Air France has introduced a €50 supplement for passengers who want to sit in the exit row when travelling in economy on long-haul services.

Patrick Roux, Air France vice president marketing, said: “Customers consulted on the introduction of this new service have shown they are interested in an option that guarantees they can travel with extra legroom and allows them to choose their degree of on-board comfort with no fuss and in a totally open seat allocation system.”

The fee has been introduced on Air France services between Paris-CDG and the United States and Canada and will be extended across the long-haul network by winter 2008/2009. The number of seats on each flight will vary between four on A330-200s or A340-300s and up to 37 on B747-400s with an upper deck. The airline said that the number of seats attracting the fee would eventiually amount to around 3% of all economy seats on Air France’s long-haul network.

Flying Blue members with Gold or Platinum status can reserve the seats free of charge. The Seat Plus seats can be reserved only when checking in online from 30 hours before departure.

source: www.businesstravelworld.com