The question is whether it is understood up front that there is a type of ticket that doesn’t allow seat selection, and that the customer has selected that type

The question is whether it is understood up front that there is a type of ticket that doesn’t allow seat selection, and that the customer has selected that type of ticket. Until the last few years, this wasn’t even a thing in the US on major airlines. Then United launched their Basic/Shitty Economy and it’s been a race to the bottom ever since.