And, some charge for exit rows and other "better seats" in coach. They are charging for more than one checked bag, too. Have you seen what you get for $5.00 in the snack pak??
Kinda Off Topic: reminds me of pay per view for a college game. Man, that ticks me off!!!
This is not as big a deal as it seems. Right now, US reserves some of the forward window and aisle seats for elite flyers. Only Dividend Miles Silver and above (and companions) can pre-select those premium seating locations. Non-elites are relegated to middles or windows and aisles aft of the wing exit rows. That preference will continue for the elites with no charge. What is changing is that at check-in, non-elite passengers will now be able to purchase access to the premium seats for a fee ($5 or more depending on flight length). It is similar to the way United sells Economy Plus seating at check-in, but with US the selling point is location only, not added leg room.
Yeah, you can still have a window seat, it just may not be that bulkhead or exit row seat you want unless you want to pay for it. One trick I use is to always get on last. Then I can see if there are open seats if I don't like my assigned seat. I usually end up getting lucky. But always give up your chosen seat if a late comer boards, and suck it up to sit where you were assigned.
Sh! :unsure: Don't give Amtrak any ideas!
What "long-distance Horizon coaches"???
A few Horizon cars, 8 at present, have been reconfigured to only have 60 seats. Whereas the bulk of the fleet has 72 seat per car, with a few cars at 78 or even 82 seats per car. Those 60 seaters tend to be used as reserve cars for the LD trains, since they provide much greater pitch than the normal Horizon cars.
Which routes, other than the short-distance Chicago routes, use Horizons?
There's a Pacific Surfliner round-trip that uses Horizons. They can occasionally be found on other west-coast corridors (California and Cascades) during peak travel periods (usually Thanksgiving).
If anyone wants to avoid said Surfliner consist, or, conversely, for some sick reason wants to check out the cars (even though they were built in the '80s, they have an almost '50s Budd feel on the interior), it's the morning northbound (7:30 AM LAX departure) and afternoon southbound (2:00 PM SLO departure), unless things have changed since I was there last.
