sshephard

I am not an Elite member but my wife is. When I have bought tickets for the two of us at the same time, I have been able to get exit row (or Preferred) seating for both of us when I go online 90 days before departure.

We have tickets to Amsterdam in May that were bought separately because I am coming back to the US two weeks after my wife. When I went to select seats, I was able to get a good seat for her but not for me.

I sent email to NWA asking if I could be seated next to her but was told that I am not an Elite member.

So what gives? Does anyone else have a similar experience? And any advice on how I might be able to sit next to my wife other than changing her good seat to the empty seat next to my not-so-good seat?

A_Traveller

When your spouse travels with a companion on the same "Record Locator Number" or PNR the companion is given access to the preferrential seat assignments. Since you are now flying under a seperate ticket the airline considers you a "different" passenger and your own status level (or lack thereof) determines your access to seat asignments. The same will hold true for any of the other elite status perks that your wife might be entitled to - they don't automatically flow to you because you are married. Think about it for a moment, if people travelling on seperate tickets could get elite status treatment based soley on a "relationship" to someone who has elite status what incentive is there for that "non-status" person to fly that particular airline. Elite status is a rewad for being a frequent flyer not a relative of a frequent flyer.

rkkwan

When you don't an answer from an airline phone agent, you say "Thank you", hang up, call back and hope you will find a sympathetic one that may be able to assign you that seat. But like A_Traveller says, you're not entitled to it.

sshephard

Thanks for your explanations. I really don't feel entitled to get an exit row seat just because I'm married to an "Elite" person. I was really wondering if I was supposed to be getting a choice on trips that are booked as one reservation. Now my theory is confirmed.

So now I have an incentive always to travel round trip with my wife. (As long as she maintains her Elite status.)

travelgourmet

Yep. And, to my mind the exit rows on an NW A330 are a pretty big incentive.

Odin

You can try cross referencing the bookings. You are traveling together on the outbound flight, so call the airline and cross refer ie in your booking, your wife's booking reference is entered and in your wife's booking, your reference is recorded.
It's a complete party advice, separate bookings but traveling together on one of the legs. Don't know if it can still be done or whether it would make a difference.

Separate tickets are always issued per passenger but bookings (PNRs)from which they are issued can have many passengers with same itinerary.

CarolA

Your WIFE needs to call and request that your reservation be linked to hers. I did it for my mother going to London this year and it worked just fine, but I had to do it not her.


And it needs to be your wife because you techincally can't access her ticket/account. (And I bet they can tell. I just hang up and call back as my mother when I am dealing with this mess and the airline never knows. I have all her info LOL but we are both female!)