Hello WestJet. Hello Air Canada — this idea could fly in Canada..If there's a more unpopular spot to be on an airplane than in the middle seat, it’s sitting in the middle seat while on the tarmac, enduring a long wait for takeoff..And where is the fairness in asking passengers to pay the same as their aisle and window neighbours, offering neither a view nor easy access to the bathroom?.It’s so unpopular, only 1% of passengers would voluntarily choose the middle seat, according to a recent social media poll by air carrier Virgin Australia, which has gone wheels up with a new promotion to change the middle seat stigma..“We know not every seat is created equal, but we believe every seat should be wonderful, even the ones in the middle,” said the airline in a press release..“That’s why we created the Middle Seat Lottery. It turns the middle seat into a chance to win wonderful prizes, like Velocity Platinum Status and a million points, Caribbean cruises with Virgin Voyages, including return flights to the US, or even a custom artwork by an Australian artist.”.The lottery began this week and will run through to the end of April 2023, offering prizes worth approximately CAD$196,675.The lottery is open only to passengers willing to sit in the middle seat, either voluntarily or because they didn’t select a seat on-line before heading to the airport..One winner will be randomly selected each week from the airline’s middle seat sitters, with prizes ranging from “a helicopter pub crawl; flights and tickets to a favorite Australian Football League team’s away game in 2023; a VIP package to the AFL Grand Final (the Super Bowl of Australian rules football); a Cairns adventure package including hotel, flights, and a range of adrenaline-pumping activities, including bungee jumping, giant swinging, river rafting and tubing,” says Virgin Australia..To kick off the bribe, er, promotion, the first prize offered was a six-night Caribbean cruise for two with Virgin Voyages, including round trip flights to the US..For the second week, a middle-seater will win a year of platinum status in the airline’s Virgin Velocity frequent flyer program plus one million points, enough for several round trip flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles or from Sydney to San Francisco. In the middle seat?.On a flight from Melbourne to Adelaide, Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka, kicked off the campaign by handing out Virgin Voyages cruises worth about $6,000 each to unsuspecting middle-seat passengers. Those in the aisle and window seats received 10,000 complementary Velocity points..“We’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg in what’s possible,” said Hrdlicka in a press release. “We are doing our best to leave a positive difference every time our guests fly with us.”.The promotion is obviously designed to help reverse the airline’s financial woes..The carrier flies a Virgin-branded flag, but is owned by private equity firm Bain Capital, which bought the struggling airline in 2020 for AUD$3.5 billion (CAD$3 billion). Bain is also a joint-venture partner in Virgin Voyages..Virgin Australia recently reported revenue of AUD$2.2 billion (CAD$1.9 billion) in the financial year ended on June 30, failing to offset soaring expenses on fuel and staff, which resulted in losses of AUD$387 million (CAD$340 million). .Hrdlicka has said the airline will be profitable in 2023.
