BRISBANE, Australia — Travelers who hate rubbing elbows with strangers may finally have a budget-friendly way to stretch out. Virgin Australia has introduced a “Neighbour-Free Seating” option, allowing economy-class customers to bid as little as £14 — approximately $30 — to reserve the adjacent seat on selected domestic and short-haul international flights departing from the Queensland capital and other Australian gateways.
How the Neighbour-Free bid system works
Passengers book their ticket as usual, then open the Virgin Australia mobile app to submit a bid for the empty seat next to theirs. The airline holds the request until two hours before departure. If the flight still has unsold inventory at that point, the bidder wins the extra space; if not, the fee is automatically refunded to the original form of payment. Because confirmation occurs close to takeoff, travelers should not assume the seat will remain empty. Cabin crews reserve the right to assign the space to weight-balance needs or last-minute ticket holders, a policy consistent with other hold-and-bid seat programs worldwide.
Eligible flights and seating limits
• Routes: Short-haul international and all domestic services operated by Boeing 737 aircraft.
• Cabin: Economy class only; Business Class already offers a blocked neighbor seat.
• Price: Minimum bid of £14 ($30) per seat, per flight segment.
• Notification window: Two hours before scheduled departure.
• Refund policy: Full refund if the bid is unsuccessful or the seat is reassigned.
• Cap: One blocked seat per passenger; customers traveling together may bid for multiple adjacent seats if available.
Why Virgin Australia says customers asked for space
The carrier points to a 2023 Velocity Frequent Flyer survey that polled regular guests about their in-flight comfort priorities. Forty-two percent said they would pay to keep the middle seat open on international flights longer than three hours, while 35 percent felt the same about domestic sectors of similar duration. “Neighbour-Free Seating is a clever add-on for economy travellers who want the certainty of extra space without the price tag,” executive Libby Minogue said in a prepared statement. The airline added that the program “is a direct response to what our customers have told us they want,” aiming to boost value without forcing travelers into a costlier fare class.
Comparison with other airlines’ ‘empty seat’ options
Virgin Australia is not alone in commoditizing elbow room:
- Air France’s “Empty Seat – My Extra Space” allows economy customers to secure up to three adjacent seats, priced dynamically by route.
- Etihad, Emirates, and Fiji Airways also publicize last-minute upgrade bids or paid empty-seat blocks, although costs vary widely.
- Low-cost carriers such as Spirit Airlines in the United States occasionally let travelers buy the middle seat outright at the airport, but no formal bidding system exists.
The key differentiator is pricing transparency. By setting the starting bid at £14 across its network, Virgin Australia provides travelers with a clear threshold rather than a mystery auction, although higher offers may still be required on busy routes such as Sydney–Melbourne or Brisbane–Auckland.
Tips for Travelers
- Bid early, but keep an eye on the calendar. Submitting a bid as soon as your ticket is booked places you in the queue. However, public holidays and school breaks see fuller cabins; you may want to raise your bid slightly for flights around Christmas, Easter, or Australia Day.
- Check seat maps 48 hours out. If the cabin looks half full, a modest £14 bid may suffice. When only a few seats remain, consider upping the offer or resigning yourself to a seatmate.
- Traveling in pairs? Two people can book aisle and window seats in the same row, then submit one bid for the middle. If successful, you both win extra shoulder room.
- Mind the refund timeline. Because the airline reverses charges only after the two-hour confirmation window, the temporary debit may affect spending limits on prepaid travel cards.
- Connecting flights count separately. A Sydney–Brisbane–Cairns itinerary requires two individual bids; success on one leg does not guarantee the next.
Virgin Australia’s Neighbour-Free Seating gives economy travelers a relatively low-cost shot at the luxury of a private bubble — provided the flight doesn’t sell out. The £14 entry price is among the cheapest published empty-seat fees worldwide, especially on a carrier that routinely competes against both full-service Qantas and low-fare players such as Jetstar and Rex. The trade-off is uncertainty until two hours before departure. Adventurous flyers who value space over guaranteed savings may find the gamble worthwhile, while those with tight budgets should stick to conventional seat assignments or hope for a naturally light load. For now, keep the app handy, set a reminder to watch the two-hour window, and consider bidding a little higher on peak-hour hops between Brisbane and the other east-coast capitals. Extra elbow room may be just £14 — and a dash of good luck — away.
