NEW YORK — American Airlines has found another fee.
The Fort Worth airline said yesterday that it’s charging between $19 and $39 for what it calls Express Seats — the spots in the first few rows of coach that include bulkhead seats.
American said the price includes the right to get on the plane in the first “general boarding’’ group of passengers. The seats that will cost extra are in the first two or three rows of the coach cabin.
Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com, said passengers will see more packaged fees like this in the future.
The carrier, which is operated by AMR Corp., is following in the footsteps of several other airlines that already charge for special seats. United Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue, Frontier, Spirit, and AirTran all have some seats that cost extra.
The American seats don’t give passengers much extra for their money, said Steven Hall of CompareAirlineFees.com. Most of the other airlines’ premium seats offer more legroom, he said. But it is a benefit to be among the first to board, he added.
The seats on American can be bought only at airport kiosks up to 24 hours before the flight for travel within the United States, until 50 minutes before the flight departs.
American, the second-largest US airline, behind Delta Air Lines, still provides its elite frequent fliers with those seats at no extra charge. American also charges other fees, including for checked bags, booking on the phone or in person, unaccompanied minors, and pets.
On Tuesday, AirTran raised its fee for the first checked bag by $5 to $20 for travel starting in September. The cost is now on par with prices at bigger airlines.
US airlines collected about $1.9 billion from fees in the first quarter, the most recent period for which data are available. American’s share of that was $261.1 million.