Seat Assignments-HELP
 

To make a long story short - I booked a trip more than six months ago and where given seat assignments. Now it is time to travel and the tickets arrive with totally different seats. On one leg of the trip my party is separated. Travel agent has been useless. Should I contact the airline or do I have any recourse? <BR>Thanks.

Barbara: <BR>I always get to the airport super early to check in. Just because a seat is assigned it is not set in stone. Most airlines will not change seat assignments over the phone. You might want to post this on the more highly frequented forums for more answers. Good Luck! <BR>

<BR> <BR>Barbara: <BR> <BR>As soon as possible, call the reservations number of the airline. The representative can assign seats. Normally, bulkhead and exit-row seats are held for frequent flyer members--and some airlines reserve the front half of coach for same--but unreserved seats are available for the asking. <BR> <BR>By the way, my experience has been that six months is far too soon to get confrimed seat assignments. Airlines sometimes change equipment on routes, frequent flyer rules change, etc. Within one month seems about right.

By all means contact the airline direct, bypass the travel agent, and ask for better seat ssisgnments ASAP. If the agent cannot help you, ask for a supervisor. On occasion, a supervisor has actually assigned me an exit row seat over the telephone - not easy, took me 30 minutes on the phone, but I was desperate. Going to the airport early is useful too - and ask specifically for an exit row. Last resort, get ailse seats, even if not adjoining, and start negotiating with your fellow passengers once onboard. typically, airlines hold back up to 40% of the seats toward the front, to hand out at the airport to accommodate families with kids, and other special circumstances. For the future, I know that travel agenst are very unreliabel when it comes to getting decent seats for their clients.

I was booking some flights online recently and noticed the exit row seats were shown as available and bookable. Try looking at your airline's website with your reservation number and see if you can access your seat assignments and change them there. I just checked a Delta flight itinerary under my frequent flyer number a few minutes ago and it offered me the option to change my seat assignment online.

Joseph~ <BR> <BR>You've had a bad experience with a travel agent in your past; doesn't mean we're unreliable. I do my best to assign my clients ALL together. Surely, you must also know that travel agents don't work for the airlines, i.e. WE don't make the rules and our hands are tied when a airlines res. agent says they cannot assign seats together. I suppose when a judge renders a verdict, its the lawyer's fault for not getting their clients way?

Oh no!!!! Oh no!!! You can't sit together! Whatever will you do? You know there are people in this world with serious problems so I don't think we need to listen to you whining about where you are sitting on an airplane. I can't even afford my own plane..how do you think that makes me feel? You uncaring bitch. And that goes for you too peanut ho.