Booking an "extra" seat on SQ

[sinophile888]

I haven’t been able to travel for a year or so but am now fighting fit. We did a dry run from Perth to Melbourne in July and it went very well. I was then confident to book a trip to Hong Kong.

We usually fly CX from Perth to HKG but I didn’t want 8 hour flights this time. I decided to book on SQ so we can stop over in Singapore in both directions. I am always happy to pay extra for either exit row seats or at least bulkhead seats. But for the flights I wanted, none were available. Three of the flights have a 3-4-3 configuration; the fourth a 2-4-2 configuration. I like a window or aisle and my +1 likes an aisle and that won’t work with the 3-4-3 configuration.

So I decided to buy a third seat. This will work well for the 3-4-3 flights as we have seats A, B and C; the option for the 2-4-2 is seats A, B and D which is very good for me and +1 at least gets an aisle.

Has anyone on the forum ever booked an extra seat? Were you happy with the way it went? Would there be any suggestions to make sure all goes well?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I haven’t been able to travel for a year or so but am now fighting fit. We did a dry run from Perth to Melbourne in July and it went very well. I was then confident to book a trip to Hong Kong.

We usually fly CX from Perth to HKG but I didn’t want 8 hour flights this time. I decided to book on SQ so we can stop over in Singapore in both directions. I am always happy to pay extra for either exit row seats or at least bulkhead seats. But for the flights I wanted, none were available. Three of the flights have a 3-4-3 configuration; the fourth a 2-4-2 configuration. I like a window or aisle and my +1 likes an aisle and that won’t work with the 3-4-3 configuration.

So I decided to buy a third seat. This will work well for the 3-4-3 flights as we have seats A, B and C; the option for the 2-4-2 is seats A, B and D which is very good for me and +1 at least gets an aisle.

Has anyone on the forum ever booked an extra seat? Were you happy with the way it went? Would there be any suggestions to make sure all goes well?

Extra seat booking needs to be done through the airline. It will be locked to your booking, so it can't be moved away from you, or 'bumped' in the event of an oversell. The airline should sell it to you at the prevailing fare, less taxes. Not all airlines will waive fuel surcharges on additional seats (some do, some don't and some low cost carriers don't even waive the taxes). you'd need to ask SQ for a costing.

I'm not sure about all of your SQ flights having 3-4-3 - will apply to the A380 - but not to the 777 which is 3-3-3 - not that it makes much difference except that in the centre seats you'd both have aisles.

On the 2-4-2 configuration, towards the back of the cabin the plane narrows, and seating changes to 2-3-2. So I'd probably shoot for those seats allowing you both aisle access and a spare in the middle. Taking ABD means someone in E potentially wanting to climb out over you to the WC.

 

[sinophile888]

Dear MEL_Traveller,
Thanks for your comments.
All went well after an hour checking-in in PER and another hour in SIN. After that everything was sorted and Mr. EXST was on my husband's boarding pass. PER rang my travel agent to confirm what was happening with our booking. They said he booked incorrectly and he said afterwards that they had made the mistake.

We were very pleased that we booked the extra seat as 3 of the 4 flights were completely full. Some passengers even commented how lucky we were to get a spare seat between us. SQ booked our luggage straight through from HKG to PER. We really liked that was we had the night in SIN to break up the trip.

Thanks again.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Dear MEL_Traveller,
Thanks for your comments.
All went well after an hour checking-in in PER and another hour in SIN. After that everything was sorted and Mr. EXST was on my husband's boarding pass. PER rang my travel agent to confirm what was happening with our booking. They said he booked incorrectly and he said afterwards that they had made the mistake.

We were very pleased that we booked the extra seat as 3 of the 4 flights were completely full. Some passengers even commented how lucky we were to get a spare seat between us. SQ booked our luggage straight through from HKG to PER. We really liked that was we had the night in SIN to break up the trip.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the report back! Travel agents probably don't book a lot of 'extra seats'. This is normally something I'd only ever trust direct with the airline. If an agent mucks it up, you run the risk of the seat being marked a 'no show' or getting bumped if the flight is full.

If you have a simple booking in future, do it direct, and at the same time get the airline to book the extra seat.

Friends of mine traveled with an extra seat to the states - said it was great. Just being able to use the tray table in the middle to put drinks and used meal trays (instead of waiting an hour for them to be collected) was fantastic.

 

[sinophile888]

Thanks for the report back! Travel agents probably don't book a lot of 'extra seats'. This is normally something I'd only ever trust direct with the airline. If an agent mucks it up, you run the risk of the seat being marked a 'no show' or getting bumped if the flight is full.

If you have a simple booking in future, do it direct, and at the same time get the airline to book the extra seat.

Friends of mine traveled with an extra seat to the states - said it was great. Just being able to use the tray table in the middle to put drinks and used meal trays (instead of waiting an hour for them to be collected) was fantastic.

Thanks MEL_Traveller.
I'll keep that advice about booking direct with the airline in mind for next time I have to travel in Y.