Passengers can now guarantee they’re not beside someone annoying on one of the world’s best airlines

An interesting, if costly, option for airline passengers.

Air travel can sometimes be an arduous experience for airline passengers and often, whether it is or not depends entirely on where you find yourself sitting in the cabin. It’s all well and good for those lucky enough to be in first or business class, or for those with no rows and plenty of leg room in front of them. It can be something of a lottery for everyone else, however, both in terms of the position on the plane and the company they find themselves keeping for the duration of the flight. With that in mind, Etihad Airways, one of the biggest airlines in the world, have introduced an upgrade option titled ‘neighbour-free seat’. It pretty much does exactly as it says on the tin, allowing passengers to bid for up to three extra seats on the plane which are guaranteed to stay vacant for the duration of the journey. “Happy staying in Economy Class, but want more room for yourself?” the Etihad pitch reads. “With our new Neighbour-Free Seat concept, you can enjoy up to triple the space and comfort by bidding for 1, 2 or 3 extra seats which will stay vacant for the duration of your journey. “Whether you’re a small family in need of more space for the little ones; a business traveller who wants extra room to relax and work, or travelling alone and looking for a private spot to stretch your legs – simply place your bid and wait to hear from us. Good luck!” Bidding for vacant seats sounds like a costly process, but it’ll likely work out cheaper than first class or business class and there have always been people willing to fork out extra for those options, so who knows, this type of thing could catch on. You might even fancy it yourself to prevent ending up beside someone like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd5dYQHoZS0 Clip via Movieclips