FlySafair will allow social distancing by letting you buy an empty seat for R750
Domestic airline FlySafair stated that it added an option to allow customers to social distance by neutralising the middle seat in a row of three seats on an aircraft since it has resumed limited domestic flights under the country’s level 3 lockdown.
“Research has indicated that neutralising the middle seat is not a significantly effective measure in actually preventing the spread of Covid-19 from one person to another as long as other important measures are being implemented,” it said in a statement.
“In agreement with this, the Ministry of Transport placed no restrictions on the number of people that may board an aircraft, with the only exception that there be an empty row at the back to isolate anyone who becomes ill on board.”
However, this option will come at a fee of R750 per person because the company added that leaving seats open, severely constrains an airline’s ability to earn.
“The product was initially in development to provide a Business Class alternative that would offer customers some extra space and privacy, but FlySafair sped up the implementation to be able to offer the product at a discounted rate in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
FlySafair said that both parties will be required to pay the fee. “The R750 charge doesn’t cover the average fare that could be achieved on the empty seat, so the hope is to achieve that through having two parties pay the fee,” it said.
Written by: Staff Writer.
Guzzle Media
