Lufthansa to start charging fees for advance seat reservations

by Devesh Agarwal

German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa will start charging passengers fees for advance seat reservations (ASR). However, unlike fellow European carrier British Airways, Lufthansa will limit its fee to economy class as of now.

From November 26, 2013, for a fee of 10 euros Lufthansa passengers can reserve in advance, their preferred seat in economy class when booking flights on German and European routes. For emergency exit row seating, which offers more legroom, the fee is 20 euros on European routes and 60 euros on intercontinental flights. In the mid-price and flexible booking classes in Economy, advance seat reservations will be free.

HON Circle Members and Senators as well as companions travelling with them are exempt from the ASR fees. Initially these seat reservations can only be made from sales through the Lufthansa Service Center and at Lufthansa ticket counters, and at travel agencies. They will also be available on-line from spring 2014 for flights booked at the Lufthansa website.

Seats will be available free of charge during online check-in 23 hours in advance of the flight.

Read more »

IndiGo modifies its seat pricing after ministry rap

by Devesh Agarwal

Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. All rights reserved.

A chastened IndiGo airline, hurried modified portions of its much annoying seat pricing policy after facing the irritation of passengers and the rap of the civil aviation ministry.

A late night statement from the airline says

The feedback of our flyers is of utmost importance to us and as a result, with immediate effect, IndiGo will not charge for pre-booking of any of its middle seats (except for rows 1, 12 and 13)

About 11 days ago, the airline had announced a new seat pricing formula called IndiGo Seat Plus, after the aviation ministry had indicated their acceptance of un-bundling of additional services like baggage, food, seat pre-selection, etc, which helps drive ancillary revenue, a major income source for airlines.

Under IndiGo Seat Plus, passengers could pre-block seats for a premium. Rs 500 for sitting in Rows 1, 2, 12 and 13 on domestic flights and Rs 800 for international. For all other window and aisle seats the premium was Rs 200 and Rs. 300 for domestic and international flights respectively. However, what got the goat of almost everyone was IndiGo's Rs. 100 and Rs. 200 charge for booking of even the most unwanted seat in the aircraft, the middle seat.

Earlier today, reports indicated The Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed domestic airlines to limit the number of seats on their flights for which they charge passengers a fee which is over and above the cost of the ticket. Since IndiGo was the only airline charging for seats, quiet clearly it was in the cross-hairs of the officials.

Indian carriers would be well advised to take heed of the developments in the North American market, where airlines nickel and dime their passengers every step of the way. Last year, US airlines earned in excess of $6 billion (about Rs. 33,000 crores) in change fees alone. Change fees are normally charged for changing ticketed schedules.

Read more »