Aisle-seat surcharge
Northwest Airlines wants to start charging customers extra for the more desirable aisle seats. They can now expect to spend the next five years, and millions of PR dollars (and they wonder why they can't make ends meet), attempting to repair the damage to their reputation that occurred by merely floating the idea.

Nickel and diming your customers to death with fees for every little thing isn't exactly the way to build a loyal customer base. Even if the extra fees are relatively small, the whole process and attitude annoys customers. The psychology of it will ultimately undercut the business.

The airlines need to attend to the basics -- reliability, safety, access to the places people want to go, comfort, reasonable (and simple) pricing, and treating people like family -- rather than sardines. Even in the airline business it's all about relationships. If people feel that they are getting into the family plane they'll come back again and again. If they feel that the airline is trying to take advantage or them or that they don't really care about them -- they won't.