Air Canada seat selection fee paused temporarily [Video]

Air Canada has temporarily walked back its decision to charge a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares.

Under the old policy, customers with fares that didn’t offer free seat selection prior to check-in would be randomly assigned a seat at the time of check-in, with the option to change that seat to another available seat for free.

However, some Air Canada customers received notices earlier this month stating the airline would soon charge passengers with standard or basic fares to change their automatically assigned seats during check-in.

• Top business headlines, all in one place

A Facebook account belonging to Ontario-based travel agent Kerry Berlinquette shared an image of a notice she received on April 18.

“We’re introducing a new seating assignment process for Standard or Basic Fares,” the notice reads.

“When customers enter the check-in flow, our system will automatically assign a seat free of charge for those who have not purchased a seat in advance … If they wish to change their …