Passengers travelling on Easyjet flights from Belfast International airport will now be allocated their seats.
While the seating initiative means that all passengers will be given a seat for free across the entire easyJet network, passengers will be charged if they want to choose a specific seat.
Prices start at £3 for a particular seat, rising to £8 for a seat in the front row and £12 for people wishing to have extra legroom.
The company said the introduction of allocated seating follows successful testing since April when more than 800,000 passengers flew on 6,000 trial flights. Research showed that boarding could be a source of stress for some customers and put some people off flying with easyJet altogether.
More than 70 per cent of passengers who took part in the trials said they thought allocated seating was better than the non-allocated system.
Ali Gayward, easyJet commercial manager for Northern Ireland, said: “Allocated seating is an example of easyJet trying to do all it can to make travel easy and affordable for our passengers.
“Just as important, we have shown that we can do so while delivering strong on-time performance – the most important driver of passenger satisfaction.
“The new chargeable seating option has removed a definite barrier for business travellers and, overall, there has been an enthusiastic welcome for the new system from the business community.
“Trials of allocated seating also proved very popular with families and elderly people.”
Passengers who decide not to pay to select a seat will be given their seat number when they check in, either online or at the airport. The company said passengers travelling on the same booking will be seated together wherever possible by easyJet’s reservation system.
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