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Comment by hibikir | Hacker News Reader

Last time I checked, AA didn't charge for getting a seat early: they just charge extra for all the seats that aren't all the way at the back.

The last time I was stuck flying with them the plane wasn't even 1/3rd full. A few people, sitting near the front, were part of their ridiculous set of reward tiers. The rest of us? Packed in the back. After the attendants closed the doors, we got the go ahead to just move to sensible seats of the exact same size and amenities, but that they'd have wanted us to pay extra for.

The airline knew the flight was empty the night before, and so did everyone that went through the check in process and sees all the empty seats they tried to upsell. Is the chance for an extra fee or two beat having the old black lady next to me look at the empty middle of the plane and ask if we were in American Airlines or in the Montgomery Plane company?

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Correct, if you book a Main Cabin (coach) ticket on AA seat selection is free. The only exceptions are seats in "Main Cabin Extra" which almost always have 10%+ more legroom. These are usually the first row in coach, plus the exit rows.

That said, some MCE seats (and some MC seats) can only be selected pre-checkin by AA flyers with status. AA status holders also do not pay extra for MCE seats, whether they are status reserved or not.

There are seats that are not "Main Cabin Extra" but that AA will still charge you for, although less than they would charge you for MCE. Once the free seats are full, your options are to pay extra, or accept what is most likely going to be a middle seat separated from anyone you're traveling with.

My academic institution refuses to pay for any kind of seat upgrades, so from my perspective, the rational response is to fly on another airline. I will probably have to avoid airlines that start "offering" "Basic Economy" fares for the same reason.

Those are "preferred" seats. They're usually windows and aisles close to the front of the plane. They are released to everyone once check-in happens.

They save them pre-checkin for status holders (people who fly 25,000+ miles a year typically). As someone who flies _way_ above that number I appreciate that they do, as I am typically buying last minute tickets (less than 2 weeks out) that are much more expensive. Those seats mean that despite paying more than most people on the plane, I'm not stuck in a middle seat most of the time.

That benefits attracts people like me to try and stay loyal with an airline rather than going with the lowest bidder. I'm willing to bet that people with similar flying habits to me provide the majority of profit for an airline as well.

> Those seats mean that despite paying more than most people on the plane, I'm not stuck in a middle seat most of the time.

The MCE seats also serve this purpose.

> I'm willing to bet that people with similar flying habits to me provide the majority of profit for an airline as well.

Well, because it encourages people like you to keep their "status," and people without "status" now have to pay extra for a regular seat, it probably benefits the airline. But it is another fare class that the airline invented to make more money, much like the basic economy fares discussed in the article.

You may appreciate it, but I don't see a justification for why it should exist. The fact that you pay extra for last minute tickets is neither here nor there in terms of whether that should buy you the preferred seat, and the fact that you have status has nothing to do with the fact that you purchase last minute. (and, in fact, if someone else with status booked 1 month early, they'd be more likely to get that seat than you). I say this as someone who has flown on <24h notice internationally and domestically multiple times in the past year. (and of course these last minute fares can often be rock-bottom cheap, it all depends).

I understand what you're saying, but the mileage programs are not really about "loyalty"; they're about misallocating corporate dollars to more expensive seats to the benefit of the airline and the traveller/employee. I don't feel that people like you providing "the majority of revenue" to airlines should really matter either way. Dollars for seats.

I managed to just cross a mileage program threshold this year but I'll continue ranting about how terrible these programs and the flying experience in general is. Especially because having bargain-basement status on United means nothing when you're flying out of a major hub :)

>After the attendants closed the doors, we got the go ahead to just move to sensible seats of the exact same size and amenities, but that they'd have wanted us to pay extra for.

Well, you're lucky you were not on Air Asia. They don't allow you to move to the seats they charge for (Emergency row etc.,) even if they are all empty and the rest of the leg space challenged aircraft is extremely full.

What incentive would you have to upgrade if you knew taking a chance on them being empty might yield a free upgrade? How do they disperse the free seats if they _do_ want to give them away?

>How do they disperse the free seats if they _do_ want to give them away?

Normally on airlines like Etihad, people either just take the seat by themselves, or ask the crew and move into the seats.

Last time I flew American, it was a bit different, because the system showed many seats as simply unavailable -- not even purchasable. I paid for seats to ensure I could sit next to my wife... And we had the whole row to ourselves. I complained very loudly to the flight attendant and ended up getting a refund email a few days later. So I guess that worked.

I no longer pay for specific seats on a plane.

Seems odd also as they would normally not want all the passenger weight in the back, for center-of-gravity balance. Probably also why they encouraged people to spread out after boarding.

I doubt the passenger weight matters much if it is a larger (7x7 or A3xx) plane?

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