Allegiant begins charging to get seat sites at ticket counter

Allegiant Travel Co., which is always seeking new sources of ancillary income, has begun charging fliers to get seat assignments at the ticket counter.

Until now, passengers who chose to get a seat assignment at the airport counter could do so for free. The new policy requires them to pay $14.99.

Passengers can get a boarding pass this way between 45 minutes and two hours before departure.

Fliers who want to avoid the charge must continue to report to the ticket counter and get a boarding pass with a number on it, much as they would if they were flying on Southwest Airlines. The number tells passengers where they are in the line of people who get to board after everyone who bought a seat assignment.

The company said it didn't have an estimate of how many passengers the changes would affect.

Allegiant will continue to require fliers to pay from $4.99 to $15.99 to get a seat assignment and boarding pass on line, depending on the position in the plane and the length of the flight.