Northwest drops $15 fee for some flyers

Josh Roberts believes the best trips involve long hikes and muddy boots. His life goals haven't changed much since he was a kid: He still wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up.

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Josh joined SmarterTravel in 2001, and is an active member in both the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

In addition to SmarterTravel, he has written for USA Today, The Boston Globe, Yahoo! Travel, The Huffington Post, Airfarewatchdog, TripAdvisor, Jetsetter, ABC News, Oyster, and Business Insider. His travel photography can be seen in Britain and Ireland's Best Wild Places, published by Penguin UK.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A lacrosse ball. It's small, lightweight, and works wonders on loosening up tight muscles."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Being the first to discover an ancient lost city. Failing that, visiting as many of the already-discovered ancient ruins as possible."

Travel Motto: "Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle."

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Northwest has modified its Coach Choice program to drop the $15 fee for extra legroom on flights booked by its most loyal customers.

Previously, the airline set aside its most popular coach-class seats (many aisle and exit-row seats) and allowed travelers to reserve those seats for an extra $15. Now, it says it will no longer charge its elite frequent flyers to reserve those spots.

It will also remove some seats from the program altogether, including the popular seat D in row 6 on its DC9 planes. This and other coveted seats will now only be available to its elite frequent flyers on flights that fall into the Coach Choice program.

Here’s the rub: Northwest says it will replace these coveted seats by pulling additional seats into Coach Choice. So if I understand this right, it’s now charging $15 extra for some seats that it didn’t deem worth an extra $15 when it launched the program in March.

And this is good for consumers? I don’t think so.

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