FML, EML
Airline fees getting creepily creative, leg room and quick(er) deplaning costextra
Commercial airline struggles are costing the consumer. Carriers are now experimenting with fees for selecting particular seats, and their logic is murky at best.
Though many airlines are vague or outright secretive about the (sometimes) optional charges, essentially you pay extra for "premium seats" and extra leg room. JetBlue has even coined a friendly acronym, EML, which stands for Even More Legroom (because airplanes were previously known for their spaciousness).
The odd part is, the suits that finagled the fees don't seem to have much experience flying. They consider the front row of the plane premium, but any frequent flyer knows that if you sit up front you go without a tray and have nowhere to stow your purse, even if you do get to deplane a nanosecond faster.
Continental — the airline with the soon-to-be extinct name — charges $59 extra to sit in the exit row on some Newark (NJ) to Houston flights.
And as for legroom, JetBlue charges the same fee for EML whether you're sitting bitch middle or have an aisle seat (hardly comparable situations).
And the plans don't account for changes in itinerary or the possibility that a better seat could open up at the airport — for free.
Tell us: Would you pay for premium seating or to board early, a la Southwest?