The Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings now intends to make money on a large scale from vacant middle seats. According to Condor, this carrier is now also introducing the possibility that the middle seat - with 3-3 seats - can remain free. A fee of at least 18 euros must be paid for this.
EASA recommends to all European airlines that the middle seats should remain vacant in order to increase the spacing, so that the load of the respective flight allows. When it comes to the actual implementation, however, most airlines are severely affected. Increasingly, they are recognizing the desire for more distance from the person sitting next to them as a new source of income and are introducing such an extra, which is of course chargeable.
Eurowings calls the monetization of empty seats “innovative”. However, the “extra” can only be booked from September 2020 on the homepage. Until then, this can only be done via the chargeable hotline of the carrier. According to the company's own information, around 5.000 free center seats were sold in a test run via the service center. No information is given about the average price and it is pointed out that the option “from” 18 euros is available.
“The positive feedback during the test phase showed us very clearly that our guests often want more comfort and distance on board. 'Ultra-Lowcost' has not worked since Corona, at least not in our home market of Germany. We therefore assume that the vacant center seat will be a very important product when traveling in the future, ”says Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof.
The new offer can be booked in all rows of seats and on all Eurowings routes within Europe - subject to availability. The free middle seat can be booked for as little as 18 euros each way. If a passenger opts for the new offer, the free seat will be blocked with the booking and will therefore not be allocated elsewhere.