Advice Sought - pre booking of seat in economy

[markis10]

US Airlines have had seat selection for years, we are slowly catching up which is a good thing.

 

[Dave Noble]

Thanks... the OP seemed to be saying anyone/any seat....:shock:

So they are actually the same as NZ (or any airline that allows advance seat selection.. even if restricted.)

Not exactly; QF limits seating dramatically to those without status and many others have seating only available to a subset

With EK, anyone can get any seat ( other than exits / bulkheads which are blocked and only available at the airport )

Dave

 

[serfty]

... With EK, anyone can get any seat ( other than exits / bulkheads which are blocked and only available at the airport ) ...

... as long as they join SkyWards and register their membership in the booking.

 

[Dave Noble]

... as long as they join SkyWards and register their membership in the booking.

Or join skysurfers, neither of which cost any money . Having to register in order to select a seat is hardly restrictive

 

[serfty]

... Having to register in order to select a seat is hardly restrictive

Agree completely.

[aside]
I have kept a close eye on EK for many years ... in the early 2000's my brother used to swear by them as with any status at all it seemed op-ups were extremely regular ex Oz.

As far as my travel goes, it seems oneworld has been a better fit in most cases. I do regularly check EK's options for travel I must undertake.
[/aside]

 

[Dave Noble]

Agree completely.

[aside]
I have kept a close eye on EK for many years ... in the early 2000's my brother used to swear by them as with any status at all it seemed op-ups were extremely regular ex Oz.

I used to use them in the late 90s and found them really good. More recently, a cpl of years ago, I had the misfortune to book on LA in F r.t from SYD-AKL; after doing the outbound, I switched the return to EK and after seeing how good they were found them a top choice for Europe-AU runs as well as being well priced

As far as my travel goes, it seems oneworld has been a better fit in most cases. I do regularly check EK's options for travel I must undertake.
[/aside]

For my normal travels, QF serves fine for domestic travel but for Europe runs , not impressed with even the new F. For USA ( if I was doing it ex-AU) QF would be the choice for economy since they make exit rows available for sale , for business I would take UA and for 1st , well, prob Qantas since UA F didnt seem that amazing, though with a potential run to ATL , will prob give DL a go

Dave

 

[mark62]

As I posted a while back I used Emirates for the first time on the Christchurch - Sydney sector a whilst back and I was mightily impressed. I normally fly Qantas but the quality of the food & wine, excellent service and AV equipment in Emirates was in my view much better than what Qantas offers in biz class on that route, and moreover the one-way price was $197.

wednesday this week I was back in Qantas on the Syd-Wellington sector in an old plane, with no AV and the same uninviting meal that they put on every time I do the route. The main compensation of QC access was not that great since the Wellington lounge was standing room only.

Qantas really need to lift their game trans-Tasman. For the prices they charge the service is just competitive with Emirates, and I suspect some of the other carriers also doing these routes.

 

[markis10]

Qantas really need to lift their game trans-Tasman. For the prices they charge the service is just competitive with Emirates, and I suspect some of the other carriers also doing these routes.

I think they are with the new aircraft and AVOD etc, your most experience is an indication of that with QF obviously putting the new more competitive equipment on the routes also operated by EK, leaving less popular routes such as those ex WLG with the slops so to speak.

 

[JohnK]

US Airlines have had seat selection for years, we are slowly catching up which is a good thing.

And see what sort of seats are available to you when you do not have status especially on American Airlines.

 

[nlagalle]

I pay for my own infrequent travel LON-MELB-LON & hence end up mostly in economy. I have flown mostly with QF but have recently been seduced by the Emirates on line booking, especially seat selection. Is anyone aware if QF provides such a service?:?:

I like how QF allow their top tier members the best seat selection. Why should someone with no status who only flies once or twice a year get a better seat than a regular traveller?

Isn't that QF looking after it's regular customers?

 

[serfty]

And see what sort of seats are available to you when you do not have status especially on American Airlines.

I get access to AA premium seating simply by making sure my WP number is in the booking.

 

[Dave Noble]

And see what sort of seats are available to you when you do not have status especially on American Airlines.

Anything other than the seats which are defined as premium seats are available to all without status. The premium seats only encompass the 1st few rows of economy plus the exit rows

 

[JohnK]

I get access to AA premium seating simply by making sure my WP number is in the booking.

Anything other than the seats which are defined as premium seats are available to all without status. The premium seats only encompass the 1st few rows of economy plus the exit rows

Not quite to both of the above. In my experience the AA system sucks. On one flight I could not even allocate a seat for my father next to me as he did not have any status on any airline but was on my booking.

And what is wrong with the Qantas model? I think they have it just about right.

How do you know how many Platinums, Golds etc are going to be on any given flight? No point reserving the first couple of rows as premium seats and then putting a Platinum down the back because they booked a little later than the once in a 3 year flyer with wife and 2 kids in tow. On SQ I can pre-allocate the 3rd of economy for myself and my mother who are just entry level Kris Flyer members.

We all want something different and the Qantas system rewards their frequent flyers and also Oneworld frequent flyers.

 

[Dave Noble]

And what is wrong with the Qantas model? I think they have it just about right.
.

Yeah.. only being able to select the last few rows is really a great incentive for a non-status passenger to choose Qantas