German airline Lufthansa is set to follow in the footsteps of British Airways by charging passengers a fee if they wish to book a specific seat in advance.
Lufthansa passengers flying both short and medium-haul routes will soon be paying an advance seat reservation (ASR) fee should they wish to pre-reserve their favourite seat.
The fee is expected to be introduced later this year. There are currently no plans to introduce an ASR charge for long-haul flights.
It is understood that Lufthansa will levy ASR fees of €5 and €15 for flights over short and medium-haul routes. But - as with BA - there will be exemptions to these charges.
Lufthansa will not levy the ASR fee to HON Circle members, Senator cardholders and those economy passengers booking the higher fare tariffs. It means that these valued passengers can block off their favourite seat in advance; this wasn't possible before.
But Lufthansa will levy the fee to passengers booking the cheaper tariff tiers. The airline said that although a fee was payable (for passengers booking this fare category) they can now pre-select a seat which could not be done before.
lufthansa.com