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On Tuesday, the company modified a new pricing plan that charges for the right to reserve some of its aisle and exit-row seats. The change gives its most frequent fliers access to those seats without paying the fee and moves some of the most-coveted seats out of the program.

Elite members of Northwest's WorldPerks frequent-flier plan who rack up at least 25,000 miles a year are eligible. The changes answer letters, e-mails and hundreds of Internet postings protesting Northwest's month-old pricing plan.

"They're listening to the frequent travelers," said John Vintzel, 29, of Rochester Hills.

Vintzel travels almost once a week and flew Continental Airlines instead of Northwest during the past month because of the pricing plan. "They were kind of nickel-and-diming the people that were keeping them running," Vintzel said.

Northwest, which is reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, introduced the plan March 14 as a way to increase revenue. The airline expects the $15 pricing program to bring in at least $15 million in revenue in its first year.

Even with the changes, the plan sets aside about 5% of seats in coach on most domestic flights to sell to passengers, Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said.

Those include aisle and exit-row seats, which have up to 10 extra inches of legroom.

Passengers can reserve one of those seats when they check in for their flights online or at an electronic kiosk at the airport within 24 hours of departure.

Here are the changes for elite members:

• Seats at no extra charge.

Of the seats Northwest sets aside to sell, frequent fliers can reserve one at no extra charge, 24 hours before departure, when they go on sale for everyone else. When the program launched last month, Northwest charged elite members the $15 fee to secure one of those seats but gave them 36 hours instead of 24 to purchase them.

Elite members already can secure a seat in what Northwest calls its Select Seating zone — the first several rows of the coach cabin — 90 days before their flight is scheduled to depart.

• Best seats for elite members.

Northwest has decided to stop selling some of its most popular seats and instead keep them for frequent fliers. For instance, the airline said in an e-mail to frequent fliers that it no longer will sell the coveted seat D in Row 6 on a DC9, which has lots of extra legroom because it has no seat in front of it. In the pricing program, the airline has traded out those popular seats for other spots in coach.

USAtoday