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The Cranky Flier points to an innovation of sorts in the world of airline seating: airlines charging for early boarding.

For some time, European discounter EasyJet has operated on effectively the same principle as Southwest Airlines in the United States: No assigned seats, first-come-first-served. But now, EasyJet passengers willing to pay between £2.50 and £7.50 can be assured of being among the first 20 passengers to board. The longer the flight, the higher the fee.

In the United States, Southwest passengers can still assure themselves of a good chance of getting a desirable seat by checking in early and thereby receiving a “group A” boarding pass. (See here for a list of services — some free — which virtually guarantee you a boarding pass in boarding group A.)

European travelers are accustomed to paying for every little thing on the budget airlines, so this won’t be any shock. Asian low cost carriers are right there with them. And most people won’t pay the fee, but for those that are willing to pay, this will be a welcome change.

When Southwest first experimented with assigned seating, I proposed that the airline might able to profit from a compromise, offering assigned seating to a small percentage of flyers who want it (perhaps for a fee), but retaining open seating for the majority of passengers. EasyJet is effectively doing something very similar.

I assure you that Southwest is watching EasyJet’s experiment very closely.

Related:
- A modest proposal for Southwest
- Getting the best seats on Southwest just got harder
- Opening day jitters? Southwest’s assigned seating gets mixed reviews

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