Many economy class passengers will be charged by Virgin Atlantic to reserve a seat before check-in.
Economy class passengers who are not gold level members of the airline’s frequent flyer club or on fully flexible tickets will have to pay £25 to secure a particular seat on long-haul flights and £8 on domestic services more than 24 hours before departure.
The change will be in place from April.
Unaccompanied minors and disabled passengers will not be charged, the Financial Times reported.
A spokesman for the airline said: “We know how important choosing a seat is to our passengers and we’ve been working hard on ways to improve our processes.”
Few full-cost carriers charge to reserve a seat but most low-cost airlines do.
Ryanair passengers must pay €5 to select their seats at least one day before flying and easyJet charges £12 for front row and over-wing seats, £8 for the four rows behind the front row, and £3 for anywhere else on the aircraft.