Northwest will start charging $15 for 'prime' coach seats (exit rows, ailes up front etc.).

I may pay for the exit row, but not for the aisle.

forgot to post the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11821093/

No, I would not.

That it just aggravating and ridiculous! I would not pay more for any seat in coach and the fact that Northwest is doing that makes me think that I will never fly with them again, either. Not that I was so inclined before. . .

Perhaps this is some sort of discrimination against tall people, who really need the extra room? Personally, I prefer the window so I can be sure that nobody will bother me to climb over me.

Paying for the exit row allows me to actaully GET the exit row as others will be less willing to pay for it. $15 to give DH extra leg room to have a comfortable flight is worth it to me.

No, I would not pay any more for a coach seat.

Most FF programs already reserve these seats for their point heavy road warriors that cannot get into first class.

This IMO is incredibly short-sighted and my main fear is that the lemmings in the industry will take it as license to try it out on other carriers.

Being able to select exit row seats or bulkhead seats is one of the main reasons for people to attain status in frequent flyer programs. By definition these are the airlines' best customers - paying higher fares because they don't plan as far ahead as vacationers, traveling on non-leisure routes, etc. etc. By limiting the number of "good" (and isn't that a laugher) seats in coach that elites can pre-select, they're alienating the one group that can make a difference in their survival. They CAN NOT maintain their route system with leisure-only pax.

Over on flyertalk.com the NW board is full of people declaring that this is it - the final slap in the face.

Think of the economics from the airline's point of view. Say 12 or 15 "extra cost" seats out of 150. Say half of those are included in the "buy up" plan. What is that, $90 or $120 per flight? In other words, if they increased prices by $1 for everyone they'd make the same money, without p*ssing off their cash cows. Hard to fathom.

At least with United, you can "buy up" to Economy Plus, where everyone gets extra leg room. NW seems to be going in reverse. Pay more, get less - yeah, they give out MBAs for that.

ridiculous...what is next, we have to buy tokens to use the toilets on planes. the joy of flying is decreasing at a VERY fast rate.

Wow.... I guess I disagree with many of you.

I fly 100,000 miles per year on Northwest for business. And I am tall. Yes, I would pay the extra $15 to know I would get an exit row, and maybe even for an aisle if it was a full flight.

Right now I typically get good seats because of my status. But during times when I get stuck in a middle seat toward the back of the plane, it is personally painful and I am hard-pressed to get any type of work done. Given that I fly nearly each week, I would pay $15/flight to prevent that from happening.

I guess it is the economist in me. Why shouldn't the best seats go to the highest bidder? It seems "fair"... that little 4-letter f-word that we all are constantly trying to define.

OK, I feel a maelstrom of criticism coming on........

If I couldn't get one in the normal way, I would pay $15 to get a window seat. But I've only failed to get a window seat once in the last 15-20 flights, and that was due to a change when a flight was canceled.

Keith

Hazelmn - don't you feel that you're already paying for good seats with your 100,000 miles per year? Why should you now be charged another $15 to get a good seat? You should get it as a perk for being a good customer.

As an AA frequent flyer, the only time I DO NOT have premium seats is when I have made a last minute reservation or change. In that case I get what's available... paying an extra 15.00 would not get me anything better.
Also, what if the traveler pays the 15.00 and is determined to be unfit for exit row?
Anyway... this is really dumb and I also fear the lemming fallout.

I feel I am treated well by Northwest. For my 100,000 miles per year, I guess frequent upgrades, discounted club memberships, easier use of my frequent flier miles, etc.

Given that for $300, NWA can get me to Boston and back safely and without me having to drive, I think they provide a valuable service. $15 more to get an aisle seat on a full flight is a worthwhile value to me.

Just me. I've been flying NWA heavily for 10 years and I guess I feel they earn their money. I know others disagree.

I'm waiting for the day when the airlines realize that if they just took out the seats entirely they could pack even more of us onboard. Just give us a some straps hanging from the ceiling to hold on to - that's all we need!

Heck, if they pack enough of us in there, we'll all hold each other up so they may not even need the straps and so could save even more money by not bothering to even install them. They can hire those attendants (like in the Japanese subway photos I've seen) to shove the last few people on board and force the doors closed. You only need a couple of really big guys - they could go from plane to plane cramming people in. Maybe some of those ex-college players who majored in football to the neglect of a real education, only to find that they couldn't make the cut to the NFL. They're probably more than happy to give up their jobs at the car wash.

In that case they could not only manage to get more people on board, they could save money by laying off all those pesky and expensive flight attendants - afterall, there's no way to push those little carts through what would effectively be a flying mosh pit anyway.

Any while they're at it, why don't they get rid of those spacious bathrooms. On a short flight, the passengers can just hold it. On a longer flight, pass out some "Depends".

Anyone else have any other ideas on how they could squeeze a few more pennies out of every flight?

Ken

Instead of designating steerage as the back of the plane, why don't they just bungee the budget conscious to the outside of the fuselage?

GoTravel -

Now THAT'S thinking "outside the box" - or perhaps better referred to as "outside the airplane".

I LOVE IT!

Ken

Hazelmn has it right on. And to add to that, he/she got a whole lot of transportation around the country for those 100,000 miles. I don't get the argument "aren't you already paying for those good seats with those 100,000 miles?". No, you're not. Flying frequently doesn't afford anyone special rights, only privileges, and now for $15, someone without those miles can afford at least one of the same privileges. Don't like it - then don't fork over $15.

Hazelmn, I respect your point of view but I think the net result of this will be that the overall inventory of "preferred" coach seats will decline, so that your chances of getting a middle seat will actually go up. Apparently elites won't get priority when the "holdbacks" are allocated (at the kiosk or counter) so it will end up with the seats being "sold" by the counter agents at checkin, on a first-come first-served basis. If the good seats are gone when you reserve (and the chances will be higher because there will be fewer to assign) you'll have to duke it out for the remains.

I do feel, though, that your opinion will be in a distinct minority among NW elites. So maybe enough of them will walk that getting those seats - or even upgrades - won't be such an issue. Which is not good news to the airline.

And to TheWeasel, it's not about "rights" or "privleges" - it's about retaining high revenue pax. Basic benefit/cost/market elasticity stuff.

Maybe NW management has discovered a new model. But I gotta ask, if they're so smart at predicting customer/revenue behavior, why the hell are they in bankruptcy?