THERE is nothing worse than being crammed in between people on a long flight – but now one major airline is allowing passengers to bid to keep the seat next to them empty.
Essentially, the new scheme means flight passengers can have two seats instead of one.
Virgin Australia has launched the new ‘Neighbour-Free Seating’ option on some international flights[/caption]
Virgin Australia has launched the new ‘Neighbour-Free Seating’ option for passengers heading on domestic and short-haul international flights.
Under the new option, economy passengers can bid via the airline’s app to reserve an additional seat next to them, for as little as £14.
If successful, a passenger will find out two hours before their flight departure.
However, if someone then books the empty seat, the winning passenger will be refunded.
According to Virgin Australia, the new option means passengers will have “a more spacious Economy experience at great value”.
The new feature follows a survey in 2023 where 42 per cent of Virgin Australia passengers said they would consider paying a fee to have the middle seat empty on international flights more than three hours.
A third of passengers also said they would do the same for domestic flights more than three hours.
Virgin Australia executive, Libby Minogue said: “Our priority is to give Virgin Australia guests even more value and choice when they choose to fly with us.
“Neighbour-Free Seating is a clever add-on for Economy travellers who want the certainty of extra space without the price tag.”
After booking their flight, passengers can bid for the additional seat via the Virgin Australia app.
Bids will start at £14 and rise depending on demand.
A number of other airlines already offer similar, including Qantas and Air France.
With Air France, passengers can pay for the ‘Empty Seat Option – My Extra Space’, when they check-in online or via the airline’s app.
This option allows passengers to reserve up to three empty seats next to their own for better comfort.
With other airlines, such as Ryanair, you can still purchase an additional seat – just in a different way.
If you want to book an additional seat with Ryanair, you will need to purchase two full-fare flight tickets.
The scheme allows passengers to bid for the seat next to them to remain empty[/caption]
When it comes to booking, you’ll need to put one ticket under your name and details and for the second ticket, fill out ‘Extra’ as the first name and ‘Comfort Seat’ as the last name.
This means ‘Extra Comfort Seat’ will be added to your reservation, and when you check-in online, you’ll need to use the same travel details and documents for yourself and your spare seat.
Virgin Australia will also soon join a handful of airlines trialling pets in the cabin next month.
The service that launches on October 16 will allow small cats and dogs under 8kg to travel with owners in the cabin on select flights for £72.83.
Another airline has launched a new ‘prime’ membership which saves passengers more than £400 a year.
Plus, two major airlines are set to introduce a huge major freebie for all passengers.
A number of other airlines allow you to also keep the seat next to your empty for a fee[/caption]
