In news that is sadly not surprising, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will now be charging for Advanced Seat Reservations.
KLM CityHopper Embraer 170 and Fokker F70 – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
So to the nitty-gritty – the Advanced Seat Reservation fee will be €20 per person per segment – and goes into effect on the 1st December, for flights from 26th January.
The charges are being rolled out initially on routes from Amsterdam to Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean according to luchtvaartnieuws.nl
Expect Europe to follow, as well as the rest of the world during 2016.
Those who have the following status are exempt from this charge:
- Flying Blue Platinum
- Flying Blue Gold
- Flying Blue Silver
- or passengers on a Full Flex Economy ticket
All passengers will be able to select their seats at 30 hours before departure free of charge. In addition, passengers with special needs due to physical disabilities will be assigned seats early on, and families with young children can sit together.
How is KLM dressing this up? Through confusion.
Looking at the PR, you get this lovely thing:
The title “More seat choice for KLM’s frequent flyers on intercontinental flights” should be slightly worrying. More so is the is this statement:
Choice and control
With this new approach to seat reservation, KLM can optimally meet the wishes of its passengers. This ties in with KLM’s efforts to offer passengers greater choice and control. Other services that expand passengers’ range of choices include the option of Economy Comfort seating and à-la-carte meals on intercontinental flights
Can anyone else say “MONEY GRAB” for offering something that was free, but now is available for a price?
Thought so.
European airlines have been loving the Advanced Seat Reservation fee – as revenue generator, with British Airways, Lufthansa, Ryanair, EasyJet, Finnair… and to be honest, almost every airline and their dog have been rolling out this easy charge onto the customer.
It seems we have another airline joining the Advanced Seat Reservation fee party…
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.
Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!
Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to European reader
it”s a bit of a pain in the arse that they don’t just include in the price of a ticket. For biz travelers who are not elite in a program it creates additional line items in expense reports and some clients will quibble over what they might see as perks. In a way, it encourages those travellers not to use airlines who they are not elite with.