Cant get seats on united codeshare
 

I booked flights through united on Lufthansa going and Swiss Air coming home. I called Lufthansa and they said I cant get seats until 24 hrs before the flight. I got the PNR for Lufthansa from United and called back. They told me the same thing, until i check in the day before no seats.

I am reading so many people call the co-share airline directly and get seats so how come I can't get seats?! For a 10 hr flight i'd like to be able to pick my seat.

For tickets issued after April 28, Lufthansa is charging for advance seat assignments on some discounted economy fares (including intercontinental flights):

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...167843163&l=en

I haven't had to deal with this (yet), but I've seen recent discussions on Flyertalk indicating that "system issues" are preventing Lufthansa from selling advance seat assignments for reservations ticketed by partners--and the link above kind of indicates that: "Please also note that paid-for seat reservations can only be purchased in conjunction with a Lufthansa airline ticket."

I'd call back to see if the fare class is the issue.

It is actually quite normal on European airlines not to be able to book a seat, in economy at least, until online check in starts, normally 24hours before departure for inter continental flights.

Thanks for the replies and the link. I'll call to find the fare class.

I wonder if i can pay for a an upgraded seat?

When is your flight? I think I read that Lufthansa would start offering economy-plus seats after Jan 1. Have you tried to select a seat on their website? Try joining their FF program (Miles & More) and then use their PNR to see if you can check on your booking. I have done this in the past. Like you, I don't like to wait to select my seat. If you are flying on their Airbus 380, it is truly a "ghetto" plane--too many people stuffed in a large plane.

When you booked with United did you get a confirmation number with United? While the same confirmation number comes up with Lufthansa, I would try calling United before paying to reserve a seat, as you booked as a United customer.

I had a similar issue booking through Lufthansa for flights on Austrian air and on Lufthansa. While I had no problem selecting a seat on my overseas flight on Lufthansa, I couldn't seem to book a seat on Austrian at all, and Austrian also had restrictions and fees depending on the fare class. I called Lufthansa, endured the wait time on the phone and was able to book my seat with no problem and no extra cost.

To get a Lufthansa confirmation number for your flight without having to telephone:

Go to United's web site
Choose "Manage Reservations"
Choose "View Current Reservation"
Right beneath "United Confirmation Number XXXXXX" you will
see "View Additional Confirmation Numbers"
You will see the Lufthansa confirmation number when you click
on that option.

I have the same routing for next March. I booked my sister with real money and myself with miles and was able to call Lufthansa directly and have us moved next to each other on those flights (two Lufthansa flights to Italy). Coming home, we still don't have Swiss confirmations, so not sure how that would work...did you have any luck?

Still no luck getting seats on either airline and my trip is in two weeks.

I've spoken with United and Lufthansa directly. Got PNR's from United to use when talking to LH and Swiss and still no luck. They keep telling me i have to wait 24 hrs before flying.