Want more space on your next economy flight? Now you can pay to keep the seat next to you empty.
Something that makes flying in economy class more bearable is having an empty seat next to you – especially if you rate elbow room alongside legroom in the comfort equation.
But rather than leave the chance of an empty seat up to the fates, Qantas now lets travellers pay to keep that seat empty.
It’s called Qantas ‘Neighbour Free’ seating, and it’s on offer across 130 domestic Qantas routes – some 70% of the national network – with plans to roll out the service on international flights.
Qantas ‘Neighbour Free’ empty seat charges
So how much would you pay to have the seat beside you left vacant?
Qantas says passengers can pay between $30 and $65 to reserve an empty seat next to them, depending on the length of their domestic flight.
For example, the Qantas ‘Neighbour Free’ empty seat surcharge for Sydney-Gold Coast and
Melbourne-Adelaide costs $30; its $45 on a Sydney-Adelaide flight, and $65 for transcontinental flights between Perth and other capital cities, as well as longer domestic routes such as Adelaide-Brisbane and Melbourne-Gold Coast.
Qantas hasn’t yet revealed the ‘Neighbour Free’ empty seat charges for international flights but they will mirror the pricing on domestic flights, with short hops to New Zealand costing less than medium-range flights to Asia, while long treks to London and the USA will be priced highest.
How the Qantas Neighbour Free program works
The Neighbour Free option is not available when you initially book your flight.
Travellers booked on a Qantas flight which has a sufficient number of empty seats will usually receive an email invitation to take up the Neighbour Free option up to 48 hours before their flight.
How the Qantas booking system shows your seat and your empty Neighbour Free seat.
After clicking through to their booking, they’ll select a highlighted Neighbour Free option next to their seat, provide their payment details and submit their request.
Passengers will see both their own seat and the Neighbour Free seat reservation appear on their boarding pass.
You’re not actually ‘buying’ or ‘reserving’ an empty seat
It’s important to note this spare seat is not guaranteed, because you’re not actually buying or reserving the empty seat neat to you.
If the seat next to you is sold to somebody at the last minute, you’ll receive a refund of your Neighbour Free payment.
Qantas says this empty seat can’t be used “for infant seating or to place items such as carry-on baggage, or musical instruments.”
Also, Neighbour Free reservations “cannot be guaranteed as seats may need to be changed for operational, safety or security reasons” – in which case, the fee paid to reserve that spare seat will be automatically refunded within two weeks.
How to get the best seat on your next Qantas flight
Another way to get seat-savvy is to get to know the Qantas seat selection hack known as the Qantas T-80 rule.
This opens up some of the seats at the very front of the plane on your next Qantas flight – seats which are usually reserved for top-tier Platinum One, Platinum or Gold frequent flyers, or even VIP members of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge.
Using the Qantas T-80 rule offers a simple and completely free way to gain access to the full Qantas seat map, and without paying extra for those better seats.
Read more: Unlock the best Qantas seats with the ‘secret’ Qantas T-80 rule
