EasyJet scraps passenger seating free-for-all

British no-frills airline easyJet said yesterday that it will introduce paid-for allocated seating across all flights from November, after conducting a successful trial.

Passengers will have the option to pay three levels of pricing -- £3, £8 or £12 ($A4.60, $A12.50 or $A18.70)-- depending on where they want to sit, easyJet said in a statement. Those choosing not to pay will be handed a seat number when they check in.

The airline, which is based at Luton airport north of London, added that it has tested the switch from the mainly first-come-first-serve system to allocated seating during the summer season.

"Our customers asked us to trial allocated seating and we are really pleased with the positive passenger feedback during the trial," said group chief executive Carolyn McCall.

"As importantly, we have shown that we can do so while delivering strong on time performance -- the most important driver of passenger satisfaction."

Rival budget carrier Ryanair scrapped its long-held seating free-for-all in May last year.

In Australia, Jetstar initially applied a similar seating system upon its launch in 2004. The budget airline scrapped the system in favour of reserved seating two years later, in the wake of negative customer feedback.

AFP