Jaunted

On Northwest, for instance, your average coach traveler can barely select from the window and middle seats since many of the aisles, and a lot of the seats at the front of the cabin, are blocked off as “Premium” coach seats set aside for WorldPerks Members. There are also “Coach Choice” seats available for purchase 24 hours in advance that take up even more of the cabin. The airline says those seats go for between $5-75 depending on the route, but on a recent international itinerary, we got one for $50.

The airline’s FAQ page says that “approximately 95% of all Northwest-operated seat assignments remain free of charge.” However, a slate of sample bookings reveals a very different picture in which up to 30% of the main cabin looks like it is blocked off for Premium and Choice seating. Sure, you might eventually get one of those seats for free, but your chances of booking a satisfactory seat are slim.

Here’s the kicker. When we actually bought that Coach Choice seat on Northwest to Paris, we found out that the seat we paid $50 was near the galley and lavatories at the front of coach, and it was right under a video screen so we couldn’t even enjoy the in-flight entertainment without getting a huge neck crick. Thanks for letting us know about that, Delta (Northwest’s parent airline) Call Center, since we booked the thing through you and specifically asked about the seat situation! Delta is now instituting the Coach Choice program on its planes as well.

On American Airlines, these seats are called “Preferred Seats,” and are only available in advance to AAdvantage muckymucks who have hundreds of thousands of more miles than you’ll ever hope to accumulate. US Airways has a similar system to Northwest, with Choice Seats for purchase a day in advance, and which are also available to “Preferred Members” for advanced assignment (there are a few of these seats that are also just for Preferred Members). Continental, too, has whole blocks of “Premium Seats” set aside for OnePass Elite customers.

So what are you supposed to do? If you can’t book ahead of time, you might just have to put up with either a middle seat, or give in and buy the “upgrade.” However, before you do so, be sure to check out SeatGuru or SeatExpert and see whether the seat your purchasing is really worth the extra fee. Otherwise, you might just try to sweet-talk the gate agent into changing your seat for you. That’s worked for us more than a few times. If you have to take your assigned seat in the middle of a row, look at it this way: you never know whom you might meet!

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