So it appears I have zero self control when it comes to selecting seats in advance for flights. Despite trying to remain steadfast to my convictions, I have caved and paid for economy class seats. It’s a dirty feeling all round.

Perhaps therapy will cure me of my desire to have my seat allocated in advance. I don’t know, though I do know this could be a slippery slope if I keep choosing to fly airlines where I have no status.

My Dirty Little Transaction

Picture it, a nine hour flight and a seat map that was looking pretty full. My original plan was to wing it, not select a seat, save that cash and take my chances during online check-in.


What if I had to sit in a dreaded middle seat? As one of those crazy people who likes to look out the window while flying, I’d miss out on the view. Goodness knows what I would miss!


However, as I noted before, the airlines are charging quite a lot of money for seats on long-haul flights. Paying through the nose for an economy class seat just feels so… wrong!


In the end, I caved. I couldn’t face not having a window seat. Since I couldn’t choose a seat online, I telephoned and was told it would be €160 (US$157, £140, AU$237) for the privilege of a seat each way. Wincing, I called out my credit card number and the dirty deed was done.

Overall Thoughts

I have saved thousands of pounds/dollars/euros over the years by having free seat selection thanks to my frequent flyer status. This time I’m going rogue and flying an airline where I have no status.

Clearly this is my bad, and I should have just flown with a oneworld alliance airline instead. In actual fact, most of the time I would have done exactly that, in part to avoid these fees.

Not this time though and I’ve paid the price, quite literally, for that decision. Lets hope the good people at Aer Lingus give me a pleasant journey across the Atlantic. (They will!)

Do you routinely pay to select a seat when you fly or not? Why? Thank you for reading and if you have any questions, please leave them below.

Like planes? See my “Does anyone remember” series.
Flight reviews your thing? Mine are all indexed here.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

All images via Aer Lingus.