Hainan Airlines Monetizes Lying Across Empty Seats, Selling Three-Seat Block for 220 Euros

On Hainan Airlines’ long-haul flights, lying down to rest across three empty seats has been monetized. Cabin crew have been confirmed to wake sleeping passengers and return them to their original seats, spreading dissatisfaction on social media. According to reporting by Huxiu’s Lvjie, the measure is positioned as a move to reclaim incidental comfort and put a price tag on it.

The tacit understanding in long-haul economy that you could lie down for free is being replaced by a clear fee structure. Behind this lies a growing dependence on ancillary revenue and changes in the competitive environment surrounding China-Europe routes.

Case of Being Woken for Lying Across Empty Seats

It began with an incident on a flight from Edinburgh to Beijing. Immediately after boarding, the cabin had noticeably many empty seats, with several rows around the passenger completely empty. After the lights were dimmed, the passenger moved to an adjacent empty row to lie down, but was woken by cabin crew shortly after falling asleep and asked to return to the seat shown on the boarding pass. The crew explained that passengers who want to lie down can purchase a paid three-seat service.

When the passenger asked for the reason, the response was formulaic. The explanation that a paid three-seat service is offered and that other seats cannot be occupied without purchasing it was repeated. The argument that using empty seats for just a few hours would not bother anyone was not accepted.

Initially, this was seen as strict handling by some crew members, but searches on social media revealed a different reality. According to Huxiu’s Lvjie, the experience of not being able to lie down freely in Hainan Airlines’ economy class is common among many long-haul passengers.

Hainan Airlines prohibits passengers on long-haul flights from moving to an empty row to lie down for free, and cabin crew wake passengers who are already asleep to inform them that a block of three seats can be purchased for a fee

Related posts have appeared intermittently since the beginning of the year, with a marked increase in recent months. There are reports of passengers being sent back as soon as they lay down despite entire empty rows being available, and cases where foreign travelers who tried to each use a row with a companion were stopped. Some posts say that while they could still lie down freely last year, the operation has changed this year.

220 Euros Posted at European Counter

The fee structure is visible at airport counters. According to a photo from an airport in Europe that spread online, Hainan Airlines’ paid upgrade was listed at 760 euros, front-row and emergency exit seats in economy at 110 euros, and to occupy a block of three seats, passengers must purchase two additional adjacent seats for a total of 220 euros.

The practice of selling multiple seats to one person to provide space to lie down in economy is not new in itself. Air New Zealand introduced its Skycouch in 2011, offering a product on some Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft that flips up the leg rests under the seats to form a sofa bed about 1.55 meters long and 74 centimeters wide. In China, China Southern Airlines introduced a similar product in 2019, and Air China also sells adjacent empty seats via its app.

What makes Hainan Airlines stand out is not its innovation in selling multiple seats. It is the combination of strict enforcement in the cabin and clear price displays at counters that has amplified dissatisfaction on social media. Many passengers accept paying for front-row or emergency exit seats. On the other hand, when load factors are low, it is not uncommon for entire empty rows to remain after the doors close, and moving to rest has generally been tacitly tolerated on domestic long-haul flights. The current measure is seen as systematically ending that margin that depended on luck.

Dependence on $157 Billion in Ancillary Revenue

Behind this is a shift in airlines’ revenue structure. Airlines have progressively unbundled elements such as seat selection and checked baggage that were originally included in the airfare, moving toward charging for them individually. Some U.S. carriers even restrict carry-on baggage on the lowest fares, and if passengers do not pay a seat selection fee, the system assigns seats at check-in. Airlines describe this as pay-as-needed, but among users, the perception has spread that items once included in the ticket are being removed one by one.

The effect on revenue is significant. According to estimates by aviation consulting firm IdeaWorks, global airline ancillary revenue is projected to reach $157 billion in 2025, accounting for about 15.7% of total industry revenue. While average fare-related revenue for traditional carriers declined in 2024, ancillary revenue per passenger increased by 5.3%. Even if base fares are set low, the structure in which business is sustained through additional payments before and after boarding is strengthening.

Specific circumstances on China-Europe routes also overlap. Some intercontinental routes were once nurtured with support from local government subsidies, but since 2024 the scope of route subsidies has been significantly restricted. Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, European airlines cannot fly over Russian airspace, and British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have withdrawn from some China routes, while Lufthansa has reduced operations on some China routes. Chinese airlines expanded their share in this gap, but price competition intensified.

Europe routes are long, and it is not easy to reduce fuel and crew costs. In months with weak outbound demand, even if ticket prices fall, many empty seats may remain in the cabin. If Hainan Airlines can sell two adjacent seats for 220 euros with almost no additional cost, it can monetize them rather than carrying them empty to the destination after the doors close. Since remaining seats cannot be carried over and sold on the next flight once all passengers have boarded, monetizing them on the same flight is an attractive option. If a situation is left where one passenger pays 220 euros for a block of three seats while another passenger gets the same experience for free next to them, willingness to purchase next time will decline. The logic that to sell empty rows at a fair price, the possibility of lying down for free must first be eliminated, makes strict enforcement inevitable.

Friction Caused by Immature Service Design

Even if the logic of charging holds, the product’s lack of maturity as a service creates friction in operation. Hainan Airlines’ three-seat block is simply a configuration of ordinary economy seats placed side by side. Even if the armrests can be raised, gaps between seats remain and the width of three seats is limited. An adult needs to curl up to rest and can easily hit the backrest when turning over. There is also the issue that standard seat belts are not suitable for a lying position during turbulence. The price list merely states that passengers can lie down, with no mattress, bedding, or safety belt for lying down provided.

In contrast, Air New Zealand’s Skycouch provides seat pads and bedding, along with a dedicated ring-shaped safety belt for lying down, and cabin crew explain how to use it after boarding. Lufthansa’s Sleeper’s Row is closer to Hainan Airlines in that it utilizes ordinary economy seats left over before takeoff, but the price is 159 to 229 euros and includes a mattress, plus pillows and blankets of business-class quality. The gap with mature products is clear.

The operational burden falls on cabin crew. They must wake passengers after they have fallen asleep to enforce the rule, leading to inconsistency in handling. Being tolerated on one flight and strictly warned on another increases distrust in the rule itself. The experience of having sleep interrupted is likely to cause dissatisfaction, and if left unchecked, fairness with paying customers collapses. If charging and enforcement proceed ahead of product design, which has not caught up, clashes in the cabin are unavoidable.

Increasing Segmentation in the

Commercialization of Sleep on Long-Haul Flights

The commercialization of sleep in economy class is moving toward further segmentation. Air New Zealand plans to introduce its Skynest sleep pods in 2025, priced at 495 New Zealand dollars per four hours. United Airlines plans to introduce Relax Row, which converts into a sofa bed. Both are attempts to carve out the act of lying down as a standalone product.

Business class, where passengers can lie down on long-haul flights, typically occupies the cabin space of three to four economy seats. For travelers who do not seek lounges or sophisticated in-flight meals and only value sleep, a block of three seats fills the gap between economy and business. Demand itself does exist.

Going forward, long-haul flights may see a stronger structure in which passengers are charged individually according to sleep duration and space occupied. The margin for lying down for free will shrink, and occupying empty seats will be sold as a formal product. Hainan Airlines’ move is positioned as a symbolic case of this transition. For airlines, it is an expansion of revenue opportunities, and for passengers, it is a process of redefining the boundary between what is included in the fare and what requires additional payment. How empty seats in the cabin are handled — an operational issue — is beginning to affect ticket pricing itself.

Editorial Opinion

In the short term, the tacit culture of tolerating empty seats in long-haul economy is expected to recede rapidly. With Hainan Airlines’ operation now visible, other carriers are likely to clarify paid multi-seat products and move to restrict moving and lying down in the cabin. We assess that passengers will need to decide whether to purchase additional seats before boarding, and that sales channels at airport counters and via apps will be strengthened.

In the long term, we see the experience of sleep being decoupled from the physical compartment of a seat and evolving into a product charged by time and area. If packaging that includes mattresses, dedicated belts, and bedding progresses, a new price range between economy and business may become established. On the other hand, we assess that if product quality does not match the price, it will become a factor that undermines trust in the brand.

As a question from the editorial team, how should the balance between monetizing empty seats and ensuring fairness be designed? The operation of waking sleeping passengers forces a choice over whether to prioritize avoiding damage to the customer experience or securing the understanding of paying customers. It is also questioned to what extent safety standards, such as seat belt compatibility and response to turbulence, should be incorporated into the product.

References

• ” 经济舱最后的羊毛，被航司盯上了 ”, by 旅界 — 虎嗅网, 2026-09-01T23:43:09.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://www.huxiu.com/article/4887796.html?f=rss