A recent survey has revealed that Indian consumers are increasingly frustrated with airline practices related to seat selection, and there are manipulations related to seat selections.

According to a survey by LocalCircles, a consumer advocacy group, there is widespread use of “dark patterns” by airlines and online travel portals, manipulating customers into paying extra fees for seat selection during flight bookings.

As much as 44 per cent of respondents reported airlines charging extra fees for every seat on the plane. This forces travellers to pay for preferred seats, even when booking well in advance.

Only 54 per cent of respondents said they received a few free seat options during booking. This leaves many scrambling for free seats or are forced to pay extra.

The survey report highlighted that there has been a marginal improvement in the last 12 months in the ability of consumers to get a free seat when booking their flight. It has dipped from 51 per cent of respondents who had to pay extra fee for allotment in 2023 to 44 per cent in 2024. However, the percentage of those who had to pay extra in 2022 was 35 per cent, lower than in 2024.

A total 65 per cent of respondents admitted to paying extra for seat selection at least once in the past year while nearly a third (28 per cent) reported always paying extra fees for preferred seats.

As per the survey, the percentage of consumers who booked flights in the last 12 months and paid to reserve a seat has risen from 47 in 2023 to 65 in 2024, just marginally lower than 66 per cent in 2022.

Interestingly, the survey also brings to fore that the maximum percentage of fliers or 66 per cent of consumers surveyed said they found it impossible to get seats together (when travelling with family/ others) without a seat fee on Indigo. A total 21 per cent of respondents indicated difficulty with Spicejet; 19 per cent with Air India; 16 per cent with Vistara; and 10 per cent indicated trouble while getting seats together with Akasa.

LocalCircles said the need of the hour here is for airlines like Indigo to rationalise their paid seats percentage and make it something that is more acceptable to the consumers, especially not forcing families to pay such charges for sitting together.

In addition, all airlines and travel websites, when displaying fares, must disclose the kind of extra charges the consumer is likely to experience during the fare booking process. If the airlines fail to do this, the Ministry of Civil Aviation must issue guidelines that limit the percentage of paid seats on a flight.

“It is also expected here that the CCPA or the Ministry of Consumer Affairs will ensure that unfair trade practices and dark patterns are not being followed by airlines and travel websites. Per consumers, dark patterns are currently common on most airline and travel portals.”

The survey received over 41,000 responses from consumers located in 339 districts of India. A total 62 per cent respondents were men while 38 per cent respondents were women. Of the total, 43 per cent respondents were from tier-1 locations, 26 per cent were from tier-2 locations while 31 per cent were from tier-3, 4 and rural districts.