Oct 12, 2009 11:01 pm US/Central
Mom Upset By Sun Country's Seat Selection Fee
COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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"I found out that I had to pay extra, $8 a seat extra, for my family to be seated together," said Stephanie Michaud. "Didn't matter where I was choosing on the airplane."
CBS
If you fly, you've probably noticed a lot of new fees -- extra money to check a bag, to have a snack or to sit in a preferred seat. The airlines even have a name for this, calling it a la carte pricing.
Should you have to pay extra money to sit next to your 2-year-old? That's what Stephanie Michaud had to do.
Michaud has traveled with her family before, but the upcoming Disney cruise will be the family's first vacation with 2-year-old Daniel. She asked her travel agent to book her on Sun Country. She likes the fact they're a smaller, hometown airline.
However, when Michaud went online to select seats, she experienced some sticker shock.
"I found out that I had to pay extra, $8 a seat extra, for my family to be seated together," she said. "Didn't matter where I was choosing on the airplane."
While $8 per seat, per flight might not sound like a lot, for a family of four it adds up. Michaud was looking at $64 in seat selection fees.
"I wasn't asking for premium seats. I was just asking to sit with my 2-year-old and my 9-year-old," she said.
Michaud complained to the airline, but she didn't like what she heard.
"They said that you could call the day before your flight and ask them about being seated together, but that still was no guarantee that you were going to be seated with your family."
"I can understand both sides of this," said Terry Trippler, the owner of the travel Web site, TerryTrippler.com. "But I do have to come down on the side of Sun Country on this."
Trippler has followed the travel industry for years. He's not surprised Sun Country is charging people to select seats in advance.
He said it's all about making money. Airlines want to increase revenue with bumping up ticket prices.
"The problem is when you go to Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia and whatever, every airline wants that left pole," explained Trippler.
The least expensive airline fares are usually positioned on the left side of the Web pages.
"If you're not the one on the left, and you're the second one, even just a few dollars more, the left one's gonna get the business," said Trippler.
Michaud says she won't fly Sun Country after this, because she doesn't consider them family-friendly.
"I just was not pleased with how Sun Country had handled this," she said.
According to Sun Country's Web site, passengers can select seats for $8 in coach class. If passengers don't want to pay that fee, they can select seats online within 24 hours of departure for free.
When Sun Country started its seat selection policy last year, it charged less money --$6 -- to select a seat more than one day in advance.
Many airlines charge an extra fee for "premium seats," like window or aisle spots. Sun Country marketing manager Heidi Bausch said her airline doesn't have those fees.
Paula Engelking, Producer
Contact Paula
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