Alaska Airlines will market premium coach seats. (Photo: Jim Glab)
Alaska adds premium seats. In the middle of May, Alaska Airlines will reportedly start marketing extra-legroom coach seats — i.e., those in bulkhead and exit rows — as a premium economy product.
Besides the 7 to 8 inches of extra legroom, passengers in these “preferred seating” rows will also get free drinks and priority boarding. (It sounds a lot like Virgin America’s Main Cabin Select product to us- without the free food.)
Mileage Plan elites will get first crack at reserving the seats for no fee; seats still available at check-in will be sold to anyone for a fee that varies by distance, said to range from $15 to $50.
Although the plan requires no reconfiguration of the cabin, officials said the concept could be expanded if it tests well.
What do you think? Would you pay more for a regular coach seat with more legroom, early boarding and cocktails? How much?
ALSO…American taking over Alaska routes to Mexico: The Transportation Department has approved a request from American Airlines to take over Alaska Airlines’ Los Angeles-Mexico City route rights, which it will do effective June 4. Alaska will code-share on the American flights. American plans to offer two daily roundtrips vs. Alaska’s one …
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A more accurate title would be “Alaska plans to charge more for the same seats–calling it ‘premium'”
Hmm.. just like DL’s C+.
Alaska is not “ADDING” any new seats, as you headline is screaming. Please fix the headline; as is, it’s a piece of awful and terrible journalism.
This was actually announced in December. AS is not actually adding E+ its monetizing the existing seats and adding a drink and earlier boarding. Anyone who is already a MVPG on Alaska its business as usual. MVP and partner elites already get them for free but the free drink will be new. For everyone else they are losing free access to the seats and will now have to pay.
Oops, I found it. It was a bit lost in the other bolding of the article.
KUOW is very reliable. It is Seattle’s NPR station.
Thanks for sharing this.
Yes, link to source is embedded in the post… do you not see it? –chris
Do you have a source for this?