In fabulous news for anyone who has ever been traumatised by their seat neighbour on an aeroplane, Qantas is now letting you buy the seat next to you for just $30 on short flights. But is this a bargain or a cheeky sales ploy? Letâs investigate.
Picture the scene. Youâve just boarded your flight from somewhere gloomy to somewhere sunny. The vibes are high and youâre keen to kick back in front of the pool with a basketball-sized cocktail.
But then, tragedy strikes! Someone has just sat down next to you, taken their shoes off, put the armrest up, coughed in your general direction and started talking about how âthereâs actually heaps of evidence the moon landing was fake, broâ.
Finally, thereâs a solution. This revolution in personal space is called âneighbour freeâ and is currently being trialled on select domestic economy Qantas flights.
There are a few finer details to note here. Purchasing a âneighbour freeâ seat is only done by invitation within 48 hours of your scheduled departure time. This means unfortunately youâre rolling the dice a little bit.
Also, call me crazy but if itâs waiting until 48 hours before the flightâs departure to sell you an empty seat starting at $30, doesnât that mean Qantas isnât confident itâd sell?
For the most part, airline tickets become more expensive the fewer seats are available which is why itâs usually good to book early.
Following this logic, if Qantas is willing to part ways with a free seat right before boarding, doesnât this mean the seat would likely remain unsold and itâd be free for you to stretch your legs on without having to splash cash?
Another piece of evidence that supports this theory is that Qantas recently cut a bunch of domestic flights to save some cash. It also asked its execs to help out with baggage handling after continued staffing shortages.
Regardless, if youâre the sort of flier who despises the idea of having to share your personal space with a stranger for a few hours, âneighbour freeâ could deffo be an antidote to your ailment.