Has "paid seat selection" for international flights changed its flavor?, Airline company is roast about being ugly seat | Airline company | International flight

Recently, some consumers have reported that China Southern Airlines' online check-in and seat selection for international flights are unsightly, and the number of free available seats available in the system is very small, accounting for only 6% of all seats; Some passengers have complained on social media that they also need to pay for aisle seats, and if they don't pay, they can only take sandwich seats; No free 3-seater is provided, and family members must pay for sitting together

According to a reporter's investigation, since Hainan Airlines first introduced "seat selection fees" on international flights in 2013, domestic full service airlines such as China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines have gradually "tested" paid seat selection services on international, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan flights. The Beijing Youth Daily reporter conducted an investigation into the paid seat selection situation of airlines, and there was no situation where only "sandwich seats" and "rear row seats" can be taken without payment. However, it is true that about half of domestic airlines require payment for early seat selection for economy class seats on international routes.

Roast

You can only sit in the "sandwich seat" without paying

Ms. Lao, a consumer, posted that "ordinary seat selection also forces people to pay, otherwise they will sit in the last row.". Ms. Lao purchased an economy class ticket. In the past, only seats with larger legroom such as front seats, window seats, and emergency exits needed to be paid for. Now, even ordinary seats in the aisle need to be paid for. She didn't pay to choose a seat, and later was told at the boarding counter that there was only a sandwich seat in the middle, which was very frustrating.

In addition, some passengers roast that the flight between Beijing and Osaka on the 21st was an Airbus 330-300 dual channel airliner with 283 seats. Only 17 seats were available for free for "Pearl Card" users, which was only 6% of all seats.

The netizen "Qinger" posted a picture on a social networking platform, saying that she took a round-trip flight from Guangzhou to Jakarta of China Southern Airlines. When checking in on the App, she found that "I can choose only one blue seat on the journey, and the rest are yellow or gray. Yellow seats cost 350 yuan or 7000 miles, while gray seats are not optional; there are more free seats on the return trip, but also very few." Another passenger roast and questioned: "paid seats" has changed - passengers are no longer paying for "good seats", but only "sandwich seats" and "back row seats" without paying.

There is also feedback from passengers that many international flights charge for the optional triple seat option. This means that consumers must arrive at the airport early on the day of departure to "grab" three consecutive seats, or choose seats at the price provided by the airline. The passenger reported that the economy class paid seats on her flight range from 100 to 350 yuan. According to the current paid seat selection price of the airline, if a family of three wants to sit together, the minimum round-trip fee is 600 yuan.

reflect

Seat selection and payment, but service did not keep up

Ms. Lu, a passenger, took her child on a trip. Considering that the first row seats in economy class are relatively spacious and for the convenience of getting on and off the plane, she exchanged her points for front seats 38A and 38B. As a result, after boarding, Ms. Lu found that the aircraft type of the flight was changed from Airbus 321 to Airbus 320, and the first row of "big seats" she had exchanged for points were changed to 35K and 35J - the space of these two seats was the same as that of the back row, there was no more space.

So, Ms. Lu called the airline, and customer service said that she did not inform them in advance because the first row seats were still changed for passengers after changing the model. Ms. Lu believes that changing flights should inform passengers, rather than simply changing seats without mentioning anything. Ms. Lu believes that using points to exchange for the first row position is not fundamentally different from paying for it. Choosing a seat to pay, but the service clearly didn't keep up.

Response

Southern Airlines: Other seats have been pre selected by passengers

The Beijing Youth Daily reporter contacted the customer service of various airlines regarding paid seat selection. The results show that the proportion and quantity of free seats available vary among different airlines and flights.

The person in charge of China Southern Airlines stated in an interview that about 50% of the seats on China Southern Airlines international flights are currently open for passengers to choose for free, and about 6% of the free seats do not match the actual situation. In the screenshot provided by the consumer, only 6% of the free seats are available, mainly because when this passenger made a seat selection, other free seats had already been pre selected by other passengers. Taking the CZ317 flight from Beijing to Osaka as an example, operated by Airbus 330-300, the flight has a total of 282 seats, including 252 economy class seats. China Southern Airlines provides a total of 142 free seats. Passengers can choose a seat based on the information found in the app. If they do not want to pay or choose a free seat, they can check in at the counter to see if there are suitable seats available. The seats available during check-in are first come, first served.

In addition, the relevant person in charge of China Southern Airlines also stated, "In response to the rapid growth of international flight passengers after the epidemic, the auxiliary collection team is opening up more free seats for passengers to choose from."

According to the customer service of China Eastern Airlines, currently only about 30% of the economy class seats on outbound flights are charged. Generally, economy class seats from rows 31 to 41 will be charged, but nearly 70% of the seats in the back row are available for free. But there are also cases where some free seats are locked by the airport. Considering that there are passengers checking in at the counter on the same day, if all the available free seats online have been selected, passengers can go to the counter to choose their seats on-site.

Multiple airline customer service representatives have also stated that if consumers are not particularly concerned about choosing flight seats, they can choose free seats during check-in or automatically obtain seats at the counter before boarding. If the flight is full of passengers, the passengers who did not pay for seats and checked in last may only have "sandwich seats" and "back seats". If the remaining seats are in the front row or by the window, passengers still have a chance to find good seats for free.

Exploring the Cause

Why do airlines constantly grab more seat selection fees

So, why do domestic airlines charge seat selection fees? What is the impact of collecting seat selection fees on airlines' profits?

According to public information, starting from the summer of 2011, major US airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines began charging fees for some special seats on their planes. Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airlines, and United Airlines charge additional fees for seats with greater legroom; American Airlines and American Airlines charge additional fees for seats in the front window and aisle of the aircraft; Passengers of Loyal Airlines and Spirit Airlines must pay for seat selection in advance, otherwise they can only wait for seat allocation during check-in. Data shows that in 2018, American airlines collected approximately $4.2 billion in seat selection fees.

According to the latest survey conducted by aviation research firm IdeaWorks in collaboration with B2B technology platform CarTrawler, global airline ancillary revenue has jumped from $42.6 billion in 2013 to over $102 billion in 2022 over a period of approximately 10 years. It is worth mentioning that despite the significant impact of the epidemic, the auxiliary revenue in 2022 is almost on par with $109.5 billion in 2019. From the proportion of auxiliary revenue to the total revenue of airlines, it is evident that many airlines are increasingly reliant on auxiliary revenue. In 2022, the proportion of auxiliary revenue to the total revenue of airlines reached a historical high of 15%.

From a domestic perspective, although multiple full-service airlines have been testing the paid seat selection service on international, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan flights since 2013, there is no relevant revenue statistics.

Multiple industry insiders have analyzed that in order for airlines to increase their total passenger revenue, in addition to raising ticket prices, they can also achieve their goals by increasing auxiliary revenue. The main reason why airlines are constantly hoping to grab more "seat fees" is that the profit margin of the civil aviation industry is not high, usually only 1% -2%. Auxiliary revenue such as check-in seats may not seem to contribute much to revenue, but they contribute greatly to profits.

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American Airlines' seat selection fees are also causing dissatisfaction

On social media, "how to avoid paying seat selection fees" has become a hot topic for people's travel tips. Netizens also shared various posts on "anti pitfall" strategies.

A survey shows that 50% of American passengers express disgust towards seat selection fees. Some foreign passengers also roast that it is justifiable for airlines to tap the "potential" of making money, but consumers' feelings and acceptance should also be considered. For example, Ryanair had previously planned to launch paid toilets on their planes, but had to abandon the plan due to passenger resistance.

The most criticized issue regarding paid seat selection is that airlines may randomly assign children and accompanying adults to different seats when not paying.

A mother angrily said that she, her husband, and two young children were preparing to board a flight from Maui to Oahu in Hawaii. When they walked into the boarding gate to scan their boarding passes, they found that four people were arranged in four non adjacent seats, which was very "outrageous".

In March of this year, the US Department of Transportation called on airlines to ensure that young children sit with accompanying adults without charging additional fees.