I don't fly, but I'd pay $10 to sit away from kids.

I'd pay $50! Sat on a 11-hour flight back from Tokyo with a baby across the aisle that screamed for 9 hours, 37 minutes of that flight.

I'd take any of the savings except for sitting near small children.

But I'd definitely pay $10 to get through security quicker (VIP or whatever).

I have no problem with this kind of thing at all. I view air travel as just a bus rather than some sort of luxury. Its why I love Southwest so much. No frills, we'll just get you from Point A to Point B.

How about a 20% discount for sitting in the aisle or on someones lap... jeez they are going nuts with these fees and the crappy part is that oil is cheaper then when they initiated these fees... Or i could just grow wings...

The "no frequent flyer miles" option would alienate a lot of business travelers, assuming their employers insist on "cheapest fare possible" travel. Sneaking frequent flyer miles out of business trips is supposed to be one of the perks of working on the road.

I'm okay with some of these "savings" offers, as long as it's true savings and not a "rebate."

What exactly is "deceptive" about saying "you pay $10 = you get X"? I'm pretty sure that is how every single proposed exchange in the history of the megaverse is presented.

Unless point A or point B is NYC or Atlanta. Then Southwest does not get you anywhere.

Some of these are amusing. How would you control "priority disembarking"? I have been on flights where the air waitresses have tried to get people to allow those making connections to get off the plane first. That always devolves into a free for all.

I actually refuse to fly an airline that supports these kinds if fees (pretty soon they'll be replacing those air-phones with air-ATMs). How about I just give you money, and you get me there as comfortably as that money allows, ok? Alcahol, I understand. All beverages, no thanks. What is next? A fee to have the AC above your seat run through a HEPA filter? Needless to say, I don't fly a lot these days if I can help it.

I'd want to know what the definition of "near" is. Knowing airlines I could see myself paying $10 to be away from kids only to find that the definition is "right behind you, kicking your chair."

I'd pay $10 to sit away from people who would bitch about my kid being on the plane.

How far away will you be sitting from the screaming baby if you pay the $10 fee? Then again, how do other passengers know if there is going to be a screaming baby seated next to them?

I can predict a conversation I will be having with a CSR in the near future:

Me: I paid $10 not to be near any children, you placed a small child in the row behind me. For the entire flight, this child screamed, kicked my seat back, etc..
CSR: $10 is for not having to sit adjacent to a kid. It does not cover children sitting in adjacent rows, nor does it guarentee a child is not running up and down the aisle..

Or I routinely pay $10 not to sit near any children. In the event I do get stuck next to a kid, airline will simply refund me my $10 (For not getting service I paid for). I see this as a deceptive $10 fare increase (unless the airline is willing to refund 100% of the cost of the flight should I be stuck near a child)

Heh. You know it'll end up with somebody paying the surcharge and thus getting three seats away from a baby with incredibly powerful lungs, while somebody who decided not to pay more will be seated next to a teeny infant that sleeps through the whole flight. I feel bad for the flight attendants who have to adjudicate that situation.

I'd like $100 off if you seat a screaming brat near me. And another $100 off if some brat is behind me kicking my seat and banging a plastic cup on the tray table, like some underparenting example did all 13 hours from Paris to Los Angeles last fall.

@PeteyNice: Southwest does not fly to NYC..

@PeteyNice:

How would you control "priority disembarking"?

A lot of airlines already block seats toward the front of the coach cabin for customers who have elite status in the FF programs. I'd imagine it's something like that.

@Harrison-H: I don't mind the nosy baby, but I'd pay $10 to beat the snot out of the 5 year old kicking the back of my seat for 4 hours straight.

@Wild Monkey: You're supposed to let them know that there is a lap child with you. My son flew three times before he was two and each time he was great, $10 fee wasted.

@Amy Alkon: I'm with you. How about an inconvenience fee for the people WITH the screaming brats?

Way more problematic to me is the idea that they might charge $10 for complimentary food or accomodations in the case of flight cancellation or delay. So if I do not pay that $10 -- essentially, an insurance fee -- am I sleeping at the gate?

I can't see anything on the list I'd be interested in paying $10 more for.... unless something like the priority booking in case of cancellation would accept my $10 at the time of cancellation. I wouldn't want to pay extra just in case the flight happens to be cancelled, so I can get a hypothetical priority rebooking. But I imagine they would want the $10 in advance of any cancellation.

I could do most/nearly all of the $10 savings. I don't recline my seat anyway so that would be useful. I probably wouldn't be able to do without carryon AND checked luggage, but if I had checked luggage, I wouldn't mind if it came out last.

Volunteering to sit next to a small child for $10 would make me feel like I was tempting fate, so I'd shy away from that. If they happened to sit me near one, and then gave me $10, that would work.

@HungryTuna: Right. Hence my "if point A or point B is NYC or Atlanta Southwest does NOT get you anywhere".

A crying baby will annoy the entire cabin. There is no way to escape it. Save your $10.

I promise not to fly with them.. Please send my $10 check to the follow address.

I'd pay $10 to be seated behind someone who can't recline their chair.

I'm picturing this evolving into a different fare for different seats/conditions, so that when you purchase your ticket or check in online in advance, and are faced with that little graphic that shows you which seats are availible, etc, they appear in different colors or have different fares that pop up.

It would have to be dynamic, so that when the small child passengers pick their seats, there's a ripple in fare changes adjacent to them and on the other side of the cabin. Or if you select the 'guaranteed overhead space' a few people near you get discounts but no overhead space.

This would put so many more variables into seat choosing!

Perhaps I'm the only ill-mannered fellow on this site but when I'm faced with the situation of a young child (not a baby) causing a fuss on an airplane I don't think twice about giving the parents a piece of my mind, especially if they're visibly blase about their parenting. While often parents can't help having a crying baby (whose ears may be uncomfortable on account of the pressurization) they can entertain and occupy slightly older young children and keep them from running around or kicking seats and the like. A lot of parents are absolutely stunned when you turn around and call them out on their utter lack of common decency and parenting skills. Granted you start off polite but once you hit some 'tude all bets are off.

I'd gladly pay an extra 50.00 to have an airline executive sit between a drunk and colicky baby on a long duration flight.

I'm not going to pay any fee to get away from a screaming kid. I'm going to tell their worthless parents to keep the brat in check.

I'll take TWO!

While we are at it, I propose another set of fees.

$10 to take your shoes and socks off during the flight..
$10 to not be seated near restrooms
$10 to fly with Flu like symptoms
$10 to lean on my seat while standing in the aisle
$10 to talk loudly on your cellphone while plane is on taxing
$10 to eat smelly foods (Sardines, chinese take out, etc..)

People in front of me reclining their seats is usually my biggest problem. I don't have enough legroom as it is. So I'd actually consider paying the extra $10 to keep the other guy from reclining their chair.

Most of this stuff they want to charge for is the sort of thing they should be providing anyway. Priority rebooking in case of flight cancellation? Complimentary meals/hotel accommodations when a flight is either canceled or substantially delayed? I'm sorry...you should be doing this for all of your customers when you screw up.

It is fair to charge the extra $10 for in-flight Internet or power access though. I typically spend about that much on in-flight entertainment anyways (books, magazines, etc.)

One last question: does anyone else get the idea that airlines actually do want to move to the "no frills" model seen in Airplane?

I figure as long as they're nickel and diming people, it'd be better to have some choices in it. (As opposed to $25 for a second bag, period. Oh, and we're charging you 50$ for breathing.)

I'd pay more for avoiding a child. But, at the same time, I never recline, so a non-reclining seat wouldn't be an issue. And I do everything online when I can anyway, so I'd take that savings. And my luggage is always last no matter what, so, there, too, an advantage...

@Wild Monkey: Good question. I know there have been times I've specified that I'm flying with a lap child only to have to be reseated at check in because they put me in the exit row or in a seat that doesn't have an extra oxygen mask. I've also bought tickets for my daughter, again reporting that she's a small child, and been put in seats that were inappropriate. If their system can't flag passengers traveling with small childred and automatically assign appropriate seats, how's it going to manage juggling passengers who don't want to sit next to those children?

I am so NOT okay with this crap. First, some of it doesn't make sense. Pay extra to check a bag, but save money if you don't take any real carry-on into the cabin. The only people who don't need any luggage at all are business travelers flying back and forth same day for a meeting.

Second, I'll be darned if I'm going to wait to get off a plane while random people many rows behind me get cherry-picked to disembark first.

@Segador: How about a one-time $20 fee that covers every flight you ever take?

[www.gadgetduck.com]

@Tux the Penguin: That was the one I was looking at thinking, "I don't think they can do that". The TSA runs security, not westjet.

I guess they could just upgrade your ticket so that you could use the first class lines (that not all air ports have in the first place) but then so many people would probably use it you'd lose the point of having it.

I'd pay $10 to be seated behind someone who can't recline their chair.

Sit behind me and save your $10. I think it's rude to recline in coach, considering it leaves the person behind you like a nose-hair or so of space in front of your reclined seatback.

@kathyl: I've got no problem with kids...I've got a problem with kids that can't behave. If yours behaves, congratulations on raising a well adjusted, nice child, and more power to ya.

@Wild Monkey: Ha, a baby's screams know no boundaries. If they sense you're trying to escape their wrath, they'll just scream louder.

It seems like a lot of these things would cost more than $10 to properly administrate.

@Corydon: At least on that flight you had your choice of steak or fish...or in Leslie Nelson's case, Lasagna.

@HungryTuna: Why would they refund the cost of the flight rather than just the $10. You paid for the flight and got the flight, therefore no $ back. You paid 10 bucks to not sit next to a kid and got seated next to a kid, therefore you get 10 bucks back. They aren't going to give you something for nothing.

@kathyl: Yes, people who don't enjoy the sound of your little miracle screaming for hours on end are total jerks.

Even worse are the people who dare to complain about the aroma of human shit as you change little Brandon or Brittany's diaper in your seat.

@KarbonKopy: So parents are worthless if they have a screaming baby?

@Necoras: Why? It's the kid's parents who require the beating.

@HungryTuna: oooo I HATE when people lean on seats when they're in the aisle. Or hold on to seats like a handrail when they're navigating the aisles. Sometimes there is a bit of turbulence, so I understand. But this is my one big pet peeve. It resulted from a long international flight a few years ago when every half hour my seat got yanked back by the passenger behind me leaning on it to get up, leaning on it to get back in.... I love aisle seats, but at some point I might have to give them up to get away from this leaning-on-seats nonsense.

@BeeBoo: Wow...so who's more inconsiderate: the person who is excercising their RIGHT to a reclined seat on an airplane, or the person behind them stoppin ghtme from reclining, even though THEY can, just to be more comfortable?

You fly, sometimes the seat in front gets lowered, deal with it.