Airlines are coming up with more and more innovative ways to attract customers. Such as more comfortable seating arrangements, more choices to meals, and more entertainment services. Though with the increase of these attractions, so does the price of the ticket.
In Bryan’s blog posted on Oct 7. He spoke of a interesting type of add on fee available to passengers travelling with Delta Air. The airline’s added feature lets you pay extra to give you a spot next to an unsold middle seat. To some people this may a chance of a lifetime to finally have some alone time for resting, but to others this feature may be simply outrageous.
Airline’s think of this as a customization feature for their travelers, travelers can decide on their level of comfort and convenience that suits their lifestyle and budget. With higher levels of comfort and convenience, means more money added to the ticket price.
However, in my opinion, I do not find the feature as the best way to solve empty seat problems because every time an airliner takes off with unoccupied seats the airline is losing potential revenue. Even when the unoccupied seat is paid for the amount paid cannot be close to what it could have been sold for. The best way for airliners to maximum their revenue is to still try to fill up the empty seat with discounted airfare prices.
Reference:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/bryanwangxx/2013/10/07/purchasing-a-fancy-space-in-the-airline/