AirAsia X Launches Empty Seat Option

[webfact]

AirAsia X Launches Empty Seat Option

AirAsia X and its technology partner, Optiontown, have launched a new service, called Empty Seat Option (ESo), which offers passengers travelling in Economy an option to get all three seats in a row for a nominal fee.

Empty Seat Option (ESo) is AirAsia X’s second ancillary offering introduced in partnership with Optiontown after the Upgrade Travel Option (UTo) service, launched in 2011.

The UTo provides AirAsia X’s passengers the opportunity to upgrade to AirAsia X’s Premium Flatbed seats. The UTo has helped to significantly increase AirAsia X's premium class load factor (by over 22%) and upgrade yield (by over 60%). Options are limited by flight to ensure a reasonable probability of successful upgrades. Each option is dynamically priced.

AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani said, “The airline is constantly looking for ways to boost customer satisfaction and enhance their flying experience with us. I believe that the Empty Seat Option (ESo) will be a great addition to our family of ancillary products which will further increase our ancillary revenue stream. We estimate that we could earn up to US$1 million in 2012.”

AirAsia X is one of the 10 airlines collaborating with Optiontown, an innovative airline service provider headquartered in Massachusetts, USA with branch offices in India and Europe.

To add on the Empty Seat Option (ESo) to a booking, AirAsia passengers need to:

1. Log on to airasia.com and select Upgrade with Optiontown under the Flight Information section

2. Click on Optiontown and select Empty Seat Option (ESo)

3. Enter the current flight booking number and select flight for ESo

4. Pay a small sign up fee (MYR3) and a nominal Empty Seat(s) fee

5. Empty Seat(s) availability status will be emailed (72-4hrs) to the customer before flight departure

6. If Empty Seat(s) are not assigned due to unavailability, Empty Seat fee will be refunded automatically to the customer.

Source: http://www.asiatrave...-AirAsiaX.shtml

[nickjam]

I've got a way for the CEO of Air Asia to boost their customer satisfaction, let us book our seats with our friends and family for free!

[pattayadingo]

You can also get upgrades from Optiontown with

kingfisher

Malaysia Airlines

SAS

Air India

[americaninbangkok]

I've got a way for the CEO of Air Asia to boost their customer satisfaction, let us book our seats with our friends and family for free!

AGREED! Food and baggage, I understand. But not sitting with family and friends without paying extra?! <deleted>?! How can this cost the airline one red cent/satong extra? It doesn't. It's just a poor excuse for another money grab, and it leaves a sh*tty taste in the customer's mouth every time.

[rocketmanbkk]

ow much is 'nominal fee'???

[UbonOz]

Anybody used OptionTown? I'd like to know the costs etc of all their offers.

[fishhooks]

I've had the invitation email from Air Asia a few times and just to see the costs I've tried the supplied links to OptionTown.

However no-go!

Even when directly going to OptionTown, the links don't follow as they should so I gave up.

Agree with the poster above re being seated together. Even as a couple they won't go the extra distance to help you out, so always do pre-seating now.

Yes, I know the situation re budget carrier, I've been with them since the outset, but this seating thing is a real con and the type of thing that in the long term may bite them with reduced loyalty. Other airlines seem to be able to have friends and family sit together with a few keystrokes.

Edited February 21, 2012 by fishhooks

[UbonOz]

Only problem with booking seats now is you have to pay. If you accept the seats assigned at on-line check in there is no charge, only if you change the assigned seat.

[fishhooks]

That's quite correct sir, but, most of us travelling together prefer to sit together, particularly if with family including children.

I think the points being made here and I've seen it happen, is that A.A. make NO effort to seat family or friends together......unless of course you pay the fee.

Another "funny" is that before they introduced fee's for pre-seating, they happily seated travelling parties together with no effort whatsoever.

Look, I'm not going on the complaint trail against A.A. As said above I've been with them from the outset and am quite happy with them in general. As I travel internationally with them as well, I've saved thousands of $'s, but they do have some very annoying quirks, which are more annoying and damaging to them than I'm sure necessary. Like the fact that during the booking process one must be very careful not to end up with things you do not want and it appears their Website is actually designed that way!

[UbonOz]

That's quite correct sir, but, most of us travelling together prefer to sit together, particularly if with family including children.

I think the points being made here and I've seen it happen, is that A.A. make NO effort to seat family or friends together......unless of course you pay the fee.

Another "funny" is that before they introduced fee's for pre-seating, they happily seated travelling parties together with no effort whatsoever.

Look, I'm not going on the complaint trail against A.A. As said above I've been with them from the outset and am quite happy with them in general. As I travel internationally with them as well, I've saved thousands of $'s, but they do have some very annoying quirks, which are more annoying and damaging to them than I'm sure necessary. Like the fact that during the booking process one must be very careful not to end up with things you do not want and it appears their Website is actually designed that way!

I agree with you, but if you were somebody that is not aware that you can get a seat assigned without paying, that is by checking-in online, especially if travelling alone, you can save something. The only problem with doing an online check-in immediately after booking is that the booking then becomes non-changeable. If you only pay the fare and taxes initially, then wait to check-in online and pay for any

add-ons you want at a later date you then have the flexibility to make changes or even cancel if you have to. This really applies to bookings which are made a long way in advance, if you are travelling next week, yes, book and pay everything now.

I have made three separate bookings to travel in October in the AA sale last week, so I have only booked and paid the fare, taxes and insurance now. Will do online check-in and add-ons about one month prior to departure. It is flights from UBP to BKK to KUL to SYD and return. There is only two of us travelling so it should not be a problem getting seats together, hopefully, LOL.

[fishhooks]

I'm getting you in the main, but even with this last minute check-in on-line, if you don't or haven't paid the seat fee, you are still leaving it (I imagine) to luck to be seated together.

Thus a couple or family may still wind up 'not' together as the computer spits out the seats at the last minute, possibly due to the bus being quite full on a busy flight?

[chiangmaiexpat]

The blathering about "innovative airline service provider" is somewhat difficult to bear, when the suggestion is essentially about charging for seats that haven't been booked and would remain empty anyway. This idea seems to monetize on what was previously left to chance... whether the seat next to you is empty.

Flying was fun back in the eighties. It isn't anymore, definitely not with AirAsia. With the last ticket I booked, I was charged extra for baggage, seat reservation, meal selection, and insurance. It's probably just a question of time when they start charging for toilet use, swim wests, and pilots with work experience.

Cheers, CMX