Qantas Seat Allocation For Husbands and Wives.

[RooFlyer]

OK, if nothing else you have learned something!

Now to learn the other lesson for flying 101 is to always watch your seat allocation like a hawk if you care about such and be pro-active when something happens you don't like.

Plenty .. dozens and more? ... of stories sprinkled throughout AFF of how Plats, Plat1s being 'bumped' from their selected seats for various reasons. If you choose not to select your seats, when given the opportunity to do so (by paying) then I don't think there is much cause for either surprise or complaint when you are given seats of Qantas' choosing. And then not to do anything when you saw you had been split well apart, given you feel so strongly about it, to me is just amazing.

 

[JohnK]

If you don't want to risk being apart then it's wise to pay to allocate seats or try to get seats together when online checkin opens but I wouldn't risk waiting for online checkin.

Not allocating seats and still expecting to sit together can cause problems for those who have been prepared for months. I won't move so you can sit together.

 

[Pierre_a]

My general approach to most things is to put my hand in my pocket to ensure I get the choice I want, or the most convenience. With that in mind the thirty bucks, or nearly two hundred if you book an exit row, seems like a wrench at the time. But when you're sat relaxing in the seat of your choice with your legs stretched out you'll never regret the investment - especially on long haul.

 

[Deleted member]

Oh. Youre one of thosssseeee. You talk to your spouse while flying

Did you get the airlines PNR and select your seats?

i used to be one of Thossssseeee, but have been educated by her indoors.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We've only been married for nine years.
Do things change?

yes and no - it certainly gets less important. We have been married 35 years and still like sitting together, but wouldn't be particularly worried if we didn't, if something went wrong with seating. Mr FM of late has got hooked into audiobooks, so as soon as he gets on a plane he puts in his earphones and starts listening. That doesn't worry me as I am generally reading a book, but I have made a rule that he has to talk to me during meals.

 

[Colster]

We have been married 35 years....

no no no...there is no way you got married 14 years before you were born.

 

[juddles]

...I have made a rule that he has to talk to me during meals....

I totally endorse that rule, as a married person.

I love all the new fango-jango "IFE" etc etc - it makes whiling away those long-haul hours so much better. But it should not prevent quality time

 

[Flying mermaid]

no no no...there is no way you got married 14 years before you were born.

I know a mermaid should be young and pretty, but unfortunately not this one..,...

 

[Colster]

But beauty is in the wry of the be hold her....

 

[ellen10]

I have usually paid for my seat selections, because I would rather sit together.
I guess its a risk I would not like to take anymore. Its nicer to share the space together than have my personal space dominated by a stranger, which has happened to me several times. But now I always pay to choose our seats together.
But it is disappointing for a couple not to be seated together when there are single passengers as they were seated in between people.

 

[Hvr]

<snip>

But it is disappointing for a couple not to be seated together when there are single passengers as they were seated in between people.

So as a single passenger who selects my seat early should I be moved to accommodate couples who select their seats after me? And will I be asked to take the worse seat because I'm single and a couple want to sit together in the good seats?

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>
But it is disappointing for a couple not to be seated together when there are single passengers as they were seated in between people.

And no doubt equally disappointing for the single to be stuck between two others who couldn't organise themselves to sit together (and who were probably whinging about it the entire trip).

 

[mannej]

And no doubt equally disappointing for the single to be stuck between two others who couldn't organise themselves to sit together (and who were probably whinging about it the entire trip).

Don't always assume it's due to a lack of organization. Having been in that situation on MH, we weren't able no matter what we did could get our seat selections to stick (neither us or the TA), which was compounded by the most disinterested ground agent checking us in. We sucked it up bit wasn't particularly happy at the time.

 

[Pleb Status]

OK, if nothing else you have learned something!

Now to learn the other lesson for flying 101 is to always watch your seat allocation like a hawk if you care about such and be pro-active when something happens you don't like.

Plenty .. dozens and more? ... of stories sprinkled throughout AFF of how Plats, Plat1s being 'bumped' from their selected seats for various reasons.

One of my biggest issues with QF when I was P1 was QF unilaterally shifting me around the J cabin to accommodate 'others'. Sometimes they would tell me about the seat shift in the QP and sometimes I would just get the dreaded 'beep' at the gate (dreaded if you are already in the highest class). About 1 in 3 QF J flights had some sort of unilateral seat shift.

I also recall at least one unilateral seat shift in QF F but this is less of an issue as all seats are similar. QF tried it in Y once (as a P1) but I pushed back hard on that one and got the shift reversed by calling the P1 SST from the QP.

At least the new 1-2-1 J arrangements generally reduce J seat shifting if you preallocate a window seat.

 

[Quickstatus]

We always watch seat allocations closely and selections are made at the time of booking.

in January this year we were held up at the F Lounge at LAX because the airline wanted to change our seat allocations and also 5 other people in front of us. We waited 20 minutes trying to get into lounge. We were civil and agrreed to swop seats. We were then asked on board the aircraft to swop again after we were settled into seats.

Never again. Next time I will push back very hard unless the swop is very beneficial to me/my travelling party.

Renato1 : this is the other side of the coin

 

[russ]

A couple of days ago, QF paged me in the lounge and asked if I would swap my exit row seat so that a couple could sit together. I asked for the proposed seat number and worked out it was right next to the toilets. I said no. On the aircraft, I got the evil eye from the couple involved. They negotiated with the occupant of the neighbouring seat near the toilet to swap him to the exit row and he agreed. Everybody was happy!

Remember, if a couple wants to sit together and wants you to swap to a worse seat, they can always swap with another person and give them a better seat.

 

[Quickstatus]

A couple of days ago, QF paged me in the lounge and asked if I would swap my exit row seat so that a couple could sit together. I asked for the proposed seat number and worked out it was right next to the toilets. I said no. On the aircraft, I got the evil eye from the couple involved. They negotiated with the occupant of the neighbouring seat near the toilet to swap him to the exit row and he agreed. Everybody was happy!

Remember, if a couple wants to sit together and wants you to swap to a worse seat, they can always swap with another person and give them a better seat.

For this reason I now save on my smartphone a copy of the seat map for the aircraft Im flying on.

 

[Renato1]

OK, if nothing else you have learned something!

Now to learn the other lesson for flying 101 is to always watch your seat allocation like a hawk if you care about such and be pro-active when something happens you don't like.

Plenty .. dozens and more? ... of stories sprinkled throughout AFF of how Plats, Plat1s being 'bumped' from their selected seats for various reasons. If you choose not to select your seats, when given the opportunity to do so (by paying) then I don't think there is much cause for either surprise or complaint when you are given seats of Qantas' choosing. And then not to do anything when you saw you had been split well apart, given you feel so strongly about it, to me is just amazing.

My surprise arises, as I said, because Qantas told me that they try put husbands and wives together - which is something that every other non-discount major airline that I've flown with does.
Does Qantas now act as a Budget carrier?
Regards,
Renato

If you don't want to risk being apart then it's wise to pay to allocate seats or try to get seats together when online checkin opens but I wouldn't risk waiting for online checkin.

Not allocating seats and still expecting to sit together can cause problems for those who have been prepared for months. I won't move so you can sit together.

Thanks John,
The other alternative is to fly with someone else - though with respect to flying to the USA, I am told that the US airlines are pretty much hopeless on this issue.
Regards,
Renato

My general approach to most things is to put my hand in my pocket to ensure I get the choice I want, or the most convenience. With that in mind the thirty bucks, or nearly two hundred if you book an exit row, seems like a wrench at the time. But when you're sat relaxing in the seat of your choice with your legs stretched out you'll never regret the investment - especially on long haul.

Thanks. In hindsight a wise approach. But paying $60 for seat allocation on a four and a half hour flight seemed excessive to me, especially as, had I flown out of Sydney it would have been one flight, and the $30 each would have covered both legs of the flight from Australia to New York (or so the Qantas lady told me, after I rang up to ask why my $60 wasn't covering both legs of the flight, as a previous Qantas lady told me that it would).
Regards,
Renato

 

[Quickstatus]

My surprise arises, as I said, because Qantas told me that they try put husbands and wives together - which is something that every other non-discount major airline that I've flown with does.
Does Qantas now act as a Budget carrier?

I think the problem is that you have expectations that Qantas "will" rather than, as you reported, "try". There is a huge difference between the two. "Try" implies an attempt but not a guarantee. And as you know there are no guarantees in the airline industry especially seat allocations - thats why its called seat requests. Even landing is not a guarantee:shock:

The other way is to ask your fellow middle seat neighbour to swop with your wife requested either directly or via the cabin crew. It may or may not be possible though...

John,
The other alternative is to fly with someone else - though with respect to flying to the USA, I am told that the US airlines are pretty much hopeless on this issue.

That is your prerogative, and certainly to be free of the tier status shackles of an airline can be liberating. nothing wrong with best fare of day. There are many non-airline specific issues that affects the passenger. Seating issues fall into this category.

. In hindsight a wise approach. But paying $60 for seat allocation on a four and a half hour flight seemed excessive to me, especially as, had I flown out of Sydney it would have been one flight, and the $30 each would have covered both legs of the flight from Australia to New York (or so the Qantas lady told me, after I rang up to ask why my $60 wasn't covering both legs of the flight, as a previous Qantas lady told me that it would).
Regards,
Renato

Paid Seat allocation is on a per sector basis and not on a whole of itinerary basis.

 

[Renato1]

yes and no - it certainly gets less important. We have been married 35 years and still like sitting together, but wouldn't be particularly worried if we didn't, if something went wrong with seating. Mr FM of late has got hooked into audiobooks, so as soon as he gets on a plane he puts in his earphones and starts listening. That doesn't worry me as I am generally reading a book, but I have made a rule that he has to talk to me during meals.

Good to hear, thanks.
You remind of another reason I want to sit next to my wife.
When the meals come around we start swapping the various bits of food on our trays that one or the other or both don't like.

I've never gotten into audio books.
Regards,
Renato

I have usually paid for my seat selections, because I would rather sit together.
I guess its a risk I would not like to take anymore. Its nicer to share the space together than have my personal space dominated by a stranger, which has happened to me several times. But now I always pay to choose our seats together.
But it is disappointing for a couple not to be seated together when there are single passengers as they were seated in between people.

Thanks, yes I agree. Also when single passengers are seated all over the place, one can be pretty sure that in the initial allocation - before one could access the seats on line - that thought was given to people travelling on the same ticket.
It is extremely unlikely a single passenger would pay to be seated between two people.
Regards,
Renato