NWA to Charge for Exit Row Seating

[Hope777]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060314/northwest_c...seats.html?.v=2

 

[Kev3188]

Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't non-rev anymore; the seat right by door 2L on the 757 is/was my favorite (aka "poor man's first class").

FWIW, about a year ago the asst. mgr. in my old station mentioned that NW was considering this. We all thought she was crazy.

I'm curious what others think of this...

 

[Nor'Easta]

I guess this explains American Airlines new slogan:

"We Know Why You Fly," because we don't charge $15 for prime coach seats!

IMHO, this will not go well with passengers.

 

[whaledriver]

Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't non-rev anymore; the seat right by door 2L on the 757 is/was my favorite (aka "poor man's first class").

FWIW, about a year ago the asst. mgr. in my old station mentioned that NW was considering this. We all thought she was crazy.

I'm curious what others think of this...

It's a smart move and will end up being a new industry trend for UAL, AA, CAL & DAL as well...folk's it's time to pony up $$$ for those tickets.

 

[jimntx]

Maybe, maybe not. I hear from tall coach passengers all the time how they wish we hadn't done away with MRTC. When I point out that there weren't enough passengers willing to pay for that extra room, the response I get quite frequently is "I would pay for it in a second." (This usually comes from guys who are over 6 feet tall and are seated near the back of coach on a S80 or 757. )

Well, charging for the exit row seats will give people the opportunity to put their money where their mouths are. I don't think it will work long term, but maybe those who SAY they are willing to pay will be quiet, once they are given the opportunity to pay for extra space and then don't do it.

 

[HPearlyretiree]

Big mistake.

Gonna piss off passengers.

And give fodder for another airline to make fun of NW by making them look desperate. :down:

 

[mrman]

Not only will it cause your elites to leave for other airlines, now the FA will have to police the exit rows. When the plane's doors close, people will move to the exit row.

 

[NWcustomer]

Look at the TERMS. They just took seats away from their "elite" customers. Oh sure, they can buy them now 36 hours prior to the flight. Who has time to screw with this? NOT A GOOD MOVE. :down:

 

[finman]

Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't non-rev anymore; the seat right by door 2L on the 757 is/was my favorite (aka "poor man's first class").

FWIW, about a year ago the asst. mgr. in my old station mentioned that NW was considering this. We all thought she was crazy.

I'm curious what others think of this...

I think it's a smart move. It sounds like other similar pricing techniques by other airlines have proven that customers are willing to spend a little extra for the choice seating. I think it was Allegiant Air that charges $10 for reserved seating and roughly 80% of their customers pay it. Reserved seating isn't exactly the same as this scheme, but it shows that poeple are willing to dole out a minor incremental fee in order to assure a more comfortable ride.

It only makes sense that seats that are more highly coveted should come at a higher price. If it is successful, I'm sure it will open up the door for more amenity pricing that will help drive up yields.

 

[jenny@nw]

I can see problems with this already. First and foremost (hard to believe these days) flight attendant's job is safety.

Once in a while there are people who requested nicely/demanded exit row seating who are "unable" to do exit row duties (e.g. people with broken arms, legs, ect.)

What if someone with a broken leg managed to get exit row seats? Then what?

What about obese people? Once I had to move a person because the captain told me that this person looked like they couldn't fit through the exit door.

I see no comparison with exit row seats versus United's premium seats. That's a dumb comparison.

 

[Work'n short]

I can see problems with this already. First and foremost (hard to believe these days) flight attendant's job is safety.

Once in a while there are people who requested nicely/demanded exit row seating who are "unable" to do exit row duties (e.g. people with broken arms, legs, ect.)

What if someone with a broken leg managed to get exit row seats? Then what?

What about obese people? Once I had to move a person because the captain told me that this person looked like they couldn't fit through the exit door.

I see no comparison with exit row seats versus United's premium seats. That's a dumb comparison.

It aint no picknick standing around a SSD machine either...everyday some mope or another wants exit row seats that they do not qualify for because of the fare they bought....they check in and want us to change their seat to exit,I love telling "those people"we cant do that anymore.Buck up baby!....Dougie needs a raise!!!!...but besides that...this is another can of worms I do not need to deal with considering I'm WORKING SHORT...

 

[jenny@nw]

I know how it is, I use to work check in and ticketing. Among the most memorable memories I had was people trying to fudge their ticket destination not understanding that we use stickers (and DUH! Just look it up in the computer!) and people just comming up to you with an attitude trying to get seats they can't possibly get because they came too late.

I remember once someone came 5 min before departure and demanded a tix and demanded that I - with my super human bionic powers to hold that plane!

... told her flat out "This isn't a Train or a Bus"... these days people seem to get that confused with the "greyhound fares" that's being advertised.

 

[Trip Confirmed]

I don't really care one way or another. As a travel agent in a huge call center, my job is to do corporate travel for a few major clients.

Most seem to just laugh and say "What's next, pay toilets?"

The only ones I've talked to who got pissed were the NW elite frequent fliers.

They feel their status should give them the primo-up front aisle and exit row seats, and we all know, up until now it did.

A few swore if this happens , and their "earned" preferred seating is sold to others, they'll
burn their miles and go with an alternate carrier from now on, but to be honest, I haven't discussed this with many FF NW travelers yet.

The heavy road warriors feel NW owes them this seating, and are more than a little unhappy.

The fact that it's only $15.00 a pop did not seem to help at all. Some major companies are not going to reimburse the extra charge.

It may be small, but large corporations CANNOT play favorites and let some employees do it , and refuse it to others. They'll get their rears sued , and they know it.

And the accounting end of most companies does not allow separate payment for this. That means pax have to pay the fee at the airport, meaning a trip to the ticket counter. So much for e-tickets. And that that entails lots of extra time, and when they get to the front of the line there is no assurance those seats will even be left.


It just hacked off the bigtime fliers because they feel they have earned preferred seating with their loyalty and heavy travel.

As I said, I don't give a ferret-fart one way or another.

Seems the heavy fliers feel they've been slapped in the face.



I'm just waiting for some carrier to start with mega commercials touting that they DON'T charge for specific seating. They REWARD these preferred fliers .

I'm betting it happens.

I'm not really sure this will be adopted by all carriers. There's too much to gain by the few lone hold-outs who don't.

Just my 2 cents from the other side of the fence.

 

[local 12 proud]

I saw a projection that this move could lead to 75 million more in revenue. WTF good does that do?

75 million more for the upper crust to call bonuses for the fine job they've done.

HEY FINMAN....THE *&%DAMN COFFEE POTS EMPTY, HOP TO IT LACKEY

 

[local 12 proud]

You would being a "Bean Counter"! Let's see if your beloved Free market will stand still for it? Your type knows a spreadsheet inside out and backwards but you have no idea what your customers want. You have these "Circle Jerk" meetings where you all pat each other on the backs and tell each other how smart you are and then act surprised when things blow up in your face.

The mere fact that they have the audacity to even attempt this just shows how out of touch with reality they are.

Read the format invasion article AGAIN because you guys are clueless, NWA needs to go the way of Eastern.

....ROTFLMFAO

Don't hold back Piney, tell'em what you really think