Northwest to charge $15 extra for prime coach seats
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) - For an extra $15, Northwest Airlines will sell coach passengers a few more inches of legroom. Starting Tuesday, Northwest will ask passengers on most domestic flights if they’re interested in paying extra for certain prime seats in coach - exit-row seats or aisle seats near the front of the cabin.
WTF? Why do I feel like I’m being nickled and dimed to death every time I set foot on a commercial airliner? Hmm…maybe because I AM??
Think about it…. There are landing fees (and what happens if we refuse to pay the landing fee??), fuel surcharges (fuel is a good thing, I suppose….), Department of Homeland Security Fees (Yes, not only are they inspecting everything short of our underwear, they are also vaccuuming our wallets.), and who knows what else? I get dizzy just trying to keep track of it all. This latest one, though, has bypassed the realm of the ridiculous and gone directly to the domain of the sublime.
So, let me see if I have this straight. If I’m a bit larger than the average bear, and those 10-13 inches of extra leg room are important for my comfort on a flight, I now have to pay for the privilege of ACTUALLY BEING COMFORTABLE. WTF??? Called it a height tax, if you will…’cuz you know I will.
I suppose I should go easy on Northwest. After all, my little brother worked for the airline for something like 15 years…and Northwest practically owns Minnesota in the same way that Nike owns Oregon. Still, if they can tax tall people (and if Southwest can tax fat people), then what’s next? Taxing vegetarians? Surcharges for facial hair? Flatulence fees? Sure, these sound silly (and they certainly are), but then so is assessing fees on those of us who actually want to be comfortable when we fly.
You know, if Northwest was actively trying to piss off the flying public, I have to commend them on their efforts. This is just about the stupidest and most insulting idea I’ve run across in quite some time…yes, it’s some DUMB@$$ AWARD-quality stuff, isn’t??
