EasyJet is to roll-out allocated seating across its network after research revealed the stressful boarding process put passengers off flying with the airline. Allocated seating will continue on trial flights and the service will be rolled out across the network, starting from 13th November 2012.
To select a specific seat number, passengers will have to pay £3 for a standard seat, £8 for Upfront seats (rows two to five or six), and £12 for extra leg room seats. Passengers who don’t pay to select a seat will be allocated one free of charge. Passengers travelling on the same booking will be seated together wherever possible. EasyJet plus! annual cardholders and Flexi Fare customers will be able to select a seat free of charge. Passengers buying Upfront or Extra Legroom seats will be first to board.
The airline has been testing pre-allocated seating on selected routes over the summer and research among the 800,000 passengers on 6,000 test flights showed that more than 70% felt it improved the boarding experience. More than 60% said they were likely to use easyJet in future as a result.
On the trial flights, the majority of passengers were allocated seats when they checked in, with the most popular being those near the front for swift exit on arrival and the exit row seats with extra legroom.
