Not an Elite Flyer? Sorry, No Seats for You at the Moment

At the airport, kiosks showed lots of available free seats in the economy section of the Boeing37. At the gate, Mr. Berg polled fellow passengers about when they got their seat assignment and learned many reserved coach seats a few hours before departure. Mr. Berg felt ripped off because it appeared United had created an artificial shortage.

“Either seats are available or they are not,” he said. “It frosted me having paid a fee to get an assigned seat to ensure I would get to Spokane while there were seats in my class available.”

Mr. Berg wrote to United to complain and the airline responded saying if he sent documentation, the airline would refund the $44.

The Wall Street Journal’s Middle Seat column discussed how airlines are increasingly taking available seats on flights and blocking them out for regular customers, but are keeping them available for “elite” frequent flyers. Scott McCartney reports that 30 to 40 percent of airline seats are reserved for these “elite” flyers or come with a reservation fee.

An an example, here’s what seat availability looks like for regular flyers on an upcoming flight on American Airlines:

And here’s what the seat availability looks like for “elite” flyers:

One tip that McCartney suggests: If the only seats available for a flight are ones that come with a fee, don’t panic and pay. He says seats tend to open up 24 hours before departure, so you can choose seats then, and you can also arrive to the airport early and talk to someone at the ticket counter to get a seat and avoid paying the fee.

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