Most US airlines offer economy passengers the option to pay extra for a more comfortable flight experience. Airlines refer to these “special” seats by various names, but the concept is the same. You’re paying for a few extra inches of legroom, which can be the difference between not having enough space for your knees throughout the flight and being able to use your laptop if the person seated in front of you reclines.
Here are the names the airlines call these extra legroom seats:
- American Airlines – Main Cabin Extra
- United Airlines – Economy Plus
- Delta Air Lines – Comfort+
- JetBlue – Even More Space
- Frontier – Stretch Seats
Besides being located at the front of the economy cabin, these seats also will include the bulkhead row and the exit rows.
We’ve tried out different airplane seats, sometimes spending more money to get better legroom or getting free upgrades due to our frequent flyer status or operational upgrades. As a result, I have a clear idea of what I’m willing to pay for a comfortable seat. However, airlines are becoming increasingly unreasonable with their pricing, sometimes charging exorbitant amounts for just a couple of extra inches of legroom.
On this American flight between Austin and Orlando, they asked $100 for the bulkhead and exit row seats and a minimum of $70 for the other Main Cabin Extra seats. Preferred seats, which have no extra legroom, were going for $30+.
On a flight on Delta to New York from Orlando, they were asking a minimum of $70 for a Comfort+ seat assignment. That’s the usual price for an upgrade on this route, for which you’ll get 3 inches of legroom and a free alcoholic beverage if available. I’m not willing to pay that price but those seats are usually all full.
Finally, there’s one airline where I’m willing to pay for the extra legroom—JetBlue’s Even More Space seats.
Of all the airlines, JetBlue does give you something significantly better than the regular seats, which already have more legroom in economy than other airlines. In fact, Even More Space seats offer between 3 to 7 inches of additional legroom.
We paid $60 each for the upgrade for our flight from JFK to Orlando.
As you can see, I had plenty of space in this A320, as my feet didn’t even reach my backpack under the seat in front of me.
When I pay for the upgrade to extra legroom seats, Sharon says it’s a waste of money for her because she always has enough legroom.
Another reason I’m willing to pay for the extra room when flying with JetBlue is because I’m able to be productive on the flight. With the usually dependable FlyFi internet service, I can pull out my laptop and get work done during the flight.
Final Thought
When it comes to paying for extra legroom seats, JetBlue is the only airline that consistently offers value for money. Other airlines tend to overprice these seats, mainly because passengers with status can claim the upgrades before the flight if they are still available.
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2 comments
@ Joe — The solution is to just fly first (and put Sharon in the overhead bin, where there’s plenty of room for her).
She always says it’s OK for me to take the extra legroom seat and leave her back in the economy section, but I know it’s a trap.