A NUMBER of airlines have changed their seat allocation rules – and it means you’ll have to shell out more cash.
The Lufthansa Group, which owns Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Discover Airlines, has announced a change to the way seats are handed out.
Passengers will still be allocated a seat at check-in, but if they want to change it, they will now need to pay.
The change applies to the airlines’ long-haul flights across Economy and Premium economy.
Before this change, travellers who hadn’t booked a seat in advance would be given a standard seat at check-in, which they could then change free of charge if they wanted to.
The rules are already in place on some short and medium-haul flights, but now extend to lots of long-haul Economy and Premium Economy tickets.
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Prices to swap your seat will depend on a number of different factors including your flight route and departure point.
As an example, according to Travel Mole, swapping your standard Economy seat on many intercontinental routes with Austrian, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa could set you back between €25 (£21.36) and €45 (£38.46).
Lufthansa Group has said that it will try to keep families together though, where possible.
The airline group has said the change has been introduced to make fares “more transparent”, so travellers only pay for the services they want.
The new rules came into effect on July 1 and the seat allocation process and any wanted changes take place at check-in.
A number of people have taken to Reddit to share their outrage for the new rule.
One person commented: “Why are they so busy trying to compete with Ryanair.”
Another added: “Next they will charge us if we think about our seat.”