virgin blue zone seating

[nickmelb]

Check this out, Virgin have introduced the 'blue zone' seating on their services. I got all excited thinking that they possibly were gng to have a type of business class. But basically they are charging people an extra $50 per sector to sit in emergency aisle seats and also up the front in row 1.

personally i think its quiet tacky (no offence to anyone) QF dont charge u extra for sitting in an emergency aisle seat, or up the front of the Y class cabin!

your thoughts?

from their website:

Virgin Blue lets you step into the Blue Zone by releasing a new seating offer.

Virgin Blue has called these seats the Blue Zone for our guests who prefer certain seats on our aircraft such as the front row and the over wing exits. The Blue Zone offers the choice to pre-reserve one of these seats for a small additional charge on each one way sector.


You can secure a Blue Zone seat on all our long haul services between Perth & Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide – between Darwin & Brisbane, and between Cairns & Melbourne or Sydney.

How does it work? By simply paying an extra $50 per one way sector and booking via our Guest Contact Centre you can reserve your Blue Zone seat (subject to availability and CASA and Virgin Blue safety regulations*).

Its our way of giving you the choice of something a little extra over and above our regular seats pitch that have in excess of 30", which by the way matches up against our competitors economy class. so step into the Blue Zone.

[ditzyboy]

I think it is a good idea. There are people who really really have a thing about sitting at a bulkhead or exit row and would be willing to pay for the privilege. A lot of pax really enjoy (?) these seats and like I said some do so much that they would happily pay charge. If you pay the charge (and fit the requirements - most frequent pax know if they do or not) then you are guaranteed that seat. You don't have to suck up to the gate staff!

Also if Virgin makes a little profit from it whilst making their customers happy then good on them. They are not an airline for charity!

Why aren't they doing it for say $15 or $20 on shorter routes? The demand would be there.

I also think they should perhaps offer the 'Blue Zone' pax a $5 voucher to use on the A La Cart so it doesn't seem so "tacky" as you put it. Makes it look like you are paying for a premium service... Just my opinion.

The reason QF won't do it is because it views itself as a "full service" airline. There are just some things that such carriers can't get away with. Another would be to charge for soft drinks, as an example.

The british charter airlines have been doing this since time began. Nobody seems to care over there. Australians are so afraid of change when it comes to air travel. When we stopped doing hot meals (on 40 min flights!) we went through hell and back! Seriously, the two months afterwards were just hell. FAs were getting abused and food thrown back at them - it wasn't fun at all!

Virgin is here to do things differently. Even QF has had to change some of its practices as a result of DJ. Air travel is heading in a different direction (all over the world - not just in OZ) and it will take time for travellers to get used to it....

[nickmelb]

u made some valid statements, i can see their point now i guess...im a shorty anyways so these seats dont appeal to me..........:p

[Wonderworld]

So what happens when someone moves to an empty exit row seat after take off? Do the flt attendants stop their face painting or whatever, race up and say that'll be 50 bucks thanks!
What happens when the flt is cancelled and the pax are put on QF? Does the punter say I'll have an exit row seat thanks cause I've paid extra for it!
Imho it will cause more problems for cabin/ground staff than its worth.

[captcat]

In my airline front seats (but not the OW exits, of course) are assigned whit priority to pax travelling with infants (especially if they reserved a baby basket). I believe in "service" and wouldn't feel good if I was made paying for any single bit of it. But then, there's no end to "no frills"... next time you'd have to pay extra for an aisle seat, and why not, for a seat cushion, or a smiling CC?...:eek: No, thumbs down.

[Wiley]

What happens if the person who pays the $50 is physically unfit or in some other way unsuitable to be occupying a seat at an emergency exit? Or isn’t that a requirement in the new ‘lean, mean’ world of Oz Aviation?

[Big Hairy Potatoes]

Guys, I'll give you the low down.

1. The seats are only in the exit rows that recline. The seats that don't recline are'nt classed as "better".

2. If someone moves during flight , it just will happen. The payment is for a seat that is confirmed to be in an exit row. If your willing to rock up and hope for the best, go for but if you don't get an exit row don't complain.

3. Whoever sits at the exits have to be cleared at checkin. The ticket is booked through the call centre and can't be booked over the net. If you don't tell the truth over the phone about your able bodiness. You will not be sitting in the exit.

4. If the flight is cancelled and on the next flight you are unable to sit at the exit row, you will get a credit shell that lasts for a year.

Hope that clears it up a bit

[Bumz_Rush]

Can I assume that there is a discount for the centre seats, in a row of 3. And a special discount for the back row centre, (assuming these don't recline, window over wing have a slight surcharge, and those seats with a view of the Opera House on take off have a subsidy......