US Airways, dead-set on reminding Americans why they should dislike air travel with a passion, and insistent on making the movement from point A to point B just a smidge tackier, adopts Northwest’s 2006 “innovation” of charging a fee for aisle or window seats.

They’re even borrowing the name. Northwest called it “Coach Choice.” US Airways is calling it “Choice Seats”… in coach.

Sure, it’s not every aisle and every window, just the front rows. Sure, elite frequent flyers in the US Airways program get to reserve the seats for free. And sure, if the plane is full and there aren’t suckers willing to pay the extra fee ahead of time, anyone and everyone will get those seats anyway.

But let’s be clear: These aren’t perks. There’s no extra legroom. And these sure aren’t business or first class seats. They’re just regular seats.

For those who are shocked — shocked! — at this new policy, don’t forget that this isn’t a new idea. Sure, when Northwest did this two years ago I expressed my disdain. But that was two years ago. We’re all more jaded now, so I’ll just sigh in resignation.

The value of this program will honestly be minimal for most travelers. Sure, it’s nice to sit in front so you can get off the plane faster, but the front of US Airways economy is not a different seat, as it is on United, so you’re not getting much for your money. So instead of sitting in row 7, you can sit in row 14. Big deal.

The real losers here are other Star Alliance airlines’ elites, who might have gotten these seats for free earlier. But again, it’s not a free upgrade. It’s not a meaningful perk.

So if it’s a perk not worth caring about, why would it be a perk worth paying for?…

Simple. It’s not.

Related:
- Finding decent seats without paying the extra fee
- Northwest to elite members: Drop dead
- Yes sir, I’d just love to pay extra for an aisle seat with no extra legroom!

No surprises here, but US Airways copied its Star Alliance brethren United and started charging a fee for a second checked bag. United announced their change earlier this month. No surprises here, but it still sucks.

As Cranky notes, this isn’t just for domestic travel, either. International flights will be hit with the charge as well.

But as I’ve argued before, the really key point in the spread of “a la carte” pricing is that it’s becoming harder and harder to compare apples to apples. Comparing base fares is increasingly going to be meaningless, as individual customers’ final prices will vary greatly.

And right now, there’s no search engine that’s equipped to help. You’ll need a magic decoder ring to know which airline charges extra for bags, for seat assignments, etc. The Travelocitys, Expedias, and Orbitzes of the world can only quote you the base fare and taxes. Not the real cost.

That’s going to put pressure on other airlines to follow suit. And it’s going to make online fare search that much harder.

(image: gratuitous use of the Staples Copy Cat)

US Airways reduces the value of frequent flyer programs further with their latest policy change. Here’s the official statement of the changes to the US Airways Dividend Miles program:

Accrual
Tickets purchased on/after March 1, 2008 for travel on US Airways on/after May 1, 2008 will earn the actual number of miles flown and will no longer earn a minimum of 500 miles per segment.
Tickets flown on partner airlines after May 1, 2008 will earn the actual number of miles flown.
Tickets purchased prior to March 1, 2008 will continue to earn the 500 mile minimum for travel after May 1, 2008. Accrual on flight segments greater than 500 miles in length are not impacted by this change.

Redemption
Members redeeming miles for award travel online within 14-days of departure will be assessed a quick ticketing fee of $50 per ticket.
A quick ticketing fee of $75 per award ticket will continue to apply for award tickets purchased from US Airways Reservations. Chairman’s and Platinum Preferred members booking within 14-days (both online and by phone) are exempt from the fee.

The “quick-ticketing fee” is not an innovation. American has been doing it for years, and United followed suit just over a year ago. It’s obnoxious, and purely a cash-grab with no sensible justification, but it’s not a new idea.

What IS a new idea is the elimination of the minimum mileage for short flights. Until now, travelers on short hops were able to console themselves with the knowledge that they’d at least get a few miles for their trouble. This will make earning elite status harder, too. (Which might be a corporate goal.)

What remains to be seen is if when other airlines will follow suit and eliminate the minimum mileage earned.

Another unknown at this point: how US Airways’ partner airlines will credit US Airways flights. For example, US Airways flights can accrue miles in a United Mileage Plus account. As of this morning, this page on United’s website still lists a 500-mile minimum accrual rate for US Airways flights credit to Mileage Plus. I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Yay. Aren’t these programs fun?

Reader Bruce applied for a US Airways Visa card, issued by Bank of America, looking to get the promised 25,000-mile bonus. He got a card that only offered 5,000 bonus miles instead, and he’s not happy.

U.S. Airways is handing out Bank Of America credit card applications that promise 25,000 bonus miles after first purchase, with a $50 annual fee. The problem is that in fact they switch the card when it issued to a lower level card which pays only 5,000 bonus miles after first purchase. Bank of America refuses to refund their fifty dollar annual fee if you use the card one time. But you don’t know about the switch until after the first purchase. This is nothing more then a bait and switch scam.
[...]
I talked to the bank a second time, and was told the following: You did not qualify for a “signature card” so we issued a lower ranked card which only gave you five thousand miles.
[...]
I escalated my complaint about the switch as far as I could go, and was basically told, “Tough.” I have had no response from U.S. Airways as to the problem.

I might also add, that the airline attendants push these applications very hard during the flight saying that they need the fifty dollars they get in order to live. U.S. Air does not pay them enough according to their statements on the flight.

Obviously, I can’t speak to the credit decision, but the bank should have been more forthcoming about the alternate card option. The 5000-mile card is offered alongside the 25000-mile card on the US Airways website, but nothing in the literature suggests that customers will be automatically downgraded if they fail to qualify for the Signature card. Maybe the downgrade was in the fine print of the paper application handed out on board, but I can’t find it online. That needs to be clarified, or the bank and the airline will find a lot more angry customers like Bruce.

Bruce also mentions that, when he received the card in the mail, he wasn’t actually told that the card he received wasn’t the one he applied for. The card featured the US Airways Dividend Miles logo, after all, so the confusion is understandable.

But one thing doesn’t check out here: The Signature card has a pretty steep $90 fee, not $50. Miscommunication? Misprint?

Bottom line: You need to watch the application literature like a hawk, both at the time of application and the time of card receipt. It’s sad, but we live in a “gotcha!” society, and you need to play lawyer before signing your name to anything that involves your finances.

Before you activate a new card and start using it, make sure that the card is actually the one you signed up for. If it’s not, you might politely decline. If you’re not sure, call the bank and double check.

Related:
- Reader mail: What kind of point-earning credit card is best?

Upgraded: Crash landing with skill and aplomb
Bad news: A crash landing. Good news: No fatalities. Crash landings are no one’s idea of a good time, but when a Boeing 777 loses all power mid-air on final approach, and the plane crash-lands at London’s Heathrow, with no fatalities, that’s some fine aviating. Still way too early to know what happened, but hats off to the pilots for bringing a powerless hunk of metal to the ground without any lives lost. We can all be thankful for that.

Upgraded: Wine on US Airways
US Airways is rolling out new wine on board. The choice: Beringer. I guess it’s better than the private-labeled Chilean plonk they were pouring. (Thanks to Dr. Vino, unsurprisingly.)

Downgraded: Your tax dollars
You may have caught this a couple weeks ago, but there’s been an interesting discussion of the federal government’s “Essential Air Service” program. Bottom line: It’s not that essential, and it’s doubtful that communities are really benefiting much from this. See both Cranky and Evan Sparks for thoughtful critiques. Evan suggests that, if you’re going to subsidize air travel at all, you consider the Small Community Air Service Development program instead. “Huh?” you say? Go read the posts.

Upgraded: Air taxi and microjet life chances
The microjet concept, which I’ve been skeptical of (no bathrooms on board!), was on the rocks. Now, Eclipse Aviation, one of the leaders in this lagging field, got an infusion of fresh capital. We’ll have the microjet / very-light-jet (VLJ) concept to kick around for a few more years, it seems.

Upgraded: Merger odds
Sigh. It’s confirmed: Delta is in talks with United and Northwest, to discuss a possible merger. I continue to root against these mergers, as they’ll raise prices, create mayhem, and improve nothing except the CEO’s paycheck.

(Photo credit: Fair use is made here of a reduced-size crop from a larger unattributed image on bbc.co.uk.)

The appeal of booking on an airline’s homepage isn’t the swank digs of the site itself. It’s typically the savings, and maybe a few bonus miles (though those bonuses are all but extinct). Now US Airways manages to eliminate its home field advantage by actually charging $5 more than some other agencies.

The Cranky Flier is all over this, and he has every reason to be cranky. Why buy from US Airways directly when you can book for $5 less from Priceline or Hotwire, which don’t charge booking fees? (I mean their “regular” bookings, not the “name your own price” opaque fares.)

The fee that US Airways is charging appears to be a fuel-related charge. It’s not a credit card fee or such, as is common outside the US. (Airlines seem to prefer debit transfers…) But don’t think that U.S. airlines aren’t thinking about renegotiating their merchant agreements with credit card networks, so they can introduce that sort of upcharge here. The first moves were made this summer. It’s coming, just wait. But I digress…

Bottom line: If US Airways is your choice, shop around before clicking “buy.” Don’t just buy your ticket directly from them. If you do, you’ll just reward bad behavior.

(image)