VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Neighbour-free seating — bid for an empty seat beside you

If you hate the middle seat lottery, then Virgin Australia now has a lottery fix. From Wednesday, 24 September 2025, the airline has rolled out Neighbour-Free Seating. This scheme lets economy passengers bid to keep the seat next to them empty. But only on select domestic and short-haul international routes.

How it works

The process starts after booking. You can bid via the Virgin Australia app to block the set next to you. Bids start from AU$30, with Virgin Australia determining the successful bidder. You will be notified of the result no later than two hours prior to departure. If you are not successful, then your bid amount will be refunded.

So, there is not guarantee, no matter how much you bid.

Launch routes

Neighbour-Free Seating is not available on all flights. Initially it is debuting on the following domestic and short haul international routes:

• Brisbane ↔ Cairns
• Brisbane ↔ Samoa
• Brisbane ↔ Sydney
• Melbourne ↔ Adelaide
• Melbourne ↔ Bali
• Melbourne ↔ Perth
• Melbourne ↔ Sydney
• Sydney ↔ Perth

Who can bid

There are limitations on who can bid. You must be a single or double booking in economy. Business Class and Economy X passengers are ineligible. Seat blocking for neighbour-free seating is restricted to one seat per booking.

Premium flyers also should not fear being booted from their preferred seats. Velocity Gold, Platinum, Platinum Plus, and Forever Gold members who’ve pre-selected seats won’t be displaced.

How Virgin stacks up against the competition

Qantas runs a similar scheme, although you purchase for a set price per route, not as part of a competitive bid process. Here is a comparison table with other airlines, including domestic and international competitors to Virgin Australia:

Airline	Product	How it works	Price	Notes
Virgin Australia	Neighbour-Free Seating	Passengers bid via app for empty seat	From $30	Confirmation 2 hrs before departure.
Qantas	Neighbour-Free Seating	Buy an empty seat outright at booking or check-in	$30–65 (route dependent)	Not available network-wide
Air New Zealand	Twin Seat / Economy Skycouch	Block adjacent seat(s) – turns a row of 3 into a bed.	Twin Seat: ~$60–100	Pricier, but effectively an economy “bed.”
Lufthansa	Sleeper’s Row	Buy row of 3–4 economy seats + mattress pad and pillow	~€150–250 (AU$250–400)	Long-haul only, budget flatbed
Emirates	Empty Seat Option	Pay to guarantee extra seat(s) after booking, if available	Varies (~US$55–165)	Offered via app or at check-in.
Etihad	Economy Neighbour-Free	Block 1–3 seats	Dynamic pricing	Long-haul; subject to demand.

2PAXfly Takeout

Virgin’s move is hardly revolutionary – Qantas, Air New Zealand, Emirates, Etihad and Lufthansa all have their own versions. But, this is a good additional option short of coughing up for a Business Class seat.

For longer domestic flights (say Perth to the east coast) or short-haul international routes (like Bali or Samoa), $30–$50 could be excellent value for a bit of extra space. Just remember that, unlike Qantas or Emirates, Virgin’s scheme is an auction-like bid, not a buy, so there’s no certainty. You will only know for sure two hours before departure.

The cynic in me says Virgin Australia’s Neighbour-Free Seating is a clever upsell with possible genuine passenger appeal. Whether it becomes a game-changer will depend on how fairly and transparently those bids are handled.