laurieco

I just paid for the seats for me and DH. I'm just happy we're flying Austrian to Prague from JFK and not Swiss. It's no wonder so many people hate airlines and see them as a necessary evil. Flying used to be so much nicer. Oh well. Maybe someday people will organize and tell the airlines we've had enough. But, I doubt they will listen.

DebitNM

From the link I posted up top, amyb:
Can a seat be reserved on a code share flight?
Advance seat reservations are only valid on flights operated by SWISS and, in the case of code share flights with a partner airline, if the SWISS flight number is booked.

maxima

I recently flew Austrian to Vienna from JFK, my reservation was with through Lufthansa as I had a return from Salzburg via Frankfurt on Lufthansa. I could not make a seat reservation on Austrian at all even if I wanted to pay for it. I called Lufthansa and they made the reservation for me at no extra charge...I did the 23 hour pre flight check in, and for my return switched to a bulk head aisle seat no extra charge.

Austrian's seats in coach were extremely tight. Lufthansa was better probably because the plane was huge. My flight to Vienna was not full.. seat next to me was empty. Also empty was a bulk head row as no one wanted to pay more for those seats.

have a good flight and enjoy Prague

sandralist

I just had this really funny experience.

I googled up "the miracle of flight" because I wondered if I really was the only person in the world who didn't hate airlines.

And I came up with the really funny video of Louis C.K. ripping people who complain about flying. It's great! Look it up.

At least I know now I am not alone.

sandralist

Apparently the Louis C.K. riff is several years old but I'd never seen it.

It's here -- for those of you without a sense of victimization and with a sense of humor:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulli...nds_air_travel

sandralist

Or here if you can't see it on the other link I posted

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/1myllo...acle-of-flight

amyb

>>Advance seat reservations are only valid on flights operated by SWISS and, in the case of code share flights with a partner airline, if the SWISS flight number is booked.<<

Thanks, debit, I know that much but my problem is that that makes ZERO SENSE.

IMDonehere

If you want to be in a service business, realize who is literally paying the fare. Airline travel has become so unpleasant, that why would the companies want to continue to contribute to that?

All the US carriers have used up whatever goodwill that have accumulated. It varies with some of the foreign carriers.

kleeblatt

Swiss (not Swiss Air) now belongs to Lufthansa.

Surfergirl

My preference is to pay a slightly higher price for an "all included" flight than have the expenses parsed out in the form of add ons. I agree with the nickel and diming comment -- that bothers me with hotels as well, with the extra charges for internet and parking.

With some airlines, I know what I'm getting, like Southwest or Jet Blue. I know I don't have to pay for a checked bag (presumably the cost is absorbed in the ticket) and I've learned how to play the 24 hour line number game.

Tulips

BA charges for advance seat selection in business class. Not a cheap no-frills ticket.

laurieco

They charge for business class? Wow, that is really sad.

laurieco

Surfergirl, I agree. Charge $50 per r/t ticket more and don't charge for everything that used to be standard on a flight. Give me my advance seat reservation, food on a long haul flight, drinks and snack on shorter flights, and let me take my luggage without extra cost.

At least on flights between the U.S. and Europe you can still check a bag for free and they feed you. For now.

amyb

The post-script to my story: I called Swiss. The Swiss agent restated the policy above, but added that "since the flight is fully marketed by United, only they can assign seats now" ('now' being 6 months out). So I called United back and the extremely friendly agent called her bluff, telling me that they have no access to Swiss (or any other airline's) seat charts and he acknowledged I was being given the runaround between the two conflicting policies. What the United rep did for me though is put a service request in on my sister's ticket with a link to my Swiss locator code and a request that she get the seat next to mine. The irony is I paid for my seat assignment, and if this works, hers will be free. We won't know until check-in on the way home though.

laurieco

Good luck amyb. My contacts with Swiss personnel have left me somewhat cold. They seem very uninterested in their passengers.

According to Seat Guru, the seats on Swiss are 17.3 inches wide. On Austrian they are 18.47 inches wide--an inch wider! When we flew Swiss round-trip to Berlin, DH complained that he was more uncomfortable on that flight than on any of the recent other flights we took. I guess it wasn't his imagination! Another reason to avoid Swiss in the future.

Southam

In June, Lufthansa charged me for advance seat assignments on internal European flights. It's an extra source of revenue that airlines are finding hard to avoid.

Surfergirl

I'm headed to Greece in October and didn't have to pay extra for immediate seat selection on KLM on the flight from LAX to AMS and AMS to Athens. Nor did I have to pay extra for immediate seat selection on Air France on the flight from Istanbul to Paris or Paris to LAX.

Mind, I booked back in March, and it sounds like some of these changes were made this summer. KLM and Air France are partners with Delta. I don't know the deal with Delta, since I've never actually been on a Delta flight.

But looking at other airlines, you've really got to read the fine print, and look for the best deal, playing the numbers. I planned a trip for my husband a few months back to and from Philadelphia, and found Virgin Air the best option for him. I actually had to research the alternative (and sometimes weird) fares on Virgin with all sorts of options that didn't make a lot of sense. Because they have the cheapest fare, which isn't always the cheapest once you add in the extras. So on the leg going, I did the "automatic upgrade" which got him extra leg room, a seat, and luggage included in the fare, plus a meal, and that only cost $30 extra. but on the leg back, those "extras" would have cost an extra $100, so I opted only for the extra leg room and a drink for $30, and he had to pay $25 or so for the bag. I swear, it was like playing a game of chess!

maxima

I find the meals that are sold on flights from the east coast to west coast and vice versa are miniscule snacks, and not necessarily ones I would want to eat. I try to bring my own sandwich, either from home or a deli or supermarket, or even purchase one at the airport. once you clear security you can purchase a non-alcoholic drink that you can take on board, and if you have an empty water bottle with you, you can fill it up at a water fountain, or ask a flight attendant to fill it for you when you get on board, so that you don't have to wait for the attendants to come around with a glass of water.

HappyTrvlr

We had to pay a fee on each leg of our British Airlines flights to book our seats in advance for a trip this fall.

Sojourntraveller

Then having paid your fee to pick your seat, you have the luck to pick one in front of someone who choses to remove your ability to recline your seat.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08...eclining-seat/

Should you get a refund on the fee if that happens? LOL