Virgin Australia and Qantas halt middle seat bookings
Aussie rivals Virgin Australia and Qantas have ditched the middle seat as they strive to improve social distancing at 35,000 feet.
Virgin has blocked the middle seat and cannot be booked automatically through the airline’s reservation system.
In-flight service has also been streamlined in order to reduce close contact between passengers and crew.
All passengers will be served water and a snack but no additional food purchases are possible.
"We hope this new policy, along with the flexible booking options we are already giving travellers, instils confidence in people who are required to travel for essential reasons," said Virgin general manager Paul Woosnam.
The changes come after Qantas was slammed for not being proactive over social distancing.
Images posted online from a full Qantas flight last week caused anger.
Qantas said it was a one-off and social distancing has been happening by default due to much reduced passenger demand.
Now it is taking no chances and is nixing middle seat. bookings
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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