Following a customer backlash Jetstar has finally canned its free-for-all seating policy. The no-frills airline is now allocating seats to passengers, thereby avoiding any unruly scramble on boarding. And passengers may now choose their seats when booking via the Web or by phone. All of which sounds eminently sensible and makes me wonder why Jetstar didn't do this from the outset.

The answer is that, at setup, Jetstar simply copied the sit-anywhere idea from budget airlines overseas, thinking it would work here. It was even quite proud of being "the first Australian carrier with free-for-all seating", almost as if this policy actually improved the flying experience.

Magda Szubanski freaks to find someone has her seat!

Presumably Jetsar felt it was the democratic way to go and no doubt it also saw a "no reservations" policy as a potential money saver. But for passengers, free-for-all seats patently proved a nightmare, invoking images of a scramble demanding scrimmaging skills the Wallabies would envy.

Sadly, there's something about flying that brings out the worst in us. We readily complain about airline seating anyway, whether it be allocated or not. Knowing your seat number at least helps regulate on-board push and shove and limit passenger dismay. Allocated seating, already applied to New Zealand services, will also apply to Jetstar's impending international services. It vows this won't mean increased fares. The airline will maintain its strict 30-minute cutoff deadline for check-in.

The guarantee of a specific seat should further boost the fortunes of an airline that continues to power ahead. In July and August Jetstar carried 1.2 million passengers, 47 per cent more than in those same two months of 2005. Revenue passenger kilometres for the two months increased 73 per cent.

Jetstar's official announcement on seating.