I am going to Gateway to Wealth in Orlando next week and went to Allegiant Airlines to book my flight.  It LOOKED like an excellent price, but what they don’t tell you is that on top of the taxes, there is a fee to select your seat.

Yes, I said they charge you from $11-$15 to select a seat, and there is no way to take the luck of the draw.

for crap sake, why don’t you just charge $25 more for the  ticket?

Then I tried calling the airline to find out if there was a way to bypass paying $22-30 simply to select a seat in the back of the plane (because that’s where they all are), and here’s what happened.

I listened to 17 minutes of hold music.

I heard a ring and thought, “Oh good, I’m about to get to talk to someone!”  Then do you want to know what I got?

wait for it…

an ANSWERING MACHINE!

And I’m not done yet.  It gets worse.

First off, I always ask for a bulkhead seat because I’m blind traveling with a guide dog.  Members of NFB need not harrass me for not following your code of conduct.  I always preboard (gasp) and I always get the bulkhead if I can.  It’s better for my guide dog, and I emerge somewhat less corkscrewed from having to contort myself and a dog into an inhumanely small space.

Now when I go to the desk at the airport, I’m going to find out if I can get the $22 I had to spend on selecting a seat near the back of the plane.

OK sidebar rant over…back to the main story… 

So with no way out of paying at least $22 simply for the privilege of clicking a box to designate my seat.  The other airlines are at least $200 more.

OK sure, the price on Allegiant Airlines is better than the others, but I hate being hosed.

OK  so yes, mantra - the price is better, the price is better, the price is better…

BUT then I go to check out before the price triples on me…

and guess what?

 I’m sure you guessed…another FEE of $15!  So what looked like a really great fare is not only reduced to a good deal, but I feel used, abused, hosed, taken advantage of…and I still have to change my seat and ask for assistance in Orlando at the airport, and I still can’t get to a live human being directly.

And I can’t check a bag unless I want to pay for that too.

Are they going to charge me a $20 convenience fee for the privilege of breathing the air in the plane?