Recently, many consumers have reported on social media that when checking in after purchasing a plane ticket, a large number of seats are locked, and only the middle seat in the back row is available for selection, which greatly discounts the experience before the journey begins. At the same time, some popular seats, such as those near emergency exits or in the front row, have been resold on third-party platforms under the name of "proxy services". More and more passengers roast: is seat selection a value-added service of airlines or an invisible consumption trap? In recent years, it has become an industry trend for airlines to turn seat selection into a chargeable item without prior notice of seat locking rules. In economy class, seats in the front row, near emergency exits, and even window seats are gradually being priced differently. Logically speaking, this is a reasonable value-added service, and high-quality resources require additional payment. However, in practical operation, it is difficult for passengers to figure out how these seats are allocated. Ms. Xia and her friends were taking a Xiamen Airlines flight to Doha, Qatar. During online check-in, they found that almost all seats were locked and only a few were available. So Ms. Xia chose to check-in under the antenna, but the staff informed her during check-in that if two people wanted to choose seats together, they would need to pay an additional 300 yuan/person, and the price at the emergency exit was 800 yuan/person. Ms. Xia was puzzled: "The Boeing 787 is a wide body aircraft. How could it lock so many seats when checking in offline so long in advance? Do ordinary passengers have the right to choose seats without extra money?" Many domestic routes also have similar situations. Mr. Xie, a citizen, is a frequent flyer. He roast that when buying a flight from Shanghai to Zhengzhou, all the seats in the front row were locked, only 50 rows later. As a result, after boarding, he found that many seats in the front row were empty. "There are long lines of offline check-in lines. For passengers who do not need to check in, online check-in is convenient and fast, but whether these positions are locked for high card users or for counterweight, passengers are not clear, and different airlines Different flights have different locking conditions". Mr. Xie also stated that the Juneyao Airlines he took last month only locked the first three rows and the front and rear two rows of the emergency exit, and other positions could be selected. A ticketing agent employee of an airline explained that generally, airline seat locking is mainly based on cost considerations. For example, depending on the price of economy class, some passengers purchase full price tickets, while others purchase discounted tickets. Small area seat locking is mainly used to provide passengers who check in offline with a choice; Of course, weight distribution is also one of the reasons to ensure that the center of gravity is within a safe range, but these locked seats are usually open 24 hours before the flight takes off. But Ms. Mo is not convinced by similar statements. On December 10th, she and her friends purchased tickets from China Eastern Airlines on the third-party platform "Qunar", with the same ticket price. However, when checking in and selecting seats, Ms. Mo found that she could only choose seats after row 35, while her friends could choose seats in the front row. She called customer service to ask why there was a difference in seat locking, and the customer service said that the seats were randomly opened. Mr. Xie, who often takes flights, said that he tried to choose a front seat during a check-in, but found that the system displayed that the seat was locked. However, while browsing Taobao, he discovered that someone was selling "proxy services" for emergency exits of airline flights for 200 yuan. I don't understand. Since it's a public seat selection, why would there be such a secretive transaction? "He admitted that he was willing to pay a reasonable fee for a more comfortable seat, but only hoped to have a clear understanding of the available seat range and related rules when purchasing the ticket. On platforms such as Xianyu and Taobao, simply search for "flight seat selection" to find a large number of sellers who provide "proxy selection services". These sellers claim to be "familiar with the rules," "run errands," "have exclusive skills," and "be able to lock seats in advance." Their store has high transaction volume and high praise rates. The details page states that "the first three rows, emergency exits, and international seat selection are all available. After providing flight information, a quote can be given, and one seat is negotiable." Passengers only need to provide their ticket number and name, and then pay 100 to 150 yuan to choose seats in the first row and emergency exits. Taking China Eastern Airlines' popular flights from Shanghai to Beijing as an example, seats near emergency exits are often considered "golden locations" because they not only have spacious spaces but also allow for faster disembarkation. The reporter consulted with the merchant and learned that the price of such seats is about 110 yuan, and promised that "the gray locked position is optional, and there is no charge if it cannot be done". Industry insiders have revealed that such third-party merchants may use web crawling technology to access airline system interfaces or resell seats through internal point redemption and booking services. This' proxy business' not only disrupts market order, but also causes dissatisfaction among passengers. A passenger said, "Some seats can only be redeemed with mileage but are resold, and some seats can only be selected through offline check-in. Why can they be resold online? Why can't seat selection services be open and transparent?" The reporter inquired and sorted out the relevant regulations of several airlines on seat locking, and found that the opinions of each airline on seat locking and selection are different. Air China has explicitly stated that there are paid seats available for economy class seat selection, and during the check-in process, some paid seats may be available for other passengers to check in on their own. Phoenix Zhiyin Platinum Card members can enjoy the right to choose economy class seats for free; Juneyao Airlines stated that the first and second rows of economy class seats, as well as seats near emergency exits, on international flights can be redeemed for a fee during offline check-in. However, for domestic flights, not all economy class seats are available for pre selection due to airline safety and special service guarantees; China Southern Airlines stated that it provides prepaid seat selection services for international ticket passengers and mileage redemption seat services for domestic ticket passengers. From international experience, many third-party airline ticket service providers provide passengers with multiple airlines and various types of travel agency services, including booking services, while also charging certain fees. These "ancillary revenues" have become an indispensable part of the total revenue of many foreign airlines. Many passengers and industry insiders have pointed out that it is understandable for airlines to charge for seat selection, but reminders should be provided when purchasing tickets to make seat selection rules more open and transparent. You can learn from the hotel room selection and train bunk selection models. For example, in economy class, the area near the emergency exit and the first five rows of seats are designated as fare zones with clear pricing standards; Regular seats remain free, allowing passengers with different needs to find seats that suit them. Compared to allowing passengers to spend money on third-party platforms, airlines can standardize these revenues through transparent tiered pricing mechanisms, which can also enhance passengers' experience. (New Society)