Once a free perk, many airlines now charge for advanced seat selection

by George Hobica on

A recent Airfarewatchdog poll revealed that after checked bag fees, the most hated airline fee is the one extracted for advanced seat selection. This used to be entirely free, but no more.

Say you log on to JetBlue’s Web site to book a flight. You choose one, you select a seat you like – paying $10 or more per leg for more room up front or in an exit row. Bang. You’re done.

Now try doing the same on Delta.com – what, you want an exit row? You want to sit up front? Better have your SkyMiles number handy.

Got none? Back of the bus, sir.

Let’s say you’re on the Web once more, surfing the site of Denver-based low-fare flyer Frontier. Here, you book the lowest fare available – clever you! – there will be no getting anywhere near a seating plan, let alone any selecting of favorite aisle seats up front. Not until 24 hours before takeoff, you won’t – and then, let’s hope that all that’s left isn’t the dreaded middle seat.
Still, things could be worse – there’s Allegiant Air, which charges between $4.99 and $24.99 to anyone – anyone – who wants to get near a seat map before the day of flight. Leaving you, of course, to wonder if that Orlando flight you paid $39.99 for is going to be the worst of your life, sandwiched between two terrifyingly loud, sugar-charged children who’ve never been to Disney World (and are also recovering from nasty colds, cough cough.) Unless, of course, you cough up.

These days, flyers who don’t like surprises ought to take heed when booking a flight. Rare is the airline with an advance seat selection process that mirrors any other; what seems so sensible for one (open up the whole thing, charge an arm and a leg for the really good stuff and bring in a nice chunk of change per flight) seems so difficult for others to grasp (Southwest, which clings to its no-seat-assignments-ever rule, which its loyal customers continue to pretend to not mind.)

Policies all over the place

While it can seem as if there’s no rhyme or reason to the way each airline handles the divvying up of seats on its planes, there actually is. If you take a look at this chart, which goes over the current seat selection rules for 16 airlines, a pattern emerges – legacy carriers such as Delta and American continue to try and please their frequent flyers first, holding back the best seats (among them, exit rows) for their most loyal customers. Those that are new, new-ish or focused on low fares (and less on loyalty) tend to be a bit of a free-for-all.

Some of the legacy carriers like United, want to have it all. They want to please their long-time customers, but they also find the lure of making a buck off of premium seating too much to ignore.

Thus, on United, you have Economy Plus, featuring five more inches of legroom in the upfront rows on all domestic and international flights. Elite frequent fliers are generally given these seats automatically. However, anyone can buy in, based on availability – rates start at $9 and go up to $109 for long-haul flights. United even sells a $425 annual Economy Plus pass, ensuring you’ll always have more legroom.

Other airlines that have resisted making such bold changes are now giving in; Continental, for example, recently announced a similar program, where premium seats (including exit rows) will be made available for a fee for those who want to log on within 24 hours of departure and select them; the airline has said these seats will not be available for purchase at the airport. When last we tried, attempting to select an exit row seat within 24 hours of departure on a Continental flight yields nothing more than a rollover message instructing you to “request at check-in.” But unless they’ve changed their minds, this is probably fixed by now.

Earliest available

Charge?

Can you pre book an exit row?

Premium Services

Airtran

During booking, before purchase

$6-$20

$20, book anytime

Upgrades to business class available at set prices

Alaska

During booking, before purchase

No

Yes

Some seats at front of economy section and aisle seats for premium customers

Allegiant

During booking, before purchase

$4.99 to $24.99

Yes, for a fee

No

American

During booking, before purchase

No

Reserved for premium customers

Some seats at front of economy section and aisle seats for premium customers

British Airways

Free at check in or from 24 hours before departure

Depends on class of service; For international economy and domestic UK, £10/$15 to chose seats from time of booking up to check-in, 24 hours before departure up to £60/$90 for other classes of service (First Class free)

£50/$75 for economy/World Traveller Plus

N/A

Continental

During booking, before purchase

No

Request at check in

Some premium seats available for a fee (including exit rows), book within 24 hours of departure online only

Delta

During booking, before purchase

No

Reserved for premium customers

Some seats at front of economy section and aisle seats for premium customers

Frontier

Lowest economy fares limited to 24 hours before flight, more expensive fares anytime

No

Request at check in

First few rows with extra legroom free to some frequent flyer members; $15-$25 for others

Hawaiian

During booking, before purchase

No

Request at check in

No, but upgrades available for sale

JetBlue

During booking, before purchase

No

Yes, from $10, depending on flight length

“Even more room” includes exit row and more spacious seats at front, from $10

Midwest

During booking, before purchase

No

Request at check in

Some roomier front seats sold for a set fee which depends on flight length

Southwest

At boarding

No

No

$10 for preferred boarding (“Group A”)

Spirit

During booking, before purchase

$5 and up depending on route

Yes, for a fee

Upgrades to “Big Front Seat” from $25 per flight

United

During booking, before purchase

No

Request at check in

Economy Plus offers more leg room from $9 per flight

US Air

During on line check in

No

Request at check in

Some aisle and front of plane seats $5-$20, buy online from 24 hours in advance

Virgin America

During booking, before purchase

No

Sold as “Main Cabin Select” seats for hefty fees

Exit rows and bulkheads sold as “Main Cabin Select” for variable fees, includes free premium TV and meals

George Hobica is the founder of Airfarewatchdog™, the most inclusive source of airfare deals that have been researched and verified by experts. Airfarewatchdog compares fares from all airlines and includes the increasing number of airline-site-only and promo code fares.


Genetically-engineered mosquitoes may help end malaria

by Laurel Miller on

Tropical travelers rejoice: researchers are getting closer to finding a possible vaccine for malaria, using genetically-engineered mosquitoes.

The Anopheles stephensi species is one of the main spreaders of human malaria. By altering its salivary glands, the mosquito acts as a “flying vaccinator,” carrying the Leishmania vaccine within its saliva. About 60 species of the Anopheles are vectors of the malaria parasite, which are transmitted to humans when the female feeds on blood.

Tests showed that when an altered mosquito bit its host — in this case laboratory mice — it became a transmitter of the vaccine. The bites succeeded in raising antibodies in the mice, indicating successful immunization with the vaccine.

It’s hoped that continuous exposure to bites will maintain high levels of protective immunity, through natural boosting, for a lifetime.

Researchers hope the vaccinator mosquitoes could be used to formulate a new strategy in the global fight against malaria. Every year about 250 million people are infected with malaria, and nearly one million die, according to the World Health Organization. In Africa, one in every five childhood deaths is caused by malaria.

There are, however, barriers to using this form of vaccination in the wild, including issues of controlling dosage, “medical safety issues” and the “issues of public acceptance to [the] release of transgenic mosquitoes.” It may not be as romantic as sundowners of gin and tonic (quinine is an old school anti-malarial), but it sure beats the potential side effects of Lariam.

Road trip: Ethiopia

by Sean McLachlan on

Ethiopia is like the United States–it’s best seen on a long road trip. The easiest way to see Ethiopia’s beautiful landscape and ancient monuments is to hire a driver and vehicle in the capital Addis Ababa.

My wife and I picked Abey Roads based on a personal recommendation and decided to celebrate our tenth anniversary by doing the popular two-week “northern loop” encompassing the provinces of Amhara and Tigray and the most famous of Ethiopia’s ancient sites. Our driver Sntayehu Mekonen turned out to be a handy translator/guide/fixer, not to mention a fun travel companion. Many independent travelers prefer going it alone on public transport and while that is certainly cheaper, hiring a vehicle gives you more freedom of movement plus someone who is able to tell you about the country and show you out-of-the-way spots. So after some good first impressions of Ethiopia, we headed out.

The ride north out of Addis Ababa climbs up the steep slopes of the Entonto Hills through eucalyptus forest. This fast-growing Australian import was first planted by the Emperor Menelik more than a century ago. It provides a ready supply of construction material and the leaves are used for fuel. Women carry huge bundles of the leaves on their heads several miles downhill to sell in the market. Trucks speed past them with mountains of the stuff. Coming uphill we see one of Ethiopia’s famous runners, sprinting up a steep incline at 3,000 meters (9,000+ feet). Runners train in these hills so that when they race at lower elevations they can easily outpace the competition.

Up and over the hills and we’re speeding along the Oromo and Amhara uplands, a green and fertile region that looks nothing like the image most people have of Ethiopia. Acacia and eucalyptus dot the countryside and thatched roof huts are everywhere, their walls made of the thin trunks of eucalyptus. Children herding cows and goats wave at our car as their fathers thresh teff, a popular grain in Ethiopia. Teff is used to make injeera, the sour bread typical of Ethiopian cuisine, and it fetches a higher price than any other cereal crop. The tiny grains (the word derives from the Amharic term for “lost”) are separated from their husks by having cattle walk in circles over a heap of it until all the husks are crushed.

The first stop for most travelers on the northern historic loop is the monastery of Debre Libanos, 100 km north of Addis Ababa. A rough dirt road winds down a sheer 700 meter canyon to one of the holiest spots for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It was here in a cave in the cliff that the holy man Tekle Heymonot lived for many years praying and fasting. Deciding this wasn’t enough, he stood on one leg until the other one fell off. Some paintings of the saint show him ascending to heaven, his detached leg equipped with its own set of wings.

%Gallery-87468%Like holy places the world over, Debre Libanos is permeated with a sense of transcendent calm. The verdant cliffs overlooking it to one side and the sweeping views on the other make are beautiful, and the church’s bright dome shines in the sun, appearing smaller than it is in the imposing landscape.

Once inside the scene changes completely. The interior is dim, lit only by candles and colored light filtering through a row of stained glass windows. Men and women worship on separate sides, their prayers mingling with the chants of priests intoning ancient hymns in front of Tekla Heymonot’s tomb. The liturgical language is Ge’ez, an ancient tongue that uses the same alphabet as Amharic but is unintelligible to modern speakers, a bit like Latin.

Our guide is a former engineer who speaks flawless English. Many years ago he got sick and his parents brought him here to be healed. Miraculously he was, and he gave up his job to become a monk. He takes us to every corner of the compound, from the cellar where monks stand in a circle chanting for hours as they lean wearily on staffs, up to the cave of Tekla Heymonot, where holy water drips from the ceiling into blue plastic buckets. He takes us to every place but one–the holy of holies found in every Ethiopian Orthodox Church, where the tabot, a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, is hidden from the sight of all but the priests and monks. The true Ark is said to be in a special building in the northern city of Axum. Only a single caretaker is allowed to gaze upon it.

The best thing about travel by car is seeing the in-between places. Many visitors to Ethiopia bypass the country’s long and often rough roads by flying from city to city. That’s no way to learn about a country. After Debre Libanos the next popular stop on the overland route is the source of the Blue Nile. To be honest it’s nothing more than a geographical curiosity–a muddy little spring that’s considered so holy that visitors can’t photograph it. But getting there proved that the journey is not the destination. Bumping along a rocky back road we spot a horse race in a nearby field. Local farmers, decked out in red and gold costumes, are racing in pairs across a long stretch of pasture marked out with poles as a small crowd cheers them on. We randomly pick our favorites and cheer too.

This of, course, attracts everybody’s attention, and soon we’re encircled by curious kids practicing their schoolbook English. After we decide we’ve stolen enough of the horsemen’s thunder, we say goodbye and go to the source of the Blue Nile. The same thing happens again. Soon the Nile is forgotten and we’re trading English words for Amharic. “Butterfly,” we say, pointing at one flying past. “Birabiro!” shout a dozen kids. “Acacia?” “Graal!” “Pen?” “Esceribto!”

Some of the kids are in high school and have good enough English to carry on a conversation. My wife explains what her work as an astronomer is like and encourages the girls to study science. As I watch her surrounded by these girls, telling them can be anything they want in life, I’m reminded of one of the reasons I married her.

And that’s what a tenth anniversary trip is all about, isn’t it?

Five ways to keep your luggage safe through the airport

by Grant Martin on

One of the biggest concerns expressed by first time flyers is in regards to luggage safety. Where does my luggage go after I check it at the counter? Who will handle it? Who will look through it? Will it even be on my flight?

All of these are valid questions, and with the wealth of baggage-handling nightmare stories out on the web it’s completely reasonable to have concern. That said, there are a few things that you can do to help make sure that your belongings make the journey safe and sound. Here are five ways to get started.

Using a luggage lock can add an extra layer of security, but it wont prevent the TSA from looking inside. They’re specifically allowed to remove the locks from any bag that they want to search, so unless you have a TSA approved device it’s going to get cut off. Why get a lock if the TSA can simply remove it at free will? Because it prevents access to other people (baggage handlers, ticket agents, etc) in the chain of operation. It’s also a deterrent to anyone who sees your bag on the arrivals carousel at your destination airport.

Speaking of the arrivals carousel, there’s no riskier place for your luggage to sit, so make sure you get to the beltway as soon as you can after your flight arrives — any random straggler can pick up your bags and wander off if they’re not picked up immediately.

To that end, make sure that your bags have distinctive features with which you can track them. We’re not saying that you have to get a hot pink leopard print roll-aboard, but a colored sash or a unique baggage tag will help you identify your bag on the carousel, in a thief’s hands or to a wayward airline agent.Another piece of data that will help keep track of your luggage is the baggage receipt. When the ticket agent at the departure airport prints out the sticker that will be attached to your bag, he or she will also print out a receipt that will often be attached to your boarding pass (or its jacket.) Hold onto this — airline representatives can use it to track your bag.While you’re in the process of filing away your receipt at the ticket counter, by the way, make sure to look over the shoulder of the ticket agent to check the destination of your bag. It should be printed in large characters next to the bar code. Hint: if it says SJO and your actual destination is SJU, ask the agent to double check the route.

Naturally, many of these tips are rendered null if you opt to carry on your bags. In addition to saving a load of extra fees, your bags will travel by your side for the entire duration of your trip, drastically reducing any risk involved and saving a little bit of time to boot.

Either way, it’s important to remember that baggage loss or theft happens to a minuscule volume of air travelers, less than 8 in 1000 on average. Keep those statistics in mind and use the above security tips, and at the very least, your mind will be more at ease.

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A renovated NYC boutique hostel, from $24 per person per night

by Amy Chen on

Is a hostel still a hostel if you get a private bathroom and a room that looks like this?

The recently renovated Broadway Hotel & Hostel on the Upper West Side is blurring the line between backpacker digs and, well, boutique hotels. Billing itself as New York’s first boutique hostel, the property is promoting dorm-style rooms that start at $24 per person per night, while a private space like the one to the right will run at least $119 for two people.

The dorm-style rooms have been switched to a more spacious setup that features one bunk bed for two people, as opposed to squishing four people into the space. Booking the dorm-style room category means you’ll have to share bathrooms, though there’s a sink in your room. (How very European.) Like other hostels, a solo traveler can be paired with a roommate of the same gender if you ask.

To upgrade the hostel experience, consider booking one of the private rooms that has a bathroom en suite (which I consider a luxury by hostel standards). Even for April travel dates, I still found plenty of availability for the private rooms; prices will vary if the bed type is a double (from $89), a queen (from $109), or two twins (from $119). The beds are each covered in a crisp white down duvet, and the private rooms come with amenities like flatscreen TVs and iPod docking stations.

Linens and towels with daily housekeeping service are included in all rates. There is no curfew or lockout. Common spaces include a lobby with free Wi-Fi and a fireplace. There’s also a kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.

As someone who has let visitors crash on my couch so they can save a little dough, I suddenly feel like my New York apartment and hospitality skills are very inferior. But I should note that recent TripAdvisor reviews are mixed, so as always, practice due diligence in researching beforehand. For example, payment for the dorm-style rooms is cash-only, so make sure you have enough funds to cover your stay.

Update: A Broadway Hotel & Hostel spokesperson informs that they’ve just updated their website; major credit cards are accepted. However, the balance of your stay is due up front, so make sure you’re prepared to pay with either cash or by credit card.%Gallery-73514%

Before you go, be sure to check out Episode 5 of Travel Talk TV, which features a Santa Cruz beach adventure; explains why Scottish money is no good; and shows how to cook brats the German way!