Airlines have increasingly been making exit row seats available for passengers to pre-book ahead of their flight. This certainly gives customers increased flexibility – but it has always come at a price. On 7 October British Airways is launching a new pre-allocated seating policy, meaning passengers can now reserve the seat of their choice from up to 355 days in advance to 24 hours before departure. From 24 hours to departure, it is still free to pre-allocate seats online…
Airlines have increasingly been making exit row seats available for passengers to pre-book ahead of their flight. This certainly gives customers increased flexibility – but it has always come at a price.
On 7 October British Airways is launching a new pre-allocated seating policy, meaning passengers can now reserve the seat of their choice from up to 355 days in advance to 24 hours before departure. From 24 hours to departure, it is still free to pre-allocate seats online.
But what policies do the other major carriers have in place? There is wide variation between what each airline is offering its customers and the big question is whether this is set to change with BA’s announcement. To make things easier, travel search engine nowfly.co.uk has developed a table of what airlines charge to pre-book seats on flights.
Important points include:
1. British Airways – domestic and Euro Traveller passengers will pay £10 to book further than 24 hours in advance, rising to £60 for Club World travellers. Free at the time of booking, First passengers, those with infants or with disabilities or other special requirements can pre-book their seat for free. In addition, customers can request an exit row seat in World Traveller or World Traveller Plus from 10 days to four days before their flight. Exit row seats cost £50 per person per sector. Gold Executive Club members, oneworld® Emerald equivalents, and other passengers on the same booking can request an exit row seat free of charge at any time before their flight.
2. EasyJet – the Speedy Boarding option can be selected as soon as the passenger books the flight. The price ranges from £4.50-£8 depending on the length of the flight and also the airport (i.e. if you catch a coach from the terminal you pay less than passengers who walk straight to the aircraft from the boarding gate).
3. Ryanair – the Priority Boarding Fee per passenger per one-way flight is £3/€3 if booked online or £4/€4 if booked via a call centre or airport. Priority boarding can be booked if passengers contact their local Ryanair reservations centre up to four hours prior to departure.
4. Monarch – seats on Monarch’s scheduled flights can be pre-reserved in advance for £7.50/€9 per seat, per sector. The price varies according to the route and is displayed when making a booking. Vantage Club gold members get free allocated seating, including extra legroom. Other passengers can pay for extra legroom and this costs between £15 (€22.50) and £25 (€37.50) per seat, per sector.
5. Virgin Atlantic/bmi – Virgin is not charging for pre-allocated seating, regardless of what class a passenger is flying in. bmi is not charging for pre-booking seats on either its short or long-haul flights.
Tatiana is the news co-ordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy. She holds a Bachelor degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
