Oct. 25 (UPI) — Virgin Australia is launching a Middle Seat Lottery to increase the number of passengers willing to fly in the dreaded seat that offers no view and less legroom.
Virgin Australia announced Tuesday it will offer a special raffle worth $145,000 only to passengers who sit in the middle.
“Virgin Australia has just launched the Middle Seat Lottery, a special raffle,” the airline announced. “And it’s only open to those who sit in the middle seat — voluntarily or involuntarily — during a flight.”
According to a social media survey in May, Virgin Australia found that travelers are least likely to choose the middle seat “with less than 1% intentionally selecting the middle seat as their first seat preference.”
Among the airline’s Velocity Frequent Flyer members, 62% preferred the aisle seat, 35% favored the window and just 3% were willing to take “any seat.”
Virgin Australia’s middle seat campaign follows a two year overhaul that marks the return of the airline to profitability. Virgin tweeted its new “Bring on Wonderful” campaign that hopes to transform the least favorite seat on the plane to the “most fun.”
The raffle, which started Monday, runs through April, 23, 2023. Any Velocity Frequent Flyer who sits in a middle seat can use the airline’s app to enroll in the lottery which awards a different prize every week.
Among the prizes up for grabs are a full-day helicopter pub crawl, weekend holidays, sporting events and bungee jumping, in addition to frequent flier status upgrades.
To celebrate the Middle Seat Lottery’s launch at Melbourne Airport, Virgin Australia Group chief executive officer Jayne Hrdlicka surprised all guests who were seated in middle seats with over $350,000 worth of free Virgin Voyages cruises.
While some passengers are on board with the enticements, others posted to the airline’s social media there is nothing that would get them to fly in the middle seat.
