Seat assignment? Oh, there’s a fee for that

A colleague and her husband, flying from Chicago to Rome, decided to upgrade to British Airways’ World Traveller Plus, a sort of business class lite that gave them more legroom and larger seats than an economy-class fare.

What they didn’t get for their $567 extra: an assigned seat. That perk is reserved for passengers paying full fare (theirs was a discounted ticket), elite members of the airline’s frequent-flier program and a long list of other exceptions.

Increasingly, what used to be free for fliers will cost them, and the assigned seat may be going the way of the rubber chicken airline meal.

Just take a look at Air Canada, which Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst for Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass.-based market research firm, thinks is paving the way.

Air Canada has adopted a five-tier pricing structure and clearly lays out what each option means. Its lowest price point, which it calls “Tango,” comes with fewer frequent-flier miles, bigger change fees for altering a reservation and a $13 charge for advance seat assignment. If you’re not checking a bag, you can deduct $4. If you want to prepay for an onboard meal voucher, that’ll cost $4.

“Our Tango fare is competitive with the no-frills carriers,” said John Reber, an Air Canada spokesman. (Tango fares are not available for U.S. flights other than from Florida and are available on AirCanada.com.) “Advance seat assignment is not complimentary, just as [many] no-frills carriers don’t offer advance seat selection.”

Nearly half of all tickets are booked at one of the higher fare levels, Reber said.

Many of those travelers “view travel as an indulgence and are willing to spend more for a quality service,” Harteveldt said.

A grid on Air Canada’s website explains what comes with each fare type and the extra costs associated with adding any perks. It also guides you through the booking path to add (or subtract) perks, making it clear what comes with the fare and what does not.

British Airways could take a lesson from Air Canada’s example. During booking on BA’s website, for instance, there is no indication that an advance seat assignment is not included in the upgrade price to World Traveller Plus. My colleague tried to get a seat assignment and learned she had to check in 24 hours in advance; only then was a seat assignment available and only on a first-come, first-served basis.

I searched on BA.com and could not find which fares came with advance seating assignments. Other international carriers, including Lufthansa, Alitalia and Air France, offer advance seat assignments at the time of booking.

“The seating policy is evolving,” BA spokesman John Lampl said of the airline’s policy, which has been in effect for six months (and can be found at www.ba.com/seating).

“The idea is to give something to our best customers,” said Lampl -- that is, those who pay higher fares and are frequent travelers on British Airways.

The business reason behind the policy may be sound, but the execution may leave travelers puzzled.

“Airlines should disclose what you get when you buy this category,” Harteveldt said.

And therein lies the challenge for airlines: If they decide to charge for seat assignments, how they execute this plan is crucial to consumers’ perception and reception of it. Will they see it as an offering of something they didn’t have before, or will they view the paid seat selection process as a diminution of something they should, by rights, already have?

Southwest Airlines is considering a pay-for-seat-selection service, and that may be a plus for passengers who regard its seating process as a cattle call. Other U.S. airlines are looking at Air Canada’s model and weighing their options.

Meanwhile, some legacy carriers already have upped the ante on some assigned seats in economy. Northwest charges more for aisle and exit-row seats, except to elite members of its frequent-flier program, and United has an Economy Plus section at the front of coach offering more legroom; it’s reserved for elite frequent fliers. (Upgrades to Economy Plus for the rest of us can be made at check-in based on availability.)

So it may be time to say goodbye to the all-inclusive airfare.

“The sad, unpleasant, uncomfortable truth is the airline experience is going to more and more resemble ... an a la carte experience,” Harteveldt said.

Contact James Gilden at www.theinternettraveler.com. Send comments to travel@latimes.com.