FWIW, I like a good seat as much as the next guy, and will go to some trouble to get one. For instance, as a Continental platinum, I can get “elite seating” on their partner airlines as well, but I usually have to call. For Delta, that usually means talking to a poorly trained rep in India who’s likely not to understand my request. I still call most of the time.

But to actually PAY for the better seat? I just don’t think I’d do that. I guess I’m a little cheap, but parting with money to get off the plane a minute or two faster doesn’t make sense for me.

The better market is probably corporate customers — heck, I’d part with somebody else’s cash for the convenience! But I wonder how many corporate travel dept’s have provisions that allow reimbursement for this.

I guess enough do, because it’s becoming an increasingly popular option.

As far as another merger being “a mess” for US Airways, I guess we’ll see. The last “mess” seems severely hyped by the media, as the “really bad” inconvenience lasted only a couple days, and the “annoying” inconvenience probably a month or two. I would say it was par with the inconvenience United caused its pax in December when they ran out of pilots to fly their x-mas schedule, and that barely registered a pulse in the media. US Airways now has one of the best ops in the industry. You’d think Parker might like to keep it that way, given the history here.