China Southern introduces 'one passenger multiple seats' service

China Southern Airlines (China Southern), the country's largest air carrier, has introduced a new service that allows one passenger to buy multiple seats, the airline announced in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Saturday.

Passengers with economy class tickets travelling between Nairobi and China's Guangzhou or Changsha can buy additional one to three seats at airport check-in counters for 650-1,700 yuan ($93-243), said Huang Guanwen, the general manager of China Southern's Kenya branch, at a news conference.

The new service brings more convenience to passengers who are in need of more space during long-haul international flights, pregnant women or passengers traveling with children, according to Huang.

Another good news for the passengers in the economy class is that they can choose a seat in Row 31 of China Southern's Airbus A330-200 plane, which is the first row in the economy cabinet, or Row 49, which has more space than other rows in the same cabinet.

The general manager also said China Southern will transfer its operation from Beijing Capital International Airport to Beijing Daxing International Airport gradually. The latter is expected to be put into use at the end of next month.

Currently, China Southern has a fleet of 840 aircraft, the largest in Asia and the third-largest worldwide. In 2018, it served 139 million passengers.

Currently, it flies to around 145 domestic and 76 international destinations.