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Comment by Y7ZCQtNo39 | Hacker News Reader

There's no guarantee anymore that if the person bought two seats, that they would be together. A basic economy ticket won't even let you pick a seat in advance on some carriers anymore.

I really dislike flying and I avoid it since it's a miserable experience. And I'm not willing to pay 5-8x the economy rates for what I'd consider a tolerable experience in first class.

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Yep, last Delta domestic flight I booked together with my girlfriend, we checked in a few hours before we got to the airport and got "see attendant" seats. We had to beg at the gate for two seats together. The ones they gave us were both middle seats in different rows. Pretty ridiculous for how expensive these were, and how Delta is now the exclusive non-stop service for the route we were taking.

It seems all airlines are starting to get on this. Emirates this year decides to bite the dust and charge fees for seat selection.

I really hope someone makes a website that reflects the true cost of using an airline. So many hidden fees and gotchas. It's a race to the bottom.

Even if you pay for specific seats you are not guaranteed those seats. http://www.farecompare.com/news/airline-seat-assignments-not...

Maybe, but in 30+ years of flying I've never didn't have the seats. Or is this a US specific thing?

I think it's a US thing. I've never not got the seats I'd reserved either.

I've only done two domestic flights inside the US, one from JFK to Miami, and one from Minneapolis to Seattle, and both of them were utterly awful when compared to intra-europe flights I've done (so similar distances).

If it's a code share with Qantas, you can book through them and get free selection. I hope Qantas won't follow with that idea.

They're starting to, by charging for premium seat selection.

Nor is there any guarantee that they won't make someone else sit in your second seat if the flight is overbooked.

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