[spthere]

When I booked my flight on line with American Airlines there was no option to select a seat without another $14 "preferred seating fee" so I declined - decided I had paid enough already.

Now AA will NOT allow me to check in on line without an assigned seat. The ONLY seats now available are the preferred seats and cost the additional $14. Also there are only middle seats available.

So in effect AA is telling me "if you want ANY confirmed seat (on the flight you have already paid for) you need to pay an additional $14 per flight".

Very underhand tactics in my opinion.

[azstar]

If there's no other seat available, you'll get one for free at the gate. However, there are always some "airport only" assigned seats so when you check in, you might get a window or aisle seat.