I’ll Give You $5 for That Aisle Seat: New App Lets Travelers Swap Seats for a Price
by Cheryl Rosen /How much would you pay to get out of the middle seat on your next flight? With luck and a few bucks, you’ll never again have to sit in the space that offers neither a bird’s eye view nor easy access to the john.
Seateroo, a new “peer-to-peer marketplace for airline seat swaps,” is betting plenty of travelers will be willing to ante up—or get paid—to switch seats with the highest bidder.
Starting in January, if you (or your clients) find yourself in the C group on Southwest or on the red-eye next to a Mom with three toddlers, a solution is at hand. The Seateroo app lets you search a database of flyers who are willing to exchange boarding passes, negotiate a price, and exchange electronic payments.
The minimum bid is $5 per swap, plus a 15% fee to Seateroo. There is no charge to download the app.
Travelers must be on the same flight, and things will be simpler if they are in the same class as well; the company website notes that flight attendants discourage swapping seats in different classes.
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