Even middle-row plane seats have an add-on fee

MUMBAI: Charging an add-on fee for the airline window seat for its view or the aisle seat for its convenience, or a seat in the front row or the emergency exit with its extra leg room, is one thing, but charging a fee for that much-hated middle seat is quite another. Jet Airways, IndiGo, Go Air and Spice Jet are the four carriers that levy a seat selection fee even for the middle seat onboard their domestic flights.

Air India and Vistara levy a seat selection fee only for middle seats that are located in the front or exit rows where a passenger gets extra leg room. Jet Airways, then, is the only full-service carrier (others include low-cost carriers such as IndiGo, Spice Jet and Go Air) that charges a fee even for those middle seats (Rs 400 for rows 11 to 17) that don't come with extra leg room, but are located in the front portion of the aircraft.

Paying a fee and blocking a preferred seat is optional. Passengers can also select a seat, free of cost, during web check-in or are assigned a seat during airport check-in. But when the seats are not paid for and blocked, on high-demand flights like early morning and late evening ones, passengers travelling in a group might find themselves seated in different rows.

Siddharth Bothra, a frequent flyer and a father of two, said that parents are the most affected of the lot. "If we don't block and pay for the seats in advance, the family most likely doesn't get to sit together. The government should make it mandatory for airlines to ensure that passengers travelling with kids and infants are seated together," said Bothra.

When it comes to getting that extra leg space on domestic flights, Air India offers the best deal as its front row seats can be pre-booked for as less as Rs 500. The highest fee is charged by Vistara, Rs 1000 for a reclining seat in exit row 11 on flights that are over 90 minutes long.