That's not so uncommon these days.
Well it's a bit sad as EK seemed to be holding it's position above the lowest common denominator that seemed to rule just about everybody else. Seat selection was one of the nice differentiators from the likes of BA or KLM.
And a 'small' charge of what £20 to £30 per *sector*? That means somebody travelling from Europe to SE Asia or Australia potentially gets hit for the charge 4 times - which means £80 to £120. That isn't quite so small.