Just saw a thread about long business trips in coach. A neighbor of mine takes a dozen or more overseas trips each year on business. To Europe, he chooses coach. For Asia, he says he has to have business class. Needless to say, pretty much everyone in the company is flying coach to Europe, as my friend is top management and is choosing coach.

He told me his son also travels to Asia quite a bit, but that his company offers him the option of flying coach with a guaranteed empty seat next to him and pays him a $1,500 bonus if he will choose that over business. He said his son chooses the coach seat and the money.

I'm just curious if the empty seat program is a formal program or if his employer is just buying two seats. I think he flies United, and he made it sound like a special program. Certainly in three-across situations, I would hate to know that I was regularly paying to allow strangers to enjoy an empty seat!

I believe they are paid seats.. A friend of mine booked 6 seats in coach for his family of 4 (now soon to be 5).. and said that the 6 seats was significantly cheaper than 4 seats in first class.

Wow.. if a company pays you $1,500 and another empty seat besides you guaranteed.. I would take the $1,500.

Yeah, I assume the company pays for the seat and puts it on the employee's PNR, much like a COS would do: Lastname/XtraSeat.

I'd be all over the $1500, too, in that situation.

As the person buying an empty seat, I would sure hate to be providing extra space to another person (on the other side) for free!

Given the demand for this, it is surprising that the airlines flying a 3-3-3 configuration, such as the 777, don't offer a guaranteed empty seat for 150 percent of the regular fare. I would think they would sell plenty of these tickets, and it would provide a real competitive advantage. And far better to be paid for not flying someone than for flying someone.

You've said this twice now. Just what reaction are you hoping to provoke?

While no company bonus, I've been doing that for years on self-funded international trips. If you get the right check-in agent you can even fund two separate FF accounts on two separate airlines.

When I flew AirAsia a ton this past summer, using their 1THB sale, I bought two seats whenever available.

As for the bonus to the other passenger - since there is no transactional cost for sharing, I think of it as a cheap way to make someones day (or at least 7-16 hours of it) a little better.

Safe Travels!

ETA: Be careful trying to buy one tix and use an award on the other - CO agents get really ticked off about that, they claim there is a rule against it, but can never provide me a copy of the rule or the book it comes from.

Why is the person on the other side relevant to the purchaser of the seat and the empty seat? I'd say the purchaser gets dibs on the underseat space. Other'n that, both pax will enjoy the fact that the empty seat is there.

I've never heard of this kind of program. I'm surprised that it exists...figure a typical R/T in business class is going to run $5-6k R/T to Europe or Asia after all of the typical corp discounts. (Yes, Orbitz shows $9-10k but the companies that actually buy these tickets don't pay anywhere near that.) Figure a coach trip is going to run $1500 or so...obviously more variance there. So 2 seats plus $1500 round trip...doesn't seem like the company is saving much money.

Sure, I'd do it, but I've flown a lot (including a bunch of international coach) for business and never seen the policy or met anyone else who had it.

Why would not be ? $1500 x 3 = $4500

Typical C or D to Asia is over $5000.

Even if it is not the case, the 2nd seats could be gotten with miles from the father as well, OP didn't specified the details from the "neighbor". Therefore, it is basically $3000. And $3000 for sure is far away from a paid business seat to asia.

I've often wondered why long haul airlines don't install those mechanically wound 3 to 2 seats that some airlines in Europe use to adjust the size of the Club and Economy cabins based on loads.

In response to the OP, I don't think an empty adjacent seat in Economy nearly makes up for having to sit upright or at a minimal recline for say 8 hours, and then having to shower, change and do a half day's work. There really is no comparison between that and doing the trip lying on your back with a nice comfy pillow and soft white blanket.

The likely scenario will be two people from the same company taking the same flight, thus only one extra seat between the two pax.

You're probably right, but YUCK!!

Back in my frequent business travel days, the LAST thing I wanted after a solid week for knocking myself out work-wise was to be stuck next to a co-worker for the long, long flight home.

I suspect it may be an intra-company program. His description was that his son was guaranteed to have an empty seat beside him, not that he was given two seats. Almost just as good. I suppose if the meal was really good or had a good item I might want to insist on a tray for my imaginary friend in the empty seat.

There's a story about the Russian farmer who is told by a genie that he can have anything he wants, but his neighbor will get double. He asks the genie to poke one of his eyes out. I suppose I have a little of that Russian farmer in me. I wouldn't mind paying 50 percent more for a shared empty seat, but I just wouldn't be able to take paying 100 percent of the cost of a seat that was then used in part by another passenger who paid nothing. Just me.

Plain and simple: You paid for it, they don't get to use it. I'd have absolutely no problem saying "I paid for this extra space for my own personal comfort, so it's not going to be possible for you to put your things under that seat" or to put your dirty dishes on the tray table, or take the extra space with your knees, or what have you.

...IF I felt that strongly about it,that is. Chances are, I wouldn't feel that strongly. When I do, though, I have no problem laying it out there firmly but politely.

P.S. In your Russian farmer analogy, I think you've lost sight of the fact that you'd be getting a $1500 bonus for allowing the seat neighbor to encroach on a few inches of "your" paid knee space.

How is that a losing proposition for you personally, especially since it sounds as if you as the passenger aren't the one paying, but rather the company that is sending you? $1500 for not sitting directly next to someone and possibly having to tolerate someone letting 1/3 of a butt cheek or an elbow encroach into the empty seat's airspace. Sounds like a WIN to me.