IndiGo puts a premium on even unwanted middle seats

MUMBAI: IndiGo is perhaps the only airline in the world that charges a fee for that uncomfortable seat sandwiched between the window and aisle seats. Of everything unbundled by airlines till now, it is the Rs 100 additional charge for the never-in demand middle seat that has rankled passengers the most. On international flights, the charge is Rs 200.

Under IndiGo’s seat preference scheme, every seat on its A320 aircraft has a price tag. The low-cost carrier charges an extra Rs500 for seats in rows 1, 2 and 13. Other window and aisle seats come for a premium of Rs200. Flyers not opting for seat preference need not pay extra.

The scheme affects those travelling with spouse, children , parents or friends; to sit together , such passengers would need to pre-select seats to be together , thus paying premiums. For a family of three wishing to sit in the same row, the sum works out to Rs 500.

The middle-seat levy is something that even Ryanair, the Dublin-based low-cost carrier that is known to charge for every possible chargeable item, does not charge. Jet Airways charges extra for seat preference onboard its B787 international flights, but not for middle seats.

Sandeep Kumar, a chartered accountant who will fly with his family from Mumbai to Bangalore next week, said, “My daughter is 8 and son 12, and we want our kids to sit with us. That will cost us Rs 700 extra one-way . Had I realized this when I booked our tickets, I would have opted for another airline.”

Kumar’s predicament will be shared by at least all whose children are minors. “Those with older kids, too, may opt to block adjacent seats. No one would want their children or parents to be seated in different rows, especially considering that there could be an emergency and families would want to stick together,” said Neeraj Pratap , an entrepreneur and frequent flyer on the Mumbai-Jaipur route. “Obviously, when I travel alone, I do not pre-select a seat. I’ll be getting middle seats from now on, I suppose.”