I am flying to las at the end of the month and have a plane change in chicago. Can anyone tell me why I could not get seat assignment when I booked 3 days ago? Does this mean they (United) are over booked? I am a little aprehensive aboy flying United after Chapter 11 filling but more so about having to go through Chiago in the winter.If anyone out there uses this airport frequently could you please let me know the liklihood of delays,canceled flights etc. Thanks

I fly to chicago all the time, and I have had more delays/cancellations during the summer (variety of reasons, none believable) than I have in the winter. flying that distance anywhere during the winter runs the risk of delay/cancellation, it is just the way it is. I wouldn't be overly concerned, did you check continental?

As a travel industry employee, I can tell you that most airlines stop allowing seats to be assigned a few days prior to departure, claiming that seat assignments can only be given "at airport check-in". As to the reason why, I am unsure, but it probably has to do with accomodating groups by leaving sections of seats blocked. The fact that you could not have a seat assignment has nothing to do with United's bankruptcy. It is standard practice. Get to the airport early, and you may still get that window or aisle that you want.

There really is no reason to be apprehensive about flying United IMO. They may cut back some routes and frequency, but I doubt that the world's largest airline will simply vanish overnight. It's actually a good thing for consumers. Watch for low fare carriers to swoop in and grab routes and gates given up by the big guys.

Sorry, need to clarify one thing. I didn't realize that your flight wasn't leaving for several weeks, until I reread your posting. There is no reason why you should not be able to get some sort of seat assignment at this date. Call the airline directly and they can probably assist you.

we are from uk and planning our flights for October - wanted to take advantage of free stopver in Chicago on way home to UK from Las Vegas. What a nightmare those routes proved to be and costly too, in th end we decided to book with BA and go back via New York instead, that said they still wouldn't assign specific seat on the LV to JFK route - they all told us same that you couldn't pre-book seats on domestic flights. Good Luck.

Dear Vegaslocal,

"but I doubt that the world's largest airline will simply vanish overnight."

Just to set the record straight, American Airlines is the world's largest airline, not United.

Curious

Curious - you are correct. I apologize. United is not the world's largest airline. My mistake.

As for Lynn, your posting is confusing. Since British Airways does not fly from New York to Las Vegas, I must assume that you are flying on some other carrier. Your posting states that "they all told us..." Who is "they"? Do you mean the representative at British Airways? It's possible that a reservation agent at British Airways does not have the ability to make seat assignments for you on another carrier.

However, once you are within 6 weeks of your departure date, contact the U.S. carrier directly that you will be flying from JFK to Las Vegas. Explain to them that you are flying from the UK to New York on British Airways and continuing to Las Vegas on their airline under a codeshare agreement. They will be able to assist you with your seat assigments. I do not know of ANY airline that will allow a specific seat assignment to be made nine months in advance.

Hope this helps.

AmericanAirlines allows seat assignments at time of reservation.I can book now for end of December and obtain seat assignment.

Okay, I'm wrong again! For fun I just booked flights on United and American for December. In both cases I was able to request (and received) specific seat assignments.

Perhaps the computer system I used to use did not have the same capabilities as the one I now use.

At any rate, I would still suggest contacting the U.S. carrier you are flying from JFK to LAS directly, and asking them to assist you.

vegaslocal,

You are to be congratulated for admitting you were wrong..not once, but
TWICE!!!!! I'm dead serious. Not many on this board would be so gracious.

I'm coming to Vegas in April. Maybe I will contact you for "helpful hints".

Curious

Just trying to be honest. Nobody can possibly know everything, and human beings make mistakes. I think we are all on this board because we genuinely have an interest in helping each other as well as an interest in travel.

As an aside, I am not a travel agent, but am involved in the business from a development standpoint, so it's not like I'm personally leading clients astray because I don't know something.

One other point - I personally refrain from answering questions that I don't have any current or relevant knowledge about, so if I do jump in, it's because I think I might have something to add. Not just typing to hear myself talk in case anyone is wondering.

Have a great day.

message to vegas local

sorry for confusion, yeah I meant BA rep. said they couldn't pre assign seats on domestic LV to JFK - and your right its not with BA it's America West (codeshare I think). But BA did pre-book seats on two transatlantic even though its way off yet. But I'll follow advice and contact America West closer to date.

I called AmericaWest from here in the states to try to get a local phone number with an area code for you that you can dial from the UK. They kept me on hold for 20 minutes, as all they could find were their "800" (toll-free in the U.S.) phone numbers. I'm sure those won't work from the UK. I finally had to hang up. Sorry, but I tried.