Some companies love to tell you what you can’t have. Northwest Airlines is one of them. When selecting a seat, you are presented with at least three different groups of seats that you can’t select. Some of these are only for special frequent flyers, other aren’t available until one day before the flight, etc. There’s no obvious way to upgrade to these seats, even for a fee. It’s like a candy store where all the bins are locked, with “Only for special customers” written on the top.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get much value from an extensive list of things that I can’t have. Northwest should just show the seats in three categories: not available, available, and available at an extra cost. And for that last category, let customers see the cost and buy them right then and there. Otherwise, the experience is not only confusing and unproductive, but pretty demeaning as well.