By Bianca Ffolkes
Low-cost airline easyJet has announced it will test allocated seating on selected routes starting next month.
Image credit: Rex
Flights from Luton to Sharm el Sheikh, Glasgow to Alicante, Luton to Malaga, Luton to Alicante and Luton to Istanbul will all take part in the trial.
The 40,000 passengers on these routes will be allocated a seat free of charge, with the seat number marked on their boarding pass. They can pay £12 for a seat with extra leg room, £8 for the front seats or £3 to specify any other seat of their choice.
Currently passengers travelling with the budget airline face long queues at the departure gate and a race to board the plane as families and friends try to get seated together.
In a bid to increase customer satisfaction easyJet has spent £5million in computer expenses to adapt its current booking system to allow seat reservations. The test will last throughout the summer and, if successful, allocated seating will roll out across all easyJet flights in the future.
The airline said the decision was about reducing stress during boarding.
Carolyn McCall, easyJet's chief executive, said: “We will only roll it out if it works operationally and increases passenger satisfaction. Our aim is to make travel easy and affordable for all our passengers.”
According to Ms McCall the initiative will ensure that families and groups of passengers who are travelling on the same booking reference sit together.
She acknowledged that the airline’s current policy of unreserved seating may put passengers off.
“It can stress people out, the boarding experience. With easyJet, they may not be used to the way we board. It can be a barrier to travelling with us. People are just not used to unreserved seating.”
