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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A couple readers grumbled via e-mail that yesterday’s post about Singapore Airlines’ improvements to business and first class cabins glossed over the improvements to coach, which most people will actually be flying. In my defense, I was at least discussing scheduled, commercial travel, and not the mega-bling of private jumbo-jets, as was on the front business page of the New York Times yesterday.

So allow me, as a Man of the People, to give economy class its due.

No doubt, Singapore’s economy-class seat is a big step up from the average aircraft seat. In-seat power. A 10.6 inch video screen with on-demand video, computer games, and access to Sun Microsystems’ StarOffice suite. (Bring a USB key, I guess.) Seats are redesigned to offer more room at the knees without actually moving the seats any further apart (32 inches of pitch). Small footrests fold out from the seat in front of you.

I’m not quite sure about the reading lamp (I hope and assume that the overhead lamp remains an option). And the option of a word processor at every seat doesn’t seem like it would be too necessary, if you have in-seat power for a laptop.

Cathay Pacific’s new economy seat appears on its surface to have less sexy features than the Singapore counterpart, but it has the potential to be more comfortable. The seat has a few interesting redesigns, including a hard-shell seatback which prevents the passenger in front of you from leaning back into you. Recline stays within the shell, much like a business class pod. The Cathay literature describes features like active back support. An odd feature: The seatback pocket is moved to the seat itself, behind your calves. This has the potential to be odd or uncomfortable.

But while Singapore is limiting the new seats to their newly-purchased planes, Cathay Pacific is rolling this new seat out across the fleet. We’ll see who “wins.”

Finally, Virgin Atlantic is in the process of redesigning their coach seating. Don’t expect any announcements yet, but the design process and mockups of the seats under discussion are described in detail in this article from Fast Company.

Naturally, any of these improvements would be welcome in the U.S. market.

Dear Lufthansa,

I often fly over the Atlantic and then connect to one of your intra-European flights from Frankfurt. Whenever I check in, nearly 24 hours before that short flight is to take off, you always give me a craptacular seat. Then you tell me it can’t be changed until I get to Frankfurt.

Typically you assign me to the last row, at the window, right side. That is, it’s called a window seat, but as in this last instance, sitting in 24F on a 737, there was not even a window there, just a wall.

Since I’m coming from another continent, I’m checking in early, when there’s virtually no one else checked in to that flight. Your airline doesn’t provide advanced seat assignments for short trips, so I can’t pick a seat beforehand. Star Alliance Gold status obviously doesn’t help. And it’s not just me: You seem to put all the people connecting from long-haul flights into the back of the bus. The people around me were connecting from Detroit, Chicago, Singapore, or Bangkok. In other words, they checked in a long time ago. Meanwhile, the middle of the plane was nearly empty.

So why do you so consistently and predictably give such lousy seats to connecting passengers?

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Upgraded: Coach Seats on Cathay Pacific
You don’t hear much about economy class seats improving much. Sure, there’s lots of talk about upgrading business and first class. But it’s good to see the back of the bus being considered for upgrades. Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong, considered by many to be one of the best rides in the sky, is installing new seats that function much like business class pods: hard-shell seats that recline within the shell, not by pushing back into the space behind you. The tinkering extends the legroom without technically increasing the seat pitch. Sounds great! (via RoadGladiator)

Upgraded: Economy Snacks on American Airlines, at a Price
American Airlines will start testing a new program this week — and ONLY this week — to sell snacks in flight. Flights between Dallas and LAX, Dallas and Miami, and JFK and San Francisco are included in the test. Klondike Movie Bites ice cream, Otis Spunkmeyer Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Lay’s Stax Crisps or Twix ’4 To Go’ candy bars will run you $3. Dannon bottled water (how many ounces??) will be $2 per bottle. Cookies, etc., fine. I wonder if the $2 bottle of water was devised before the latest airport security rules were relaxed. Not sure how many people will bite. Can’t you just get a cup or two poured for you for free?

Downgraded even more: The Ryanair Experience
Sensory overload! Ryanair is adding advertisements on the underside of the tray tables, so you’ll be staring at the ad for the duration of the flight. Yay. It just keeps getting classier. (via The Cranky Flier)

Upgraded: Continental’s Reputation
Boston’s Logan Airport wanted to make a buck by providing wi-fi access and charging everyone for it. Problem was, Continental’s clubs already provided wi-fi for free. The airport tried to shut down the free connection, but Continental resisted, took it to the FCC, and won. Hats off to Continental for defending the interests of their customers. (And if you want free wi-fi, hang out near the Continental Presidents Club and try to pick up a signal…)

Tim Winship notes a change to United Airlines’ Economy Plus program. Getting a seat in the forward section of coach, which offers up to 5 inches more legroom than the rear of the plane, certainly has always been a great feature, especially since American eliminated their “More Room Throughout Coach.”

Now, the zone is reserved for elites in United’s Mileage Plus program, and those who pay to upgrade their legroom. (If a flight is booked solid, you can get lucky and get seats in the E+ zone, too.)

The change to the policy is subtle, if you’re not looking for it. (I sure wasn’t.) Two categories of United customers are no longer given access to Economy Plus: passengers on expensive/full-fare tickets, and elites on other Star Alliance airlines.

While it may make it easier for United elites (myself included) to find a seat in the more spacious Economy Plus section, I don’t agree with Tim that this is a good thing. For starters, the people on the expensive tickets are subsidizing everyone else. Throw them a bone, for God’s sake. That way they’ll come BACK.

And the elites on other Star Alliance airlines now have little reason to choose United for their travels. If you’re hooked on a Star Alliance frequent flyer program, you can earn miles on any of the member airlines. Why give United your cash, when, as an elite, you can get an exit row seat on US Airways?

Maybe United thinks that more people will pay to upgrade their seats, but I have my doubts. If anything, I imagine that this could reduce revenue for the airline.

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Update:
The usairways.com discount below expired at the end of 2006. So the list of promotional codes for American Airlines and other carriers, linked below, is down. However, there IS a 5% discount codes for US Airways Vacations, as well as a discount for American Airlines, in the 2008 edition of the Entertainment book, which may be a worthwhile investment.

The original post lives on below for posterity.

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If flying US Airways, and booking on usairways.com, try entering the promotional code RR506FS to receive a 10% discount on purchased first class tickets, or promotional code RR506CU for 5% off economy class tickets. On the flight booking page, enter these codes in the “e-certificate” box located below the “return date” field.

Travel by November 15. Up to 4 passengers can receive the discount on the same itinerary. No codeshares. It doesn’t appear to have any advance purchase or geographic restrictions — you can seemingly use it for any destination on US Airways. I also don’t see any reason why the codes can’t be used again and again, so have at it.

Main offer page here [links deleted, offer expired]; full terms/conditions, and (important!) blackout dates here.