Want more space? Aussie airlines offering neighbour-free seats - but there's a catch

Do you love having a free seat next to you on the aeroplane? Don't we all.

Now, a major Australian airline has joined the trend allowing you to reserve that space - for a fee.

Picture this: you're boarding a flight after waiting in lines at the airport and you're keen for some relax time. You don't have to wait to see who shows up to claim the seat next to you, because you've reserved it.

You can go ahead and claim that armrest, and even stretch your legs out more.

Virgin Australia is now offering Neighbour-Free seating, which it says will unlock extra comfort and privacy during your flight.

Virgin says eligible guests on select Virgin Australia-operated domestic and short-haul international services can now "bid" to keep the seat next to them free.

On some flights, you can even pay a fee to instantly purchase the seat - no bidding required.

The move comes after the airline's rewards program Velocity Frequent Flyer found in the results of a 2023 survey that 42 per cent of the airline's guests would consider paying to have the middle seat empty on an international flight more than three hours. Around a third would do the same for a domestic flight more than three hours.

Virgin Australia Executive, Libby Minogue said the initiative was "a clever add-on for Economy travellers who want the certainty of extra space without the price tag."

After booking their flight, eligible economy guests can submit a bid on the Virgin Australia app to reserve an empty seat next to them.

Bids start from $30. A successful bid will be confirmed no later than two hours prior to the scheduled departure time of the flight. Find out more about the Neighbour-Free Seating service and pricing at on the Virgin Australia website.

On some flights, the option to select Neighbour-Free seating and purchase it instantly is available within 48 hours of departure.

Neighbour-Free seating will launch on select routes before a wider rollout. These include Melbourne-Adelaide, Melbourne-Sydney, Brisbane-Sydney, Brisbane-Samoa and Melbourne-Bali.

This is the second big announcement from Virgin Australia this month after its Pets in Cabin flights went on sale.

Qantas is already onto this. They offer their own initiative called Neighbour Free which also allows you to reserve the seat next to you.

If eligible, you'll be sent an email invitation to reserve a Neighbour Free seat from 48 hours before your scheduled flight departure.

This offer is currently available on the majority of Qantas-operated Australian domestic flights and international flights.

If you have a flight coming up, you can enter your booking details into the Qantas website to find out if you're eligible and how much your neighbour-free seat will cost you.

A Reddit user said they paid about $45 for a neighbour-free seat on a Sydney to Melbourne flight about a year ago. Another said they paid around $250 for one of the seats from Melbourne to Los Angeles, also about a year ago.