worry about bombs in luggage, something that we're almost certainly not doing as good a job of screening as we could (again, because of the misallocation of resources attempting to disarm passengers). I'd feel a lot safer if I knew that the luggage was on a different, cargo airplane. And taking down a cargo aircraft with a two-man flight crew wouldn't have anywhere near the emotional impact of killing hundreds of passengers, so the bomb-in-the-luggage would be a much less appealing activity to terrorists.

[Update a few minutes later]

It strikes me that it could also make sense to put in a few "wide load" seats, that they could charge more for. While people who are too large for standard seats would still feel put upon that they have to pay more (an unjustifiable grievance, to me) they wouldn't have to pay twice as much, as they do now when they have to buy a second seat. It would also make happier the people who currently have to get squished sitting next to them. One size does not fit all, even (or especially) in airplane seats.

[Update at 11 AM EST]

Per one of my commenters, maybe I'm weird, but I find the phrase "comfy aisle seat" an oxymoron. I hate aisle seats. I almost prefer a center seat to an aisle.

Why?

Because if I'm in the aisle, I have to let people in and out when they (almost inevitably) decide they want to get in and out. In addition, my arm on the aisle-side armrest is always getting jostled by everyone wandering up and down the aisles, not to mention drink carts.

I just want to get into my window seat, where I can hunker down for the flight, relax, not have to let anyone in or out, and look out the window. I cannot fathom people who prefer aisles, but apparently many do.

Ultimately they'll be a charge proportional to the weight of luggage and passengers. The latter will be viewed as discrimination against overweight people (and against men), but they really do require more fuel to transport, so it's a reasonable thing to do.

It strikes me that it could also make sense to put in a few "wide load" seats, that they could charge more for. While people who are too large for standard seats would still feel put upon that they have to pay more (an unjustifiable grievance, to me) they wouldn't have to pay twice as much, as they do now when they have to buy a second seat. It would also make happier the people who currently have to get squished sitting next to them. One size does not fit all, even (or especially) in airplane seats.

You gots lotsa good idears, pitch them to branson. Mentiontioning the wide load seats though. I generaly don't mind, I'm a very simple man. However, a few months before I left the service, I went to my home town, spent the entire time TORQUED TO THE GILLS! got into a car accident (not driving) a night in jail, virtually no sleep, and no food the entire time (I was a stupid kid) and finaly, it's over, I'm miserable, I'm gonna be hung over for the next few days, bruised from the accident, the belt hooked over my neck, the airback went off, I was NOT in good shape. Anyways, I get on the plane, and I give up my comfy aisle seet to a woman for some reason, I was that kinda guy, ONLY seet left? between to very large women, VERY large, one was sitting in the aile, the other at the window. I get sammiched between these two chicks, and I shrug it off, I will be uncomfortable,then what happens? The two broads KNOW eachother, they are just so friggen huge they can't stand EACHOTHERS! presence next to them! So here I am a deli slice stuck in some texas toast and then vaccuum wrapped, and I don't mind, but then the damn chicks WOULDN'T SHUT UP FOR ONE FRIGGEN SECOND!

I hate flying, I need to get some kind of naval commission, so that if I can't drive to a place, I can navigate my own ship to where-ever it is I want to go.

Aisle for me. I'm 6'4", I have enough trouble getting my legs behind a coach seat in the aisle - the Window Seat is crippling for me.

For Long Haul I've started to fly in the Premium Economy seats which BA and Virgin have with a 38" pitch and more leg room, it's a good compromise for me.

I'll certainly, and have done on British charter flights, pay $15+ for guarenteed extra leg room.

Cargo only flights work for point-to-point, not so good if you're going to change and move on.

Cargo-only flights would work on a Fedex model. Ideally, you'd have your luggage ready for delivery a couple days before you left, and it would be delivered to the door of your destination upon, or after arrival, depending on how much you wanted to pay. It would be a completely separate infrastructure from the passenger airlines.

I'm 6'2" and aisle seats sometimes work for me, depends on the flight, if it's a few hours give me the aisle, if it's an international put me on the window. GENERALY I prefer the window because being tallish has nothing to do with it, I sleep in a modified fetal sort of position most of the time, so the window seat is awesome. As you say rand, noone screws with the window seat, you get left alone, also you can rest your head on the window and hear the thrum of the plane and feel the coolness of the air outside.

So, if I intend to fall asleep (my prefered method of flight) window.

If, I'm gonna make 23 or 40 stops or transferrs, aisle seat.

While people who are too large for standard seats would still feel put upon that they have to pay more (an unjustifiable grievance, to me) they wouldn't have to pay twice as much, as they do now when they have to buy a second seat.

It's worse than that. My wife passes along a story of two ladies traveling together (American Airlines, IIRC) who sat in the same three-seat aisle -- and each was charged for two seats because of their size. Between the two of them, they paid for four seats, including one that didn't exist.

I'll always take an aisle seat - I'm long-legged AND claustrophobic. I don't want to feel trapped in the inside seats.

Yes, it's nice to have the window to lean against to sleep, but only if the people in the other 2 seats are friends who I know won't panic in an emergency and trap me inside.

BTW, I would happily pay $15 or even $30 extra for an emergency exit row seat - lots of extra legroom and a seat in front to stow carry-on luggage and my (large) purse. I hate bulkhead seats because there's nothing in front to stow stuff under.

However, having said that, I'll freely admit I haven't had to fly since several years before 9/11. Everyone I want to see and everything I need to do is well within driving distance (the longest is 6 hours away). Should I wish to go to NYC, I can take the train.

Would I fly if necessary? Sure - I used to love flying, and it's the only way to get a long distance away quickly. I just don't want to deal with the "security" hassels, where they "protect" me from nail clippers but not from bombs in luggage, and they spend all their time hassling grandmothers from Duluth so they won't be accused of "profiling" (which you can't do if you're an airline but is apparently OK if you're Congress voting an a NON-SECURITY ports manager).

Pfui.

Barbara said

Would I fly if necessary? Sure - I used to love flying, and it's the only way to get a long distance away quickly. I just don't want to deal with the "security" hassels, where they "protect" me from nail clippers but not from bombs in luggage, and they spend all their time hassling grandmothers from Duluth so they won't be accused of "profiling" (which you can't do if you're an airline but is apparently OK if you're Congress voting an a NON-SECURITY ports manager).

to which I respond. . . .BLAH BLAH BLAH, get back to the Long Leggy, LEGGED, LEGGED thing. Can you expound on that?

For $20 to $50 you can make your own market and ask someone else to check a bag for you to give up their overhead bin space. (Or maybe just put their whatever under the seat in from of them).

It's about time that we start paying the real cost of air travel. I'm all for it. As Dinkin says: "Make your own market."

The luggage thing would not work. Take my typical weekly trip (which will be ending soon, thankfully): I take off for a 2 hour flight, have an hour transfer, and another 2 hour flight. Now, a separate plane has two problems: there is extra space in the bottom of my plane, so there is an inefficiency on my plane; and the luggage plane is carrying more than one plane's luggage in order to be full, so now it has to not only be delayed/stopped/on time for one flight, but for 3 or so. Not practical.

On the other hand, tell me why if I fly a flight from A to B, then another from B to C, it costs me less than flying from A to B alone.

I'm a big guy. One winter I had the occasion to fly to Instanbul. I bought tickets on 747's going through NY, but had to change route because NY was snowed in.

The plane I transfered to (somewhere in scandinavia, I forget where now) was not a big plane. The first indignity is seeing how other passengers react (especially next to my seat.) Which is understandable but unpleasant never-the-less. The second was I couldn't fit in the damn seat. I ended up standing (or half crouching) for the entire flight (and glad of that because they could have just put me off the flight.)

Would I pay for wider seats? You betcha (and avoid winter flights, that's for sure.) OTOH, I'd rather I could fit comfortably in the seats they have now... but that will probably require surgery and so far I haven't had the nerve to go under the knife (or the money these days.)

Instead I live with the indigities (which are not at all limited to flying.) When I say not at all, I mean any time I'm out in public. This is one area where many people are very comfortable being jerks even surrounded by other people.

A question: Is it also fair to charge a handicapped person more? At what point does being tall qualify as a disability under the ADA? Because I can testify that a coast-to-coast flight in coach cripples a 6'5" large framed person.

Cargo on a Fedex model works for certain types of travel, but I've done a couple of lengthy round the world business trips where I've needed a large case and been changing country every two days. For business travel I doubt it's uncommon. For holiday flights it would certainly make a lot more sense, but they are less likely to be targets.

I'm very interested to see what cabin configurations end up shipping on the A380 as, for me at least, the legroom is the real issue. I don't have any width issues (the people next to me might ;) ) but a 31" standard pitch is about an inch shorter than my legs.

How do you get "stuck" with an exit row? Did they not ask if you were willing and able to perform the duties required of you as emergency exit seat guy?

And I'd like to reiterate that ADA question. There's nothing I can do about my height (a bit over 2m/6'7"), and the way things are trending, I won't be able to fit in an economy seat. Seems discriminatory to me - really, if you have to put braille on drive-through ATMs, I want some legroom.

A question: Is it also fair to charge a handicapped person more? At what point does being tall qualify as a disability under the ADA? Because I can testify that a coast-to-coast flight in coach cripples a 6'5" large framed person.

You specificaly mention the ADA, so. YES it is fair to charge more for a handicapped person to fly. It is NOT fair to prevent handicapped people from flying. It IS fair for the individual to absorb the costs of disabilities, it is unfair to limit opportunity to individuals with disabilities. SOME of those unfair limits can be argued because of a refusal to accept, however, if you are driving to the grocery store, and there aren't anymore Handicapped spaces, is the grocery store in violation of the ADA, because they unfairly had too many handicapped people parking that day?

And tall will NEVER be classified as a disability. For a man, ANY trait that increases your likelihood of getting laid, though at times inconvenient, will NEVER be a disability. And I will take 6'2" flight discomfort if it gets me extra ACE( which it does) than 5'2" comfortable in a glovebox and a lot of notes from 6 year olds consisting of "do you like me ()yes ()no, check one"