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How much do you value your personal space? Not in a general sense – we mean how much cold hard cash would you hand over to keep annoying strangers at bay?
That’s the question that Wizz Air is posing, as it has revealed that select passengers will now be able to keep the seat next to them empty for the duration of their flight. But, like all perks on low-cost airlines, it will come at a price.
In order to even have the chance to ask to be neighbourless, you’ll first need to select ‘Wizz Class’ for €50 when you’re booking your flight. Think of this like business class if it came with no warm towels or comfortable seating, but did allow you to board the plane first, claim a free snack, and take a large cabin bag. This is similar to the Speedy Boarding option on EasyJet, or Priority on Ryanair.
Wizz Class, however, comes with a unique extra: the chance to book the seat next to you for a reduced fare, provided you opt for an aisle or window seat. The exact amount that you’ll have to pay to keep that middle seat empty will change depending on demand, and is an extra cost on top of that of your ticket and €50 priority upgrade.
To even access Wizz Class you’ll need to have upgraded to Wizz Plus or Wizz Smart (yep, we’re also confused), making the spare seat an upgrade of an upgrade of an upgrade. As you can see, it’ll start to get pricey – and a bit perplexing – pretty quickly.
However, a 2023 survey of air travellers suggested that nearly half would be willing to fork out for some extra space, so for some passengers, that hefty price tag might be worth it.
Wizz Air isn’t the first to cash in on our most antisocial impulses. Earlier this year, Virgin Australia announced a similar scheme, with a slight difference in that customers would be bidding on empty seats instead of straight-up purchasing them. The basic entry starts at $30 AUD (around €17), and the highest bidder would get some of that sweet, sweet elbow room.
Lufthansa goes one step further, offering a ‘sleepers row’ – aka giving you the option to reserve three full seats for yourself. The airline also provides these passengers with a little mattress and a blanket to make sure they get a really good sleep. That’ll set you back up to €229 each way.
Wizz Class will only be available on journeys between Budapest, Bucharest Otopeni, London Luton, London Gatwick, Rome Fiumicino, and Warsaw. Will you be opting in?
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