THE middle seat is widely regarded as one of the worst on a plane – but one airline is offering amazing freebies to people who book it.
We’ve all felt the disappointment of checking into a flight, only to find that we’re sat in a middle seat.
But Virgin Australia passengers are now being encouraged to pick the middle seat, with some top prizes acting as an incentive.
Anyone who books a flight with the airline and chooses to sit between two other passengers can be entered into their middle seat lottery.
Between now and April 23, 2023 one person every week will be selected at random to win a prize.
Included in the gifts up for grabs are the airline’s platinum velocity frequent flyer status plus a million points, a Caribbean cruise with return flights and a helicopter pub crawl among others.
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The airline says they are running the lottery to “elevate every single part” of their guests’ journeys after a survey found that less than one per cent of passengers actively pick the seat.
They said: “Flying shouldn’t just be nice, or good, or great… it should be wonderful. And Virgin Australia is on a mission to make sure every single one of its guests has a wonderful flight.
“Virgin Australia wants to elevate every single part of its guests’ journey – starting with the middle seat, which has been a bugbear for travellers since the dawn of aviation.
“The airline is launching the Middle Seat Lottery, with more than $230,000 (£205,000) worth of prizes up for grabs for the lucky middle seat occupiers.”
In order to enter, passengers need to join the Virgin Australia frequent flyer programme.
They can then use the Virgin Australia app to enter within 48 hours of their flight’s scheduled departure time.
Earlier this year, an unnamed flight attendant revealed one perk to sitting in the middle seat.
She explained that the passenger who sits there gets to use both of the armrests.
Speaking to Insider, the cabin crew member said it was an unwritten etiquette rule to let the middle passenger have priority.
She said: “If I could give an airline-etiquette PSA, I’d say I wish more passengers knew middle seat armrests are for the middle seat passenger — both of them.”
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Meanwhile, this former flight attendant revealed the best seats to pick on flights.
And this is what your plane seat says about your personality.
