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Airlines looking to make window or aisle seats a costly luxury

More and more of the major airlines are now considering window or aisle seats a luxury and are looking at new ways to charge passengers for them, ABC News reported Tuesday.

Passengers on low-cost carriers like Spirit Airlines had to pay for seat assignments in advance or risk having the airline put them in whatever seat is available, Scott Mayerowitz, an airline expert with the Associated Press, told ABC News.

Other airlines have followed suit, charging fliers in some way for a good seat. Southwest, which doesn't assign seats, recently increased the price of its early boarding by 20 percent. It now charges passengers $15 each way to board the plane first to improve their chances of getting a good seat.

With Delta's least expensive option, basic economy, fliers cannot select their seats until 24 hours before they travel -- just around the time when the most coveted aisle and window seats are inevitably taken by people who paid a higher fare.

"American Airlines and United are following Delta's lead on this and will be launching their own basic economy fares in coming months although they haven't yet released the details of those plans,” Mayerowitz said.

He said travelers using the big airlines like American, Delta or United would likely have a harder time finding seats because airlines were reserving more seats in the front of the plane for elite members or those willing to pay extra.

Travel experts said that there was one way to improve your chances at a better seat, though -- and without having to pay up.

When consumers book their flights, experts suggest entering the information into ExpertFlyer.com, which automatically emails the traveler when an aisle or window seat opens up.

ABC News' Rebecca Jarvis and Kelley Robinson contributed to this story.

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