Things to do with airline seats? Sell them, naturally! Or allow passengers to pay additional to surround themselves with some of those seats.
That is the notion behind Etihad Airways’ brand new seat choice, which allows coach-class flyers bid for as many as three chairs next to them. On one of the airline planes 3x4x3 in mentor, reserving three seats in the center seats section would provide you a spacious row of chairs. Raise the armrests and spread out across four seats — a seat in coach.
No word yet on how much travelers are willing to bid for the excess elbow room.
The move is one of many initiatives found to shore up the most important thing, as Etihad along with other Middle East carriers find themselves than the market will support, and decreasing yields as reduction carriers capture market share.
The carrier is currently allowing coach passengers to pay to use the Abu Dhabi business-class lounge (up to $250 per visit) and airport lounges everywhere in the network (around $75).
In the same way passengers that want privacy and luxury can pay to upgrade to the Abu Dhabi lounge of the airline.
And looking at the cost side of the equation, Etihad will suspend its own airport transfer service for premium passengers replacing it with a transfer option that is paid. (The present free transfers will remain in place at Abu Dhabi airport, also for Home passengers.)
Reader Reality Check
How much would you pay to have the coach seat?