Sun Country Seating Scam?

[dreamshark]

So I went online to print my boarding pass ahead of time, as I usually do. When I was offered a chance to select a seat, I took it. About half the seats were still available, but EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM was marked as a "Premium Seat" with an additional $8 charge. Many of these were not by any stretch of the imagination "premium seats." (A middle seat right next to the engines is a Premium Seat? Really?). Since there weren't any seats left good enough to pay extra for, I tried to continue past this screen and was informed that I could not complete the checkin process without choosing a seat, but that one of their smiling agents would be happy to assign me a seat at the airport. *Phhhhtttt*

Okay, fine. I'm so worried about the weather that I plan to be at the airport early any way, so why not wait in line? But WTF? Are they going to charge us extra for the seats they randomly assign us? I've seen the "premium seat" thing before, but they really did offer something for the extra charge, such as the opportunity to avoid the dreaded Middle Seat. This looks suspiciously like a sneaky way to charge extra for the convenience of printing your own boarding pass in advance.

Is this a Sun Country thing, or is it the latest trendy way for airlines to gouge their passengers?

Comments

[guppiecat]

Could it be that the fact that you choose where you want to sit is now deemed a "premium" feature?

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Actually, my theory is that being allowed to print one's boarding pass in advance is now a premium feature, and this is their underhanded way of charging for that. Note that I really didn't care if I got to select my own seat - I was just trying to check in. The system wouldn't let me do that unless I selected a seat, and there was a charge for that.

[vanaabegra.livejournal.com]

Delta seems to charge for everything.
Baggage. Extra!
Premium Seat. Extra!
Changes to flight times or days. Extra!
Standby (if you get on). Extra!
Talking to a person to book. Extra!

Somethings are still free though, like a grope from the TSA.