First time flying united in years - they charge extra for regular seats in the middle of the airplane???

[Anonymous]

I feel like we really need reform: airlines should not be able to charge for seats, and for one suitcase. Who goes to Europe with no suitcase? Even nicer airlines like Air France charge for this now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we really need reform: airlines should not be able to charge for seats, and for one suitcase. Who goes to Europe with no suitcase? Even nicer airlines like Air France charge for this now.

No one "needs" to go to Europe. If you want a suitcase, pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we really need reform: airlines should not be able to charge for seats, and for one suitcase. Who goes to Europe with no suitcase? Even nicer airlines like Air France charge for this now.

No one "needs" to go to Europe. If you want a suitcase, pay for it.

What an unhelpful post. Purchasing a ticket should provide some basics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we really need reform: airlines should not be able to charge for seats, and for one suitcase. Who goes to Europe with no suitcase? Even nicer airlines like Air France charge for this now.

No one "needs" to go to Europe. If you want a suitcase, pay for it.

What an unhelpful post. Purchasing a ticket should provide some basics.

It does. Seems you want a lot more than basics. Pay up.

[Anonymous]

What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's normal. A huge marketing fail on the airline's part. They should market the middle seats as the "normal" price, and the undesirable seats (or no seat selection, you get what you get even if they're not all together) as a discount.

But, yeah ... obviously you also think those seats are better, so why shouldn't they be worth more? Do you normally expect to order a drink from a restaurant, get a glass of champagne, and pay for a beer? Pay for hamburger and get a filet mignon? No, you get what you pay for. And that's now true for airline seats as well. If they really were "the exact same seats", you wouldn't care about not getting them. Whoever thinks it's worth the extra cost will get them.

This 100%. They should not set the absolute crappiest seats with no-change/refund as the default price. Buying plane tickets is a purely negative experience as you add $ for a seat that's not in the worst location and $ for a checked bag and every other little thing. By starting at the mid price and then offering discounts, at least then you will stay neutral as you purchase your still-tiny-still-uncomfortable seat.

[Anonymous]

This is a marketing fail by the airlines. If they want to offer basic economy, they should rename it ‘no frills economy’ or ‘economy with no seat allocation/checked bag’ as people seem to think they are not getting something they paid for. This fare class is nothing more than a random seat and that’s why it’s cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

Yes.
That happened to my husband and I a few weeks ago. Our flight was cancelled due to weather and they had to rebook us on a different flight. We had booked to aisle seats (across the aisle from each other) and paid extra for them, but our new seats were middle seats in completely different parts of the plane. We were lucky to even get that--some people from our flight had to wait till the next day.

[Anonymous]

Yes basically to have any seat selection at all now you have to pay, and they give it a fancy name like "preferred" but that includes random middle seats in economy that no one "prefers."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

Yes.
That happened to my husband and I a few weeks ago. Our flight was cancelled due to weather and they had to rebook us on a different flight. We had booked to aisle seats (across the aisle from each other) and paid extra for them, but our new seats were middle seats in completely different parts of the plane. We were lucky to even get that--some people from our flight had to wait till the next day.

You should request a refund of those extra charges. You might even be able to do it through the chat function.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

Yes.
That happened to my husband and I a few weeks ago. Our flight was cancelled due to weather and they had to rebook us on a different flight. We had booked to aisle seats (across the aisle from each other) and paid extra for them, but our new seats were middle seats in completely different parts of the plane. We were lucky to even get that--some people from our flight had to wait till the next day.

You should request a refund of those extra charges. You might even be able to do it through the chat function.

You have to request it? That is really dodgy honestly. If some airline would do what the above PP said, charge everyone the extra $30 and discount the crappy seats, I would go out of my way to fly with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

Yes.
That happened to my husband and I a few weeks ago. Our flight was cancelled due to weather and they had to rebook us on a different flight. We had booked to aisle seats (across the aisle from each other) and paid extra for them, but our new seats were middle seats in completely different parts of the plane. We were lucky to even get that--some people from our flight had to wait till the next day.

Did the airlines refund you the additional price for selected seats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

Yes.
That happened to my husband and I a few weeks ago. Our flight was cancelled due to weather and they had to rebook us on a different flight. We had booked to aisle seats (across the aisle from each other) and paid extra for them, but our new seats were middle seats in completely different parts of the plane. We were lucky to even get that--some people from our flight had to wait till the next day.

You should request a refund of those extra charges. You might even be able to do it through the chat function.

You have to request it? That is really dodgy honestly. If some airline would do what the above PP said, charge everyone the extra $30 and discount the crappy seats, I would go out of my way to fly with them.

Yes you have to request it. It’s not that difficult. Do it online. They’re not going to proactively search you out to send you a refund.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

Yes.
That happened to my husband and I a few weeks ago. Our flight was cancelled due to weather and they had to rebook us on a different flight. We had booked to aisle seats (across the aisle from each other) and paid extra for them, but our new seats were middle seats in completely different parts of the plane. We were lucky to even get that--some people from our flight had to wait till the next day.

Did the airlines refund you the additional price for selected seats?

No. They were $16.99 each, so not a huge amount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens when you pay extra for your seat but then the airline switches planes so different seat configuration or the plane is delayed so you end up on a different flight? Do you just lose the money that you paid for that particular seat?

Yes.
That happened to my husband and I a few weeks ago. Our flight was cancelled due to weather and they had to rebook us on a different flight. We had booked to aisle seats (across the aisle from each other) and paid extra for them, but our new seats were middle seats in completely different parts of the plane. We were lucky to even get that--some people from our flight had to wait till the next day.

You should request a refund of those extra charges. You might even be able to do it through the chat function.

You have to request it? That is really dodgy honestly. If some airline would do what the above PP said, charge everyone the extra $30 and discount the crappy seats, I would go out of my way to fly with them.

Yes you have to request it. It’s not that difficult. Do it online. They’re not going to proactively search you out to send you a refund.

Normally I don't like people whining about things like paying for seats, but have to push back here. They don't need to "proactively search". It's a simple query that can run after a flight leaves its destination- did anyone who paid a seat fee get changed against their will? Automatically refund them. It's not hard and shouldn't require any action by the consumer.