How the flyer’s fear of Covid may help airlines monetise the middle seat

Faced with half-filled cabins and rising demand for social distancing, airlines are looking to monetise the dreaded middle seat as an ancillary product.

Ancillary revenue is revenue derived from goods or services other than an airline’s primary product offering, which is offering seats to passengers.

Tata Singapore airlines joint venture Vistara started allowing passengers to book an extra seat yesterday. Low-cost airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet are also in the final stages of designing such a product, which will be sold as an add-on service to customers.

“The decision was taken after an internal survey with our customers, which showed that many of them are worried about their fellow passenger not following safety protocols. We have designed a product for those who want to have their peace of mind,” said Vinod Kannan, Chief Strategy Officer, Vistara.