航班“锁座”多少合适？选座能收费吗？中航协征求意见稿来了

Core Viewpoint - The China Air Transport Association has released a draft for public consultation regarding the rules for "seat locking" on flights, aiming to clarify the number, acquisition, and release rules for locked seats, with feedback due by February 2 [1] Group 1: Seat Locking Rules - The draft specifies that at least 70% of economy class seats on domestic flights must be available for free selection, with higher percentages for larger aircraft [2][4] - For international and regional flights, the minimum percentage of free selectable seats is set at 65% of the total economy class seats [2][4] - Prior investigations indicated that the seat locking ratio among ten airlines ranged from 19.9% to 62.1%, with an average of 38.7% [2][5] Group 2: Payment and Selection Mechanisms - The draft prohibits cash payments for seat selection on domestic flights, allowing only members to redeem seats through points or mileage [6][8] - The concept of "value-added reserved seats" is introduced, which requires passengers to pay or use points to select certain seats, with a growing trend of airlines marking seats for additional fees [7][8] Group 3: Release Rules - The draft outlines rules for releasing reserved seats at check-in counters, stating that domestic flight reserved seats must be made available for free during check-in, while international flights must release certain reserved seats no later than six hours before departure [9][10]