Airline Seats
 

My wife and I are flying to Vancouver to catch a Northbound cruise to Alaska on the 1st of June for our honeymoon. Airline is United. I want to make seat assignments now, to ensure we can sit together, but they will not do so stating they must be made at airport check-in. They also say there are plenty of seats available and not necessarily on exit rows where they must observe the passenger to ensure he/she can operate the exit door. However, two weeks later when we return from Anchorage on Northwest Airlines, we already have our seat assignments. <BR> <BR>Does anyone know why United does this, or how to get around it? Other than the fact they are one of the worst customer service companies I've seen in the past few years...

We had the same problem with continental going to Mexico. They would not give us seat assignments when we bought our tickets. They said we must do that at the airport. Well, guess what--we were not seated together. Nor were most people in the back section of the plane!! When I wrote Continental about why we could not get seat assignments when tickets were purchased, they replied that seat assignments were made during the initial ticketing process!! NOT!!! Is this Catch-22?! <BR> <BR>On our return flight, we were the first in line to check in and still did not get seats together after requesting that. <BR> <BR>What is the real story and why can't I get a seat assignment when I purchase my ticket?

When I buy airline tickets online, I get to pick the seat I want. Usually there is a diagram of seating and I pick the seat I want. Were you trying to buy over the phone or through a travel agent?

That's a new one on me. I've been flying United (and other airlines, for that matter) for many years and never heard of the preposterousness! I'd call back and attempt to get seat assignments.

My understanding has always been that they assign seats (but never the exit rows) up until a certain % of the plane is full. Then, anyone booking after that point gets their seat assigned at check-in. Whenever I have made reservations at least 21 days in advance, on any airline (United, USAirways, AA), I have not had a problem. It's only when we make the reservations only one week out that we don't get seat assignments and have/have not been able to sit together. <BR>

I travel 80,000 miles/year on business, much of it on United. KWL is correct. They hold back 25% of the seats for assignment at the airport. Once the first 75% have been assigned, they won't assign any more, even for their Premier level customers. I have been in that situation many times and have never had any problem getting a seat of my choice at the airport. Just arrive a little earlier than you might otherwise. With respect to exit rows, some airlines (such as Alaska Airlines) will pre-assign those seats and just ensure at check-in that you meet the size/age/health requirements for those rows, but others (such as United) will not.

My husband and I flew United to San Fran for our honeymoon. We bought our tix over the phone and we got seat assignments when we booked. When we got to the airport, we told them it was our honeymoon to try to get an upgrade, which they didn't do b/c the plane was full. They did, however, change our seats to the exit row, which was very roomy. Tip: don't get the exit row on a 767 in the middle because you don't get any extra leg room and the movie screen is right in your face (this happened on the way home). The exit row on a 757 is fine (this happened on the way out). They gave us a bottle of champagne toward the end of the flight, so if anything, tell them it's your honeymoon for that--it wasn't half bad!

Always try to make seat assignments when booking your tickets. If they say they can't do that, beware that the flight is pretty full already and might be oversold. Therefore, if you can't get seats ahead either plan to arrive at the airport very, very early or change to another flight. I would never buy a ticket to Europe or Asia if I couldn't prebook seats. You don't say from where you are flying--sometimes, it's better to get on the flight than to wait for seats together. Just go to the airport early.

It's been a few years, but what you experienced is a very large predictor that the flight is oversold - and you had a good chance to be bumped. <BR> <BR>This may not be true any longer as 3rd party / off-brand seat selling is a common feature of internet airline agreements with internet booking companies. <BR> <BR>I used to look for these flights just so I could volunteer at the gate to be bumped.

United is worse than most on this score. <BR> <BR>Most airlines hold back some seats for last-minute premier or problem passengers (crutches, etc.), but usually when they tell you they can't assign you a seat over the phone, it's a pretty good indicator they're close to full. <BR> <BR>HOWEVER: with United, they block off the first 7-10 rows in coach for "Economy Plus" passengers and the last 7-10 for "gate check in", leaving just about a third of the seats -- all situated over the wing -- for phone reservations. <BR> <BR>If you don't believe it, try pre-booking a seat on line for a flight far in the future that can't possibly be all booked -- on Amex or United's own site -- and get to the part where you can pick your seats. You will see a seating chart with available seats in blue and the "premier" seats blocked off and the rear seats unavailable. The available seats will all be in about the middle 7-10 rows, and that's it. <BR> <BR>I think this is an outrageous practice on United's part, causing considerable confusion and very unfair allocation of seats at the last minute. For example, if you are one of the last coach people to buy a ticket but you happen to check in early and the "Economy Plus" seats are not all full, they may put you there, leaving those who requested seats long ago stuck in their cattle-class seats. <BR> <BR>My recommendation: go to the airport _way_ early (I believe you can check in as early as 4 hrs. ahead but call to check) and request your seat -- ask, for sure, to be put on the list for the Economy Plus seats in case they do not fill -- it's first-come first-served for those seats after they seat high mileage customers and full-fare customers. <BR> <BR>And tell United their practice of holding back the majority of the coach seats is unacceptable!

Write to United and the Department of Transportations Consumer Aviation Dept.