babyblue78

Hello, I have a quick question, and it may to stupid to all you frequent fliers....

I booked a flight today via usairways.com from Charlotte, NC to Montego Bay, JM. I flew this same flight last year.

The site allowed me to pick my seats on the return flight. However, on the outbound flight, it states: Seats, check in at airport.

I called US Airways, and was told that this was normal and not a problem. They advised that they can only apply seating assignments to 75% of the seats on the plane, and that the remainder are assigned upon check-in. I do have an e-ticket confirmation.

My question is, am I going to have a problem getting on this plane? How early should I arrive? I normally check in 2 hours early for international flights....

Looking for any advice, as I have ground reservations at a resort. My trip is only for 4 days, so I really want to get there when planned.... I just burns me that they will take my $$ now, but not tell me where I will sit on the plane!!!!!

Thanks! Karah

AAFrequentFlyer

The USAir CS was correct. Every airline holds a certain % of seats for airport assignment only. This has nothing to do with the flight being oversold, it has a lot to do with easing any possible problems with seat assignment at the airport, such as handicapped, big families, parents with infants, un-accompanied minors, etc..etc..
Just imagine if all the seats were open for assignment now and if you are like me and many others, we would pick seats that at this time seem to have empties next to them. Come fly day, what the TA and GA at the airport would have is bunch of single seats all over the plane, which would necessitate moving people around, thus making many pax very unhappy. With this system in place at least most if not all of the above possibilities are avoided.
I would not worry too much, and have a great trip!!!

AAFrequentFlyer

If you give me the flight number and the day, I will check the load as of today for you, to ease any concerns you may have.

BeachBoi

I suggest you check the website frequently.What may not be available today might be available tomorrow.Grab ANY seat that becomse available,middle,rear,whatever.It is far better to have a seat prereserved when you arrive at the airport than not having a seat at all.There is always a good chance that you can move around once you have cheked in.If all else fails,be the first one to check in on flight day.

babyblue78

Wow, thanks for the quick response. Thanks for easing my mind a little. I know that I booked pretty close to departure date, so I was unsure. (Last year I booked 6 months in advance)

My flight is US Airways 1975 on August 22nd...

Thanks!

AAFrequentFlyer

As of right now, the flight is very much open. The system by default will only go up to 9 seats next to the fare class and with the exception of the two least expensive fare classes, it is showing 9 for all the others. It also showing 9 for 1st class as well. That means that AT LEAST 18 seats are still open now, and in all probability - many more.

You could take BeachBoi suggestion, but it becomes a pain in the ass calling every few days, and a seat assignment does not guarantee a seat, if the worse case scenario would happen, but it does make some people feel better.

If you like, try to remind me few days before or even a day before, and if I'm around I will check the load again.

Relax, you will be enjoying the sounds and smells of beautiful Jamaica in few weeks!!!!

babyblue78

AAFrequentFlyer, how are you checking the load???

When I go on USAirways site, it shows the flight as available. Is there any way to check online if assignable seats are available?

I had to be on hold for 35 minutes earlier today, can't really do that every day at work.... (This trip is a surprise for my husband, he doesn't know we are going! He thinks we are driving to Charleston, SC. Got married in Negril last year)

Thanks a lot!

babyblue78

How early do you think I should get to the airport?

Also, how does this work? Will I get a seat assignment when I check my bags, or will I now know until the plane boards???

Thanks!

AAFrequentFlyer

All the first class seats are still open, so you have 24 there and at least 9 in coach+few more. Nothing to worry about.
You could check loads on this Japanese Galileo:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/...leo/frame2.asp

You will get your seat assignment when checking your bags. Being that this is considered a international flight, follow the guidelines for that as far as the time needed for a check-in.

Now let me ask you a question. You are telling me, you are going to Jamaica for 4 days, and you will have luggage to check-in???

It looks to me like your husband is a very lucky man to have you. I hope you will be able to keep the secret till last moment.
Have a wonderful trip!!!

BeachBoi

If your screen name is an indication of your age, then we are the same...so...CHILL!! Everything will be fine..Forget about "loads"..you are NOT trying to go standby..You have a confirmed reservation.With USAirways,a prereserved seat is not guaranteed and subject to change....A traveller with a prereserved seat who is not at the gate 45 minutes prior to departure may have it cancelled...Since this is in fact an international flight, you have to check in at the ticket counter.At that point you should be able to be assigned a seat."Blocked"seats are released to the airport 12 hours prior to departure,meaning the only place they can be assigned is by an airport agent..Bottom line...you will be just fine......HTH.....S

NoFlyZone

I just checked your flight and there are 23 seats still not assigned. They are all marked as being reserved for their "premium" customers.

As the flight is not now sold out you will get a seat ... so what that means is that when you do get your seat assignment at the airport it will probably be either in bulkhead row 25 or in exit row 8. Both are good.

Worse comes to worst, 22 of the 24 first class seats are still open. ;-)

Patty

AA,
Nifty little tool. Question though... is there another nifty tool to decipher the fare classes displayed? Or do I have to check with each airline individually?

Results for my VS flight:
J7 D7 Z2 W7 K0 Y7 B7 L7 M7 Q7 X0 N0

I'm assuming J, D, and Z are upper class, W, X, and maybe K are premium economy, and all others are economy? And also in this case, it seems to be displaying a max of 7 seats.

AAFrequentFlyer

Patty,
try this:

http://members.shaw.ca/fewmiles/AA/recht/fares.html#1

If nothing else, it will give you a general idea.

soccr

There is also this website to check load -- use the UAL ITN tool: http://flyaow.com/classavailability.htm

Patty

I was able to find a fare class listing specific to VS on virginflyer.com (I really have too much time on my hands). It looks like I confused X class (a heavily discounted economy) with U class which is for premium economy award seats. This brings me to what I was ultimately looking to find - award seat availability on any given flight. But it seems only fares that are available for purchase are displayed on Galileo so it doesn't appear to work for what I was trying to do. Very interesting though! I learn something new here everyday.

AAFrequentFlyer

The German version will, if you know the code and request it specifically when looking up loads. So for example, AA code for a mileage and/or VIPOW upgrade is C. I just plug it in on the German Galileo site and it will show me if AA still has some seats available for an upgrade, before I make a purchase. The sites are limited, but still VERY helpful in most cases.

AAFrequentFlyer

I guess you're right, it won't work for VS.
It does work for AA(in most cases)

Patty

Nope. I played around with the German version and it doesn't appear to display VS award classes either.

My apologies to the original poster for taking this so off topic!

songbird

One of the reasons so many first class seats are available is a newer upgrade system USAirways is using. Frequent flyers used to get upgrade certificates after flying a certain number of mails. These have now all been converted to electronic upgrade points. The catch is that they can not be used to reserve an upgrade until 24 hours before flight. So first class seats fill at the last minute for the most part.

That said, you do have a seat but you just don't know which one. Other than wanting to know where the seat is, why do you need to know now? What will it change about your plans?

babyblue78

Thanks everyone for the responses. I feel much better now. I was just a little concerned since this is the first time that I booked directly through US Airways, not through a TA. I also have always had a seat assignment, so this is all new to me...

I was just a little worried that we would get to the airport, and the plane be overbooked, etc.

Songbird, as long as I have a seat on the plane, I do not care where. I was just worried that I am going to get bumped since I don't have a seat assignment. (However, I would prefer to sit with my husband).

AAFrequentFlyer - Nice tool. Regarding the checking of bags, I might have to, as my husband normally packs his own bags, and I am sure he will pack differently for Charleston than Jamaica. I think I will pack my large suitcase, and sneak his swim trunks, etc. into it. It is too large to carry on....

BeachBoi - Yes, my screen name is indicative of my age (and no, I am not 78 years old Thanks for the help. I was just worried that Check in at Airport Seats was just a fancy name for "Standby"

Thanks all! (Sorry post so long!)