Persistence
I’m going to Muscatine, Iowa tomorrow. For those of you, like me, that didn’t know where that was: it’s 45 minutes from Moline, Illinois by car. The boring details of the trip involve depositions which, I suppose involve some persistent questioning, though that’s not what this post is about.
I’m flying AirTran. I bought the ticket last week online. Airtran.com is an OK e-commerce site. Except for one thing. You have to tell it numerous times that you don’t want to buy things that you didn’t have to buy a couple of years ago. Namely, the right to pick a seat.
When you buy you are asked, after you’ve bought “a seat,” if you’d like to choose a particular seat. Say yes and it will cost you anywhere from $6 to upwards of, I think $20 for an exit row seat. Say no and you could end up in a middle seat at the back of the plane unless you know how to play the game.
I’m a bit reluctant to tell my secret for getting an aisle seat for free; but, I can’t think of anything else to write about.
24 hours before your flight takes off (and I mean 24 hours, not 24 hours and 1 minute), you can go online to pick a seat. The site will tell you can buy a first class upgrade for between $49 and $129 depending on the length of the flight. Click no. It will then offer to again sell you a particular seat (see the third paragraph for details). Click no. It will then offer an icon to “pick your seat.” Click the icon. Here AirTran makes one last try for a bit more of your money, asking if you want to pay $10 for the privilege of boarding first with the disabled, those with young children and people in first class. Click no. Pick one of many open aisle seats shown on a little diagram of the plane.
Now you are home free and can print a boarding pass, which so far, they haven’t figured out a way to make money from.
3 comments:
That will all change anyway when Southwest takes over because they don't have assigned seating.
Sounds like a lot of hassle for a discount.
I just booked a frequent flyer trip to San Diego three weeks out without any trouble at all. Got a decent seat on the way out (gotta see the city side for the dramatic landing), but return trip had only middle seats available. My sister says don't worry - she knows all the SAN gate agents and they'll take care of me. She is why I still fly only Delta.
The part I'm going to hate Bill.
Fermi, I hate being nickle and dimed and then being pushed and pushed to give in.
I hate paying what used to be "the price" and then finding another four or five percent in the fine print.
Pretty soon when we go to a restaurant there will be a "plate charge" added to the "service fee for parties of four or more" who don't want the food tossed on the table.
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