British Airways to Charge for Early Seat Selection

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- British Airways PLC (BAY.LN) Friday said it will start charging passengers for choosing their seats in advance, in the U.K. carrier's latest move to boost revenue by un bundling its service.

From Oct. 7, BA will charge economy travelers GBP10 each for selecting their preferred seat up to 24 hours before departure on domestic flights or flights within Europe. Travelers flying short-haul business within Europe or long-haul economy trips will be charged GBP20 each, and those traveling long-haul business will be charged GBP60.

Seats in the emergency exit row, which are popular given the extra leg room, will cost more.

"We will continue to offer customers the option to pre-allocate their seats for free in the 24 hours prior to departure. However, customers frequently request specific seats further in advance. This will allow them to do that," said a BA spokesman.

The carrier's decision to introduce such charges mirrors budget carrier Ryanair Holdings' PLC (RYA.DB) "priority boarding," which charges passengers extra to board the plane first and have first choice of the seats.

Company Web site : http://www.britishairways.com

Airlines add $10 surcharge for holiday travel

MINNEAPOLIS – Several big airlines this week added $10 surcharges for most of their tickets for travel on three busy days around Thanksgiving and New Year’s holidays.

American and United airlines added the charge for most of their fares for travel on Nov. 29, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, as well as Jan. 2 and 3. On Friday US Airways Group Inc. matched the surcharge, and FareCompare.com said Delta Air Lines Inc. added it, too.

Spokespersons for Southwest Airlines Co. and Continental Airlines Inc. both said they had not added the surcharge.

Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com noted that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year, and that the two dates in January are heavily traveled as well.

He said the airlines probably added the charge rather than raise base fares because it was a quick, targeted way to charge more on busy travel days.

"The bottom line this year for consumers is that it’s pretty clear that if you procrastinate on your holiday travel, you’re going to get stung," he said.

He said holiday fares are still running 15 percent to 20 percent lower than last year, with prices to bigger cities carrying the bigger discount from a year ago.

American added the charge on Wednesday and United matched on Thursday.

Shares of American parent AMR Corp. rose 26 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $8 in afternoon trading. United parent UAL Corp. added 50 cents, or 5.7 percent, rising to $9.33, and US Airways Group Inc. was up 9 cents to $5. Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 22 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $9.14.