Could you guys please let me know if this is normal? In January I booked tickets from DFW to Barcelona connecting in Amsterdam in September. I booked the flight via Northwest, but both are codeshares of a KLM flight. For the long leg of flight, there is no aircraft assigned and no seat assignment, nor an option to choose (which I guess makes sense if no plane designated!). For the AMS-BCN leg, its a 737 but still no option to pick seats.

I feel a little uneasy bc of the potential NWA merger, and this isn't helping. Do you think I have any reason to be concerned? Thanks!

Too early. NW/KL don't do seats assignments until 90 days before travel.

And for your intra-Europe flight, you won't get assignments until check-in.

That is great to know! I am going to set a reminder on my calendar 90 days out. Thanks!

And be persistent. I find getting seats on KLM to be... problematic. If all else fails, I have had the most success getting the KLM record locator and calling The Netherlands.

On the bright side, I find that the 90-day thing means that the motivated caller at 90 days has a pretty good choice of seats.

As for the planes, the DFW-AMS leg should be on an A330, which seems to be the best plane for coach passengers that KLM offers. The KLM 737s, like those used for the AMS-BCN flight are actually pretty decent - I wouldn't worry about not having seats as they are all very similar. If you check-in online, you might be able to choose seats at 24 hours out, but I am not certain.

You will love AMS. It is the best major airport in Europe, bar none. It is a joy to transfer in. The only downside is that the food offerings kind of stink (unless, like me, you like McDonalds), but what else do you expect from The Netherlands?

travelgourmet,
What kind of problems have you had? I haven't had any problems calling NW to assign seats on KL. Just curious.

I have gotten the run-around several times. NW says that they did, but it doesn't show in the record. I call KLM, and they say I don't have seats, etc. I've also had NW say that they can't assign seats at all, and that I need to call KLM.

Just a general pain, I find. Sometimes, though, it does seem to work. But it never seems to be the same thing twice.

I have booked flights on NW Sea to LHR. They told me right up front that I had to wait until 90 days out to choose seats. They allowed me to put preference in (window, aisle etc) and said the seats would automatically be assigned at that point. I can go on their website and see if I like them at the time or they told me to call right away if I want to change them. The NW configuration of the A330 has two seats either side of the plane and four seats in the middle so if they follow my request we will get the two seat area which I prefer. (Does that make sense??) Either way I will be on the phone exactly 90 days out to be sure.

If you are on a flight operated by NW, then it is incredibly easy to assign seats, and there are usually plenty of seats available at the 90 day window. Just go to nwa.com, and it couldn't be easier.

Do you have elite status with NW, any SkyTeam carrier, or Alaska? If so, I highly recommend 29AB or 29HJ, due to the extra legroom. 10AB and 10HJ might be good as well, but I don't know for certain, as I always end up on the A330-300, while your plane will likely be the A330-200, and the layout is slightly different.