There’s an item upcoming in next week’s eFlyer about the latest wrinkle in premium seating. Lately JetBlue joined United in charging for seats in front of the plane. Now another airline is joining in with what it’s calling “choice seating” in the front of the plane, but with a twist: it’s five bucks more if you want the window or aisle. I guess they didn’t have the nerve to ask people to pay more for a middle seat. I mean, who wouldn’t pay $5 just NOT to have the middle seat? What I don’t understand is why they don’t do it for the whole plane–there’s your fuel offset right there. At the same time, this would sort of penalize people flying together, wouldn’t it? If they want to sit together–unless it’s on a really big plane with 4- or 5-abreast seating–one of them would have to pay extra. Or, as many pairs of folks do, they each pay, take the aisle and window, and then keep their fingers crossed that no one takes the middle seat. As this pay-more-for-special-coach-seats thing takes hold, I can imagine it getting carried to extremes. You know how some people will cash in the business-class fare their company buys them, fly coach and pocket the difference? Well, I was thinking that modern technology could carry the concept further. As more airlines gear up to have SMS or Internet access on aircraft–or think about Virgin America’s Red system, for example, that lets you chat to other people on the plane–a whole new inflight economy could unfold. “Hey you, chubby guy in 15B squeezed between two football players, fifty bucks for my window seat?”–your pal in 16A. “To anyone in row 30: I hear they ran out of chicken halfway down the plane. For five bucks you can have mine; I packed a lunch.” –Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer