Around this time last year, I noticed that every time I flew w/ Air Canada they wld not assign my seat until just prior to boarding. Why is this? Prior to this "trend", I cld get my seat selection upon booking. Now even if I book 4 months ahead of time, Air Canada tells me "You have to wait until boarding to get your seat selection." I don't get it....has this happened to anybody else on a regular basis???

That's curious. We just booked a trip from Toronto to Victoria, and the Air Canada website offered seat selection. However, because it was a really cheap deal, they wanted $10 extra per trip for that option, so we decided to skip it.

Wow, if you are flying Air Canada within Canada or from the US, advance seat selection is offered at time of booking for Fun, Latitude, Freedom, and Executive fares on the AC website. If you are booking their least expensive fare category, which AC calls Tango, you can, as Meesthare says, pre-select your seats for an additional $10 each way.

If you are flying AC and do not have a seat reserved, you can now check-in on the AC website 12 hours before your flight, select your seat, and print your boarding pass at home. Saves time, especially if you aren't checking luggage.

There may be other situations where you are not offered advance seat selection, such as an oversold flight. I think, but I am not sure, that there is sometimes a problem reserving seats if your ticket is booked with another airline and involves an AC segment. Perhaps some other frequent flyer can throw some light on that.

Anselm

It can be worth paying that $10 if you want to make sure that you sit with your travling companion(s). AC, like all airlines, is increasing their factors. This means that your choices at the airport can be limited on some flights. We got caught on this once. The web check-in works well. I have done it twice now. The first time nobody at the airport had seen such a thing before.

I did not book these flights on the internet. I called A/C & spoke w/ an agent each time. So.. I don't get it...are they "overbooking" 4 months in advance??? I always check-in early (at least 2 hours b/f flight departure). I get my boarding pass @ the kiosk. Then when I go to the counter to check my luggage, I say "I notice that I do not have seat selection." And, the check-in agent replies "We cannot give you your seat until boarding. Go to the Gate & when the desk opens, tell the agent that you do not have a seat. The agent will call your name & give you your seat prior to boarding. Don't worry...you will get a seat." This drives me crazy b/c I keep thinking "What if the flight is oversold & I don't get a seat." It reminds me of the "old days" going stand-by! But... the difference here is that I have paid for my ticket 3 or 4 months in advance!! So, what's up w/ this???

Is there any way you can get on to Air Canada's website and try to do it from there? You probably have a booking reference number. Might be worth a shot.

What kind of fares are you buying that they won't even assign a seat until you show up at the gate? I just flew to France on Air Canada and I got my seat selections at the time of booking (i.e. two months in advance).

Each time it was not the highest fare but it wasn't the lowest either! For example, when I went to NS for Thanksgiving it was almost $700. A "low fare" wld be about $525 on Air Canada.

There is a small percentage of seats that Air Canada holds back for airport assignment only. There are also seats blocked for Elite or Prestige members of their Frequent Traveller program, Aeroplan. The flight is available but the allotment for advance seat assignment is booked. If this is the case when you book your reservation I suggest you get to the airport earlier than recommended to get your preferred seat.

I get there at least 2 hours b/f Departues! And, I am an Aeroplan Member!

ok...I just called AC & asked for Seat Assignment for a December trip booked 1st week in Sept by phone. That's almost 4 months in advance. They did give me seats but...they charged me $10 plus 7% tax! They said it was b/c I had a Tango fare for my outbound flight. I did not even know that I had "a Tango fare"!!!I thought you cld only book Tango fares over the internet! As I said, I booked mine on the phone! so...?????
Interesting that this little problem that I have had recently w/ AC has not happened to others here. Maybe it's something to do w/ Toronto/Maritime routes??? Makes no sense to me.
Anyway...I can sleep tonight knowing that my little seat is awaiting my arrival! Thanks for everyone here who offered suggestions!
Have a great weekend!!

Wow,

Don't sleep that soundly. We paid the $10.00 on our recent trip to Vancouver and did not receive the seats I selected outbound. The plane out was a different seat configuration than that offered (larger business class section) so they had to do seat shuffling for those with pre-selected seats. No refund of the $10.00 either. In this case it wasn't an issue as the seats we actually got were no worse or better than what was booked.

Oh yeah - I booked on the AC website and am an Aeroplan member. There was absolutely nothing there about this being a Tango fare. But, at the airport, the boarding passes clearly said Tango. ??? I'm starting to think that they are calling all their seat sale prices Tango fares.