India on IndiGo is not just a marketing tagline for the airline but is also a true fact. Almost two-thirds of travel around India happens on an IndiGo aircraft, with the airline consistently having the lion’s share of domestic market share at above 60%. A few months ago, IndiGo decided to levy a fuel surcharge, which it repealed earlier in January 2024. However, think again if you thought that would make your tickets cheaper. There is a new hike, this time on the price of seat assignments.

IndiGo raises pricing of most seats on their A320/A321 jets.

IndiGo has rolled out a seat assignment pricing change over the weekend, which has seen the pricing on many seats go up when you pay for the seat assignment, and for a couple of rows, it has also gone down. The changes only impact the A320/A321 fleets of the airline, and the pricing on the ATR fleet is currently not changed.

So, what changed? Here is a sample change to the seat assignment prices for the A320neo, the 186-seat version, which is a significant part of the IndiGo fleet (161 aircraft). I compared the prices with the 2023 price list for reference.

You will note that the front row and the emergency exit rows, sold by IndiGo as their XL seats, are now priced at INR 1500-2000, up from the earlier INR 1200-1500 price band. But the seats in rows 2 & 3 are now cheaper by about INR 50. To sit in the plane’s middle section, you now would be paying between INR 350-400, while it would cost INR 150-250 earlier. And at the back, many seats, except for the middle seats, also got pricier.

The same move is also witnessed on the A321 aircraft.

Here is the seat map of the A321-232 seat version, which IndiGo had 79 of as of the last update from their end.

You can check the new pricing here.

The airline changed the prices of their meals, taking them higher in 2023. Now, there is a higher price on the seat selection as well. The airline made INR 1,551 Crores (USD 186 million) by selling meals and seat assignments (and excess baggage) in just one quarter (July-September 2023). So, seeing how this number moves up from here will be interesting.

The option to automatically assign a seat at check-in continues, but it does not guarantee that a family would be seated together, for instance.

Bottomline

IndiGo has hiked prices on most of the seats they offer on their planes, making it up to 133% higher in percentage terms for selecting a seat when you web check-in for your flight. The changes affect the A320/321 fleet of the airline. Going forward, expect to pay up to INR 2,000 for a seat selection on the front of the plane.

What do you think of the hike in seat selection charges for the airline?

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