Do You Know You Are Paying For Extra Legroom?

Posted on | December 31, 2008 |

Whew! Almost got duped by Spirit Airlines again with another “hidden” charge. They offer seat selection at the time of booking without telling you, right there upfront on that very page, that you will have to pay for that privilege. It’s very likely that you won’t find out about it until you reach the checkout. If you are like me, cheap, then you will have to go back and fix it.

I can’t imagine how much extra money Spirit Airlines has garnered through the years from customers hurriedly booking a flight and missing the ‘uncheck this box’ if you don’t want to purchase trip protection. This is optional. I may have once have been burned probably the first time I booked a flight on that airline.

JetBlue is also guilty of what I consider to be deceptive web design. They have a notice on their seat selection page that states in order to find out more about their offer of ‘even more legroom’, you will have to click away to another page.  Only then will you find out that there will be an additional charge for that service.

However, ultimately, JetBlue gives you something for your money. More legroom! This is especially great if you are a taller than average person. JetBlue graphically shows you the amount of legroom you will get but won’t tell you plainly that it costs more for pre-selecting that particular seat.

Believe me, if I were any taller than I am, the option to guarantee a seat with extra leg room would be a major benefit. I would certainly pay a little extra to have that option. They should, however, have a special clause that if you are over six feet tall and you pre-select a seat with extra legroom you will be exempt from that fee.

I’ve traveled with plenty of tall people just suffer miserably especially on long flights. More often than not, while stretching their legs in the back of the plane, the fasten seat belt light will come on and they are forced to return to their assigned cramped accommodations. Most airlines offer only the absolute barest of minimums in the way of any respectable amount of legroom.  Flying coach on most airlines, just a water bottle in the seat pocket in front of me will cause my knees to get squashed.

Just to reiterate; Spirit Airlines charges extra for pre-selecting any seat. On JetBlue you can pre-select a seat for no charge unless you pick one that has ‘even more legroom’ and let’s face it, JetBlue already has fairly ample legroom to begin with.

There is a website that will let you look at an aircraft’s interior configuration. Checking this site before selecting a seat can be useful, especially for longer flights. If you happen bring a computer or MP3 player that will need to be recharged, this site can show which seats have an electrical outlet nearby that you can plug into. It will also give information as to how far back the seats go and how much legroom is available in a particular row as well as locations of the exits and lavatories are. Try seatguru.com.

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Hello and welcome to my blog. It’s all about travel, My Travel Tips For Travel. I travel a lot and what better way to express my opinions about my travels, whatever it may be by: car, plane, bus, train, or boat and yes, even walking and bicycle; It all fits here. Your comments are also welcomed and are appreciated, good bad or ugly, write it here! Maybe you’ll find some common thread on your own travels and share it with us all.

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