Recently, I bought a ticket for a trip to Spain to visit my daughter and her family.
Although I’ve been more than 20 times, the process takes longer now. In addition to comparing the price among airlines, now, I had to compare the costs of the different classes offered by each airline.
Here are the latest classes:
Alaska Airlines
Saver
Main
Premium
First
Jet Blue
Economy
Business/First
Delta
Delta Main
Delta Comfort
Delta First
American
Main
Main Extra
Premium Economy
Premium
Flagship Suite – Some flights
United
United Economy (Main cabin)
Economy Plus (Extra legroom)
United Premium Plus (Roomier seat)
United Polaris/United First (Enhanced onboard experience)
Southwest
Basic – Seat assigned at check-in (Go for Less)
Choice – Standard seat included (Top Pick)
Choice Preferred – Preferred seat included (Earlier Access)
Choice Extra – Extra legroom seat included (All In)
Although all the airlines offer information on the different classes in a pop-up, United and Southwest were the only airlines that provided information in the headlines by the classes.
In general, the economy seats are in the back of the plane, the seats are smaller, you board last, you can’t choose a seat, and you may or may not get airline miles.
Seating is an issue for me when I travel by air because I have respiratory problems. I feel much better sitting in the front of the plane.
In the past, Southwest would let me board first when I explained at the gate about my respiratory disability. Alaska helped me out a few times, but, then, they began charging more for what was considered better seats.
It was disappointing that there was very little price difference among airlines and the number of flights to choose from has been reduced. The basic rate was about $822 with little variation among airlines. I ended up paying $1,518 to travel mid-day and sit near the front of the plane.
And the cost of everything is up. I always buy insurance since I’m a senior citizen, and that’s gone up, too. I usually pay about $80. This time I paid $123.
So, start even earlier when purchasing an airline ticket.
