Dawn Gilbertson

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1,100 appearances 16 recordings 1 series first heard Jun 2022 last heard Feb 2025

Dawn Gilbertson’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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WSJ Your Money Briefing · Some Airlines Charging $100 to Pick a Seat · 8 Jun 2022 podcast

Thanks for having me. voice-verified

Well, the unfortunate thing is there is no typical fee. voice-verified

I mean, airlines have some price ranges on their websites, but what I found is a lot of times those even aren't realistic because these prices are dynamic. voice-verified

I interviewed a passenger who paid $27 for an aisle seat, and I found fees as high as $100. voice-verified

As an example, I priced a flight from Atlanta to LAX in mid-July on Delta Airlines and seat 15D, which is an ordinary aisle seat. voice-verified

The price tag that popped up was $104.99 each way. voice-verified

Well, there's different categories of seats. voice-verified

My column focuses on what the airlines love to call preferred seats. voice-verified

And I think there's absolutely nothing preferred about them, except that they're generally near the front of the plane. voice-verified

Airlines argue that people like to get off the plane quicker. voice-verified

There is no extra leg room, no free drinks, no early boarding. voice-verified

You are simply getting a seat that the airline deems is a preferred seat that some people might want to pay more for. voice-verified

This is not just true for seats in the economy cabin. voice-verified

There are examples of international flights in business class that charge seats. voice-verified

For example, British Airways. voice-verified

I priced a $6,000 round-trip ticket, and they still wanted a minimum of $122 to pick my business class seat one way. voice-verified

One word, money. voice-verified

And a consultant I talked to called these seat fees an economic gift to airlines because it requires literally no investment. voice-verified

They're just monetizing the seat map. voice-verified

Airlines generally will put a range on their fee charts and they'll say preferred seats or extra seats or this much, but you truly do not find out the true price of how much a particular seat is going to cost to reserve in advance until you start the shopping process. voice-verified

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