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Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

economist.com

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Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#41

Post by obastani »

pc86 wrote: post #23
reverend_gonzo wrote: post #14

This is really interesting from a game theory perspective. What's really going to matter is how it's executed. If someone bids $100 to keep a seat empty and the flight is empty, do they still get charged the $100? Or is it only when there's a limited number of empty seats and more people that will pay to have an empty seat next to them. One interesting way would be that each person gets charged the lowest amount of e…

> This obviously limits what the airline makes, but keeps things generally fair. What possible incentive would an airline have to do that, then? > If someone does book the middle seat, we just trade aisle/window for the middle, so we're together, and he other person feels like he got an upgrade. This infuriates me. My wife and I traveled cross country last month and due to a maintenance issue the previous night, our…

In this situation, wouldn't the person sitting in the middle be willing to trade for either the aisle or the window seat?

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#42

Post by johansch »

ryanmarsh wrote: post #12
tuna-piano wrote: post #9

My two tips for how to keep the adjacent seat empty on normal flights: 1. If you book when there are still many empty seats, choose a window/aisle seat near the back of the plane. Those middle seats are usually the last to be filled. 2. If you're traveling in a group of 2 and there are 3 seats per section, choose the window and aisle of an empty section (preferably near the back of the plane). Chances are good that i…

International flights are usually undersold. I pick the middle seat. People will just opt for another row with a window or isle open and the middle seat open so they can have some space. I often end up with a row to myself.

Really? What kind of international flights (src/dst/airline) have you seen being undersold the last five years or so? (I have seen so many flights that have been kinda the opposite. It was markedly different back in like 2008-2013.)

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#43

Post by kzrdude »

thedarkproject wrote: post #5

From an ecological point of view, this is very problematic. As far as it's value as a business idea goes, I'd say this an interesting idea.

Sure. At the bottom of it, it's subsidized by the relative inexpense of oil, and how much we can do with that energy.

Which reminds me: Is there a name for and can I read more about the problem of economy, market and pricing of resources for sustainability?

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#44

Post by tastybberries »

johansch wrote: post #42
ryanmarsh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

International flights are usually undersold. I pick the middle seat. People will just opt for another row with a window or isle open and the middle seat open so they can have some space. I often end up with a row to myself.

Really? What kind of international flights (src/dst/airline) have you seen being undersold the last five years or so? (I have seen so many flights that have been kinda the opposite. It was markedly different back in like 2008-2013.)

In mid-late April this year, I flew with Delta from Minneapolis to Tokyo Haneda and the flight was around 70% full in Economy - I was the only one in my row, and the row ahead was empty (by row I mean a set of three seats; I don't know the phrase for that).

The way back was pretty full though (middle of Golden Week for Japan). I must have been pretty lucky for the trip there!

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#45

Post by tptacek »

clarkm wrote: post #28
tuna-piano wrote: post #9

My two tips for how to keep the adjacent seat empty on normal flights: 1. If you book when there are still many empty seats, choose a window/aisle seat near the back of the plane. Those middle seats are usually the last to be filled. 2. If you're traveling in a group of 2 and there are 3 seats per section, choose the window and aisle of an empty section (preferably near the back of the plane). Chances are good that i…

Likewise, whenever I book a last-minute flight with only middle seats available, I make sure to ask the agent to place me between two passengers with the same last name.

What agent are you talking to that has access to the names of all passengers and is willing to abuse it for you?

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#46

Post by kaonashi »

spuz wrote: post #27
kaonashi wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Markets are a means, not an ends. When markets undermine basic fairness, they are gross.

So are you against business and first class? Without those customers paying 10x the economy fare, average folk like you and me would never be able to afford to fly around the world. You should be very careful when deciding what kind of markets are good and which are "bad".

That's how the financial arrangements work out, but those are quite malleable.

Planes are perfectly capable of flying without first class sections.

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#47

Post by amrrs »

reverend_gonzo wrote: post #14

This is really interesting from a game theory perspective. What's really going to matter is how it's executed. If someone bids $100 to keep a seat empty and the flight is empty, do they still get charged the $100? Or is it only when there's a limited number of empty seats and more people that will pay to have an empty seat next to them. One interesting way would be that each person gets charged the lowest amount of e…

>Another way is when people go to reserve seats, if someone is willing to pay $x to keep an adjacent seat empty, the price of selecting that seat goes up by $x. This guarantees the airline gets paid at least $x as soon as someone bids that. It also makes it more important to book seats early, but will of course, get much more complicated to execute.

But what if it is this way. Where if $x is the bid amount to keep the next seat empty (say middle seat that no one prefers booking), then the bid cost of that seat and comes $x*y% thus some passenger is encouraged to book the ticket and hence the bid value changes dynamically.

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#49

Post by porpoisemonkey »

obastani wrote: post #41
pc86 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This obviously limits what the airline makes, but keeps things generally fair. What possible incentive would an airline have to do that, then? > If someone does book the middle seat, we just trade aisle/window for the middle, so we're together, and he other person feels like he got an upgrade. This infuriates me. My wife and I traveled cross country last month and due to a maintenance issue the previous night, our…

In this situation, wouldn't the person sitting in the middle be willing to trade for either the aisle or the window seat?

I think the point of the parent comment is that the strategy of capturing the two end seats of a three-person row displaces noncoupled passengers across more rows which has the potential to make finding coupled seats less likely for other fliers.

Re: Etihad allows flyers to bid to keep adjacent seats empty

#50

Post by nolok »

johansch wrote: post #42
ryanmarsh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

International flights are usually undersold. I pick the middle seat. People will just opt for another row with a window or isle open and the middle seat open so they can have some space. I often end up with a row to myself.

Really? What kind of international flights (src/dst/airline) have you seen being undersold the last five years or so? (I have seen so many flights that have been kinda the opposite. It was markedly different back in like 2008-2013.)

Not parent, but Oman Air Paris to Muscat leg has been ~50% full at the most the last 3 times I took it. They're a top notch airline, flying Boeing 787, and their Muscat to final destination leg has always been full (same as the Muscat to Paris return flight), so I can't figure out why other than "I've been lucky" when the likes of Emirates/Etihad/Qatar Airways/... are full as can be.

Picture from my mid-May flight after closed doors: http://imgur.com/a/8ikMP

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