Eurowings passengers can pay to keep middle seat free

Eurowings will offer passengers the option of paying extra to keep the middle seat vacant, throughout the entire cabin, on all flights within Europe, after carrying out a “successful” trial of the measure. Lufthansa Group’s low-cost unit says it has been testing the initiative for several weeks and it has “met with an exceptionally high level of interest”. More than 5,000 free middle seats have been sold during the trial, adds the carrier. It has therefore decided to make the option available on all seat rows and across all of its European routes. “The positive feedback during the test phase showed us very clearly that our guests often want more comfort and distance on board,” states Eurowings chief executive Jens Bischof. “Ultra-low-cost no longer works since [the Covid-19 pandemic], at least not in our home market Germany.” Charging extra to keep the middle seat free and enable passengers to feel more socially distanced on board “will become a very important product for travel in the future”, adds Bischof. Subject to availability, Eurowings passengers will be able to block the middle seat next to them for a fee starting at E18 per flight.<br/>