Nothing worse than an overcrowded flight. And there’s nothing better than the entire plane boarding and you realizing that nobody has sat in the seat next to you, giving you room to stretch out. Well, now one airline is offering passengers a way to guarantee that happens, and it won’t cost them all that much.
Australian airline Quantas has just launched a pilot program dubbed the “Neighbour Free Seating Option,” which will allow passengers on certain domestic flights to pay a fee to keep the seat next to them open. And while this may sound like a way for airlines to simply get more money from passengers, the fee for the guaranteed free seat ranges from only about $20 to $34.
Of course there are some stipulations. Only passengers on flights that aren’t already full will have the option. They will be sent an email to buy that extra set about 48 hours before their departure, although even if they do choose the option, the seat won’t be guaranteed until departure. Should the plane suddenly fill up, they’ll get their fee back.
So far, Quantas is only testing the service out across six domestic routes for a total of six weeks. The routes range anywhere from 90 minutes to four hours long, and Quantas says they are considering rolling it out to more domestic flights later this year.
Source-Travel & Leisure
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