The Civil Aviation Authority has announced an investigation into airline seating policy, after it was revealed that some companies deliberately split up groups of passengers so they have to pay to sit together.
A CAA survey of more than 4,000 passengers who travelled as part of a group on ten airlines last year found just over half of respondents were told they would have to pay more to sit together before they booked. A total of 18% said they had been separated from their travelling companions when they chose not to pay to sit together.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, said: “Airline seating practices are clearly causing some confusion for consumers. Airlines are within their rights to charge for allocated seats, but if they do so it must be done in a fair, transparent way.”
The practice of paying for your seat is a fairly new phenomenon. A 2011 project by easyJet codenamed BOSS (“bums on selected seats”) trialled the then-revolutionary concept for a low-cost airline of allocated seating. The following year easyJet introduced a “pay extra to choose your seat” system. The Independent travel correspondent Simon Calder notes that they system “found broad acceptance, and raised revenue, with other airlines soon following suit”.
The CAA is investigating whether airlines make it clear when customers book that they will need to pay to sit together; whether undue pressure is applied to persuade people to pay when they might not need to, as appears to have been the case with Ryanair in the past; and whether any airlines are deliberately splitting up groups.
-
Guzzling passengers: should airports limit pre-flight boozing?Talking Point Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary has called for a two drinks per passenger limit at airport bars
-
Rail strikes: is Britain on track for a ‘summer of discontent’?Speed Read The ‘biggest rail strike in modern history’ is planned for next week
-
‘See it. Say it. Sorted’: is it the end of the line for train announcements?Speed Read The transport secretary has pledged a ‘bonfire of the banalities’ on England’s railways
-
UK to bring in airport Covid tests for arrivalsSpeed Read MPs call for stricter border measures as South African variant of coronavirus spreads
-
UK records biggest jump in transport use since pandemic beganSpeed Read Monday rush hour sees spike in commuters across country as trains return to 90% of pre-coronavirus services
-
Coronavirus: what are the odds of catching Covid-19 on a plane?Speed Read Studies suggest air travel is safe despite concerns about air quality
-
Plane crashed ‘as distracted pilots discussed Covid fears’Speed Read Preliminary report says ‘human error’ to blame for crash in Pakistan that claimed 98 lives
-
Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic tells staff to take unpaid leaveSpeed Read Move comes amid warnings that global pandemic could bankrupt aviation industry
