出門旅行, 航班座位怎麼挑選的學問

When airline customers try to choose seats while purchasing tickets, what they see may not be what they can get.
許多飛機乘客喜歡在購票的同時選擇座位，但所見和所得並不相同。

Airlines routinely block coach seats for a variety of reasons, reducing the pool of available seats to reserve free of charge in advance when you book a trip.
基於諸多因素，航空公司常會鎖定一些經濟艙座席，這使得人們在預定機票時可以提前免費預留的座位有所減少。

On many flights now, 30% to 40% of coach seats are held back by the airline for premium customers, people with special needs or available only for a fee. Facing what look like, but often aren't, high odds of getting a lousy seat at check-in, sitting apart from children or even getting bumped from an overbooked flight, many travelers feel pressured to pay for a reserved seat.
如今在許多航班上，航空公司會爲貴賓乘客和有特殊需求的乘客預留30%到40%的經濟艙座位，普通乘客預定則需要付費。面對可能出現的情況（可能性看似很高，其實通常來說並非如此），例如辦理登機時被分配到糟糕的座位、和自己的孩子分開坐甚至由於航班超額預定而坐不上這趟飛機，許多旅客倍感壓力而選擇付費訂座。

That pressure has increased as airlines have expanded the number of seats they block from early assignment and added more rows of extra-legroom coach seats, which are offered free or at a discount to elite-level frequent fliers but sold to others. Airlines say all the seats they block or assign for a fee are opened up shortly before departure and customers without advanced seat assignments almost always get accommodated. There is a higher risk of getting involuntarily bumped off flights if you don't have a seat assignment, but it is rare.
如今這種壓力更大了，因爲航空公司將更多座位劃分在了可提前預留的範圍之外，並增加了多排加長了伸腿空間的座位，這些座位會免費或打折提供給貴賓常旅客，而向普通旅客則需要收費。航空公司表示，他們鎖定的或者收費的座位都會在起飛前不久全部開放，沒有優先分配座位的乘客一般總還是會得到安置。此時如果沒分到座位，坐不上這趟航班的風險更高，不過這種情況很少見。

Doug Berg, a frequent business traveler from Detroit, was surprised to see the only spots open in coach were Economy Plus seats with extra legroom for a United Airlines flight from Denver to Spokane, Wash., in May. He had a seat for his Detroit-to-Denver leg, but didn't realize his travel agent hadn't been able to reserve a seat for the flight to Spokane until he went to check in online and print boarding passes.
道格·伯格(Doug Berg)來自底特律，商務出行非常頻繁。5月份他搭乘美國聯合航空（United Airlines）的航班由丹佛飛往華盛頓斯波坎(Spokane)，他驚訝地發現，經濟艙內開放的都是擁有加長伸腿空間的豪華經濟艙座席。在從底特律到丹佛的航程中，他訂到了一個座位，但直到他在線辦理登機並打印登機牌時，才知道旅行代理人未能幫他在飛往斯波坎的航班上預留座位。

Worried he might get bumped, which would have been a huge problem, since it was a night flight and he had to be at work at 7 a.m. the next day, he paid United an extra $44 to reserve an Economy Plus seat.
他很擔心自己會無法登機，這將是個大麻煩，因爲那是夜間航班，而他必須在第二天早上七點開始工作。於是他多付了44美元預定了豪華經濟艙的座位。

At the airport, kiosks showed lots of available free seats in the economy section of the Boeing 737. At the gate, Mr. Berg polled fellow passengers about when they got their seat assignment and learned many reserved coach seats a few hours before departure. Mr. Berg felt ripped off because it appeared United had created an artificial shortage.
到了機場，自助值機臺顯示這架波音737客機的經濟艙仍有大量可免費預定的空座位。在登機口，伯格詢問同行的乘客何時被分配到座位，得知許多人都是在起飛前幾小時預定了經濟艙座位。伯格感覺自己被敲詐了，因爲美聯航似乎是人爲製造了座位短缺的假象。

'Either seats are available or they are not, ' he said. 'It frosted me having paid a fee to get an assigned seat to ensure I would get to Spokane while there were seats in my class available.'
他說：“座位無非就是有空沒空兩種狀態。在我的艙位有空座的情況下，我被迫花錢選座以確保自己能到達斯波坎，這很讓人寒心。”

Mr. Berg wrote to United to complain and the airline responded saying if he sent documentation, the airline would refund the $44.
伯格寫信向美聯航投訴，該公司回覆說如果他發來證明文件，公司將退還44美元。

I had a similar experience on a recent United Express regional jet flight. At booking, no seats were available to reserve. Two days before departure, two Economy Plus seats became available, and I paid $39 to grab one. The next day, 24 hours before departure, 10 seats opened for free seat assignment.
最近我乘坐美聯航快運(United Express)的一趟支線航班也有相似的遭遇。訂票時，沒有座位可供預定。出發前兩天，有兩個豪華經濟艙的座位可以預定，我花了39美元搶到一個。第二天，也就是起飛前24小時，又有了10個免費分配的座位United says customers with tickets but no seat assignment almost always get seats at check-in. Seats without extra legroom open up as customers decide to pay the fee for Economy Plus and elite-level customers get upgraded to first class or to Economy Plus. Silver-level frequent fliers, for example, don't get Economy Plus seats free of charge until 24 hours before departure. As they get moved to open Economy Plus seats, 'traditional' coach seats open for passengers without seat assignments.
美聯航說，訂票未訂座的乘客一般都會在值機櫃臺分到座位。當有乘客決定付費預定豪華經濟艙座位、貴賓乘客升級至頭等艙或豪華經濟艙時，常規空間的座位就會開放。以銀卡常旅客爲例，他們在起飛前24小時纔會免費獲得豪華經濟艙座位。隨着這些人的座位移至豪華經濟艙，“常規”經濟艙座位就會開放給沒有分配到座位的旅客。

On average, United says, 22% of its economy seats are Economy Plus. But that runs up to 40% on some planes. When there is little demand for Economy Plus, a significant percentage of passengers may face the anxiety of no seat assignment.
美聯航表示，他們平均22%的經濟艙座位是豪華經濟艙，但在有些飛機上會達到40%。當豪華經濟艙的需求很小時，相當一部分乘客可能就得因爲座位分配問題而焦慮了。

'In the hugely overwhelming majority of situations, people will get a seat assigned before departure, ' United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said.
美聯航新聞發言人雷薩恩·約翰遜(Rahsaan Johnson)說：“在絕大多數的情況下，乘客在出發前都能分配到座位。”

American Airlines blocks a large number of coach seats, both with extra legroom and without, to make them available to customers with top-level status in its frequent-flier program on every flight. Those seats show up on seat maps as occupied for customers without elite status, leading them to conclude seats are scarce. This prompts a portion of them to pony up.
美國航空(American Airlines)在每架航班上鎖定了大量經濟艙座位，不僅有加長空間座位，也有常規座位，以便提供給常旅客計劃中的高級別乘客。對於非高級別乘客來說，這些座位在座位圖上顯示已被佔用，令他們認爲座位緊缺。這促使他們中的一部分人加錢選座。

Two weeks before its July 16 departure, American Flight 34 from Los Angeles to New York showed only two middle seats in the back of the airplane available, plus 11 Preferred seats岸regular coach seats toward the front without extra legroom岸available for a $56.44 fee. Logging in with elite status, however, showed the same flight had far more regular coach seat availability. Flight 34 actually had 12 open window seats and nine open aisle seats.
7月16日由洛杉磯飛往紐約的美國航空34號航班在出發前兩週只顯示後排有兩個中間的座位有空，外加11個預定費用56.44美元的受歡迎座位──靠前而無加長伸腿空間的經濟艙座位。以貴賓身份登錄系統，則顯示同一航班上有多得多的經濟艙座位可供選擇：實際上有12個靠窗的座位和九個靠過道的座位。

A week later on Tuesday, the seat map available to non-elites showed only one available middle seat, 38E, in the back of the Boeing 767-200, plus the same 11 Preferred seats at $56.44 each. But elite-level customers saw a total of 41 of 128 coach seats empty.
一星期後的星期二，非貴賓身份登錄後的座位圖顯示，在這架波音767-200型飛機上，只剩後部的一箇中間座位38E，以及同樣的每個需收費56.44美元的11個受歡迎座位。但是貴賓級別的乘客看到的是128個經濟艙座位中的41個都有空餘。

American says it doesn't think blocking open seats from view pressures customers into paying for extra-legroom or Preferred seats. The number of seats blocked for elite-level customers varies with demand and 'a large percentage of specific seat assignments are still available to all customers at no additional cost, ' spokeswoman Cameron King said. 'And for our customers who value additional legroom, a certain type of seat or the ability to reserve a specific seat, we have made products available for them as well.'
美國航空公司說他們並不認同在顯示圖中鎖定空餘座位會迫使乘客購買加長空間的座位或者受歡迎座位。其新聞發言人卡梅倫·金(Cameron King)說，爲貴賓乘客所保留的座位數量因需求而異，“大部分特定區域的座位仍向所有乘客開放而無需額外付費。至於那些喜歡加長空間的乘客，我們同樣爲他們打造了特定產品，讓他們能夠選擇特定類別的座位或者提前預定某一個座位。”

Unlike American, Delta Air Lines shows the Preferred seats it has held back for elite customers, but doesn't allow regular customers to book them until 24 hours before departure. At that time, Preferred seats are offered for a fee to nonelite-level customers.
與美國航空不同，達美航空(Delta Air Lines)會在圖上顯示爲貴賓乘客預留的受歡迎座位，但直到起飛前24小時才允許普通乘客預定。那時，受歡迎座位會收費提供給非貴賓乘客。

US Airways also blocks seats for elite-level customers and labels them Preferred. The airline sells what it calls Choice seats in rows near the front of the cabin for $5 to $99 one-way that don't have extra legroom but do have early boarding privileges. On the whole, US Airways says 9.5% of its coach seats are labeled Choice. Preferred, Choice and exit-row seating, which is sometimes sold for a fee, account for an average of 30% of coach seats on the airline's planes.
全美航空(US Airways)同樣爲貴賓乘客鎖定部分座位，並標爲受歡迎座位。這家航空公司銷售所謂的“精選座位”，這些經濟艙座位單程售價爲五至99美元、靠近機艙前部、沒有加長空間但可以優先登機。全美航空表示，總體來看，有9.5%的經濟艙座位被標爲精選。受歡迎座位、精選座位和靠近逃生門的座位平均佔據機上座位的30%，有時會收費提供。

Those seats open up to customers without seat assignments who don't want to pay starting 24 hours before departure, US Airways said.
全美航空還說，那些座位會在起飛前24小時開放給還沒有安排座位、不願付費的乘客。

Consider US Airways Flight 12 from Phoenix to New York on Wednesday. Two days before departure, a seat map showed only 12 Choice seats available for purchase. A day later, less than 24 hours before departure, nine coach seats, five of them middle seats, were available free of charge. Also, 11 Choice seats remained and two exit-row seats opened.
以全美航空7月10日由菲尼克斯飛往紐約的12號航班爲例，出發前兩天，座位圖顯示只有12個精選座位可供付費選擇。一天後，也就是起飛前24小時，九個經濟艙座位免費提供，其中五個是中間座位。同時還剩餘11個精選座位和兩排靠近逃生門的座位開放供選擇。