While families or couples traveling together may be dismayed, others are not. Business travelers or

Are we sitting together? I asked the woman at the Swiss Air ticket counter in Florence, Italy. My wife and I were flying home after a lovely vacation. We had booked the reservations months in advance but had not been able to obtain assigned the los angeles daily news seats. While I tend not to worry too much about this on short domestic flights, we were going to be on a series of planes for a very long time, so we got to the airport two hours ahead of departure to make sure all was well. The woman initially did not say anything. the los angeles daily news After approximately 5,000 keystrokes, she replied Not on the first flight. Much to my relief, however, after at least 10 minutes of intense work on the keyboard, we had assigned seats together all the way from Florence to Burlington. the los angeles daily news We thanked her and our lucky stars profusely.
It turns out that getting airline seats together is quite a bit more challenging these days. As reported in USA Today (Travel: May 22, 2012), US airlines in an attempt to generate more income are reserving an increasing number of aisle and window seats for customers willing to pay additional fees for those seats. This makes it harder for families unwilling to spend more money to sit together. Some airlines have gone so far as to charge customers for advanced seating assignments. While gate agents, as in my case, can be helpful, there is no guarantee the los angeles daily news that seats will be available.
While families or couples traveling together may be dismayed, others are not. Business travelers or those traveling last minute are likely to be quite happy. These travelers, even though paying very high fares, are often stuck in a middle seat. Now they will have greater access to better seating assignments for their hefty fares. Travelers do not have too many options. One is to book far in advance and check again in the days before departure in case unclaimed choice seats are released. For those traveling with small children, airlines do make every effort to keep children with their parents. And in the worst case scenario, politely ask a fellow traveler to switch. I know that I am always a pushover for romance or a nice smile and have been willing to trade even if it means I give up my window or aisle location for a middle seat.