It’s been one of the biggest trends in travel over the past few years: neighbour-free booking. Airlines are waking up to the possibility of monetising seats that might otherwise have gone unsold, all while providing passengers with greater comfort and an improved onboard experience.
From Wizz Air’s Wizz Class to Emirates’ neighbour free add-ons, this retail offering is rapidly becoming the norm. Ross Vinograd, General Manager – Seating at Plusgrade, sat down for an exclusive interview to tell us more.
Today., empty seats are being randomly assigned by the airline. Airlines need to stop handing these out willy-nilly and start giving passengers what they want, which is the best experience in economy full-stop — flying neighbour-free.
On a typical 200-seat aircraft, on average around 32 seats go empty. This represents a significant lost opportunity for airlines to maximise their revenue: at very little extra cost, they could be selling these empty seats to passengers who want their flight to feel that little more luxurious without breaking the bank.
For a lot of folks, the opportunity to bid for business may be out of their reach. But sitting in the back with an entire row to yourself is still pretty amazing.
Vinograd also believes neighbour-free booking can enhance loyalty programmes. Passengers can pay to reserve the row for themselves using points, or the neighbour-free option can be offered as a reward. Research from Plusgrade has found that neighbour-free seats deliver four times the NPS score of a seat with extra legroom, offering a real opportunity for airlines to delight customers.
This seat is something that didn’t sell retail. It’s going to fly empty anyway, so you might as well monetise it.
Through integration with ancillary platforms, passengers can bid for an empty seat, so that airlines can still sell to another passenger if the flight is in high demand. This way, travellers don’t spend their money on extras they don’t receive, and the airline retains the ability to fill a flight as needed.
🎥 Watch the interview to hear Ross Vinograd’s full thoughts on turning empty seats into a retail opportunity.
- What do you think are the main missed opportunities in ancillary sales? Are there any easy wins for airlines and airports to increase revenue?
- How does an airline both generate revenue from what was an empty/unsold seat AND keep all its passengers, including loyalty program members, happy?
- How can airlines make an empty seat, especially a middle seat, at the back of the aircraft (ie, economy cabin) something to be desired?
- Looking ahead, what do you think will be the next ‘affordable luxury’? How are customer habits changing?
Join us at Aviation Festival Americas 2026 to discuss the future of airline retail.
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