Over 1 in 3 consumers surveyed say the airline they booked in the last 12 months did not give an option to secure a free seat

October 18, 2022, New Delhi: Comfort is the foremost priority for air passengers and some consumers prefer to reserve seats according to their choice which can be availed by paying extra, from INR 200 to INR 1500, especially for seats in the front and emergency rows as they offer more legroom. This means that consumers can reserve their preferred seats on the plane by paying extra during the booking or web check-in. In case the consumer doesn’t wish to purchase a preferred seat, airlines are supposed to ensure that there are enough free seats available for them to select from during web check in. However, many consumers have been complaining on LocalCircles and Twitter about some airlines still charging a fee for allotment of all seats on the plane and there is not a single seat kept for free allocation. Such incidents including some airlines even charging for web check in had prompted the Ministry of Civil Aviation to issue an advisory on August 1, 2022 stating that there will be no charges for web check-in in scheduled domestic airlines. However, some airlines continue to charge consumers extra for all seats on the plane. Last year, a parliamentary panel called the practice of charging passengers a fee for seat selection “arbitrary and unjustifiable”. The committee stated that all seats in the same flight should have the same fare and quoted the aircraft rules, 1937 which specifically mentions that fares should be reasonable and should maintain reasonable profit.

Taking cognisance of the complaints and to understand the extent of the issue, LocalCircles conducted a survey to understand from Indian consumers if they received an option to secure a free seat in airplane when making a booking in the last 12 months. It also sought to know how much extra they paid for reserving a preferred seat. It then gathered consumer feedback on the maximum percentage of seats in an airplane which airlines should be permitted to charge as a seat allocation fee. The survey received more than 30,000 responses were received from citizens residing in 351 districts of India. 65% respondents were men while 35% respondents were women. 48% respondents were from tier 1, 28% from tier 2 and 24% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

Over 1 in 3 of those consumers who booked flights in the last 12 months say the airline was charging extra fee for allotment of each seat on the plane

The first question in the survey asked consumers, “When you booked a flight ticket in the last 12 months, did you get an option to secure a free seat (no charges) when booking?” In response, 35% said “No, every seat allotment was on chargeable basis” while the majority of 65% of consumers said “Yes, a few seats were allotted during the booking without charges. This question in the survey received 9,827 responses.

2 in 3 consumers who booked flights in the last 12 months say they paid extra fee for reserving a seat; 34% of them said they had to pay every single time

The next question in the survey asked consumers, “When you booked a flight ticket in the last 12 months, what percentage of the time did you end up paying to reserve a seat?” In response, 34% of consumers said they had to pay extra “100% of the time”, 8% said “75% of the time”, 12% said “50% of the time” and another 12% said “25% of the time”. Only 27% said they “Never paid for a seat and took whatever was assigned at the airport” while 7% couldn’t say (“someone else made the booking or don’t remember or booked via counter/travel agent”). On an aggregate basis, 66% of consumers who booked flights in the last 12 months say they paid extra fee for reserving a seat once or more. Of whom, 34% said they had to pay every single time. This question in the survey received 9,859 responses.

6 in 10 consumers want the Government to mandate airlines to not charge seat allocation fee for more than 30% of the seats on a flight

The final question in the survey asked consumers, “What is the maximum percentage of seats in an airplane for which airlines should be permitted to charge a seat allocation fee?” In response, 39% said “20%”, 21% said “30%”, 6% said “40%”, 11% said “50%”, 4% said “75%”, and another 4% said “100%”. 15% couldn’t say. On an aggregate basis, 60% of consumers want that Government mandate airlines to not charge seat allocation fee for more than 30% of the seats on a flight. This question in the survey received 10,391 responses.

In summary, over 1 in 3 consumers who booked flights in the last 12 months say the airline was charging extra fee for allotment of each seat on the plane. Furthermore, 2 in 3 consumers who booked flights in the last 12 months say they paid extra fee for reserving a seat once or more. Of whom, 34% said they had to pay every single time. As complaints continue to pour both against established airlines as well as recently launched airlines, it is crucial that Government mandates and enforces that airlines do not charge seat allocation fee for every seat. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA must also seriously consider the collective consumer recommendation which suggests that airlines should be mandated to not charge seat allocation fee for more than 30% of the seats on a flight.

Survey Demographics

Over 30,000 responses were received from citizens residing in 351 districts of India. 65% respondents were men while 35% respondents were women. 48% respondents were from tier 1, 28% from tier 2 and 24% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.

About LocalCircles

LocalCircles, India’s leading Community Social Media platform enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric. LocalCircles is also India’s # 1 pollster on issues of governance, public and consumer interest. More about LocalCircles can be found on https://www.localcircles.com

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