Check in Seat Allocation

[johnjones878]

Hello

We've never flown with Jetstar before, but have an upcoming booking to DPS at the end of next month. Just wanted to ask about the current protocol with regards to seat allocation upon check in at the airport counter, based on the recent experiences of the flyers here. Didn't really come across a relevant thread apart this one from 2015, back when it seemed like they still had free seat selection if you did online check in.

Are the staff at the airport counter able to allocate you seats manually, or is it done randomly and they won't be able to help in any way? My partner and I don't really care about where we get placed with regards to front or rear or window or aisle, mainly just want to see if it was possible that we get seated next to each other unless it happened to be a case of only single empty spaces left by the time we get there.

Thanks in advance for any helpful inputs.

 

[AIRwin]

Yes I've asked for a manual seat change before...

 

[johnjones878]

Alright then guess we'll skip the online check-in and try our luck at the counter on the day and see how it goes. Though with all the recent news about cancelled flights maybe the most we can ask for is on-time departure.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Alright then guess we'll skip the online check-in and try our luck at the counter on the day and see how it goes. Though with all the recent news about cancelled flights maybe the most we can ask for is on-time departure.

With the cancellations and delays I’d recommend checking in on line, as soon as it opens.

If they need to accommodate passengers from cancelled flights on your, it may be a case of ‘first in, best dressed’. Waiting for the airport could mean a full flight and no seats for you.

 

[henrus]

With Jetstar at about 24-48 hours prior to departure the computer system automatically assigns everyone who has not paid for seat selection a seat.

With flights being so full right now often by the time the computer has worked its magic there are no remaining seats anyway so it means that whilst you can ask to move seats it's quite likely there will be no alternatives to move you to.

Previously I was big on not paying for seats with the assumption that you could just switch at the airport but on most of my recent flights I've paid to remove the guessing games and ensure I don't send up in a middle seat in the final row.

 

[Austman]

JQi is not always running as per "normal" at the moment.

Currently AFAIK you cannot check-in online for JQi flights. At least that's what JQ is telling me for my JQi flights:

"Online check-in is currently unavailable for international flights. Please arrive at the airport early and bring a mask and all relevant travel documents with you."

And for some flights, including now both of mine, for seat selection you get:

"Seat selection not available, We'll allocate seats at check-in for free."

One of my flights did have it when I first booked, one didn't have it, but now both are gone.

JQi is also swapping aircraft type at the last minute. Eg I've had one B787 aircraft changed to an A321neo a couple of days out.

That's bye, bye to my "business class" seat.

It's a bit of a mess for JQi just now. It might go back to "normal" by next month.

 

[henrus]

JQi is not always running as per "normal" at the moment.

Currently AFAIK you cannot check-in online for JQi flights. At least that's what JQ is telling me for my JQi flights:

"Online check-in is currently unavailable for international flights. Please arrive at the airport early and bring a mask and all relevant travel documents with you."

This has been the case since February 2020.

And for some flights, including now both of mine, for seat selection you get:

How far away are these flights?

 

[Austman]

How far away are these flights?

Next week for one of them. Now less than 48 hours away. And no "check-in" button available.

A week later for the return. The return, even when initially booked a week ago, did not allow seat selection in "business class".

I note that the B787 has been subbed to an A321neo (at the moment) on my next week's flight for the rest of the week (always an A321neo) and it's not possible to buy a seat on any day on that flight.

The A321neo seat map does come up. You just can't pick a seat. It looks to be 39 rows with exit row seats in rows 18, 19 and 29. 18 exit row seats in all (I think).

It seems quite a few B787 flights have been subbed to an A320/1.

 

[johnjones878]

Yeah definitely hoping that things will be better in 1 month+ time, with all their grounded 787s etc. The cancellations mentioned in the news articles also seem to be only about Sydney and Melbourne <> DPS flights, not Perth or Brisbane so far. And since we're so still so far out from the departure date at this point in time, can't tell if the online check-in will actually even be available to us when the time comes. Might just have to shell out for the paid seat selection if things are still rocky a week out from our departure.

 

[henrus]

Yeah definitely hoping that things will be better in 1 month+ time, with all their grounded 787s etc.

A handful of the groundings were due to some off things like birdstrikes and lightning strikes which are quite rare anyway.

not Perth or Brisbane so far.

Perth to DPS shouldn't be impacted as they use A320's on that routes similarly BNE hasn't had too many cancellations mainly just a late return DPS-BNE flight. It seems like they're swapping aircraft in Bali so a late SYD/MEL flight turns into a late Brisbane flight whilst the DPS-SYD/MEL goes home almost on time (possibly due to slots/gates/staff etc).

 

[johnjones878]

A handful of the groundings were due to some off things like birdstrikes and lightning strikes which are quite rare anyway.

Yep I know it's just a series of unlucky events which is why I think they have a better chance of things getting back to normal much more quickly versus say the deep-seated issues that say Qantas is currently facing with their luggages and shortage of staff etc.

BNE hasn't had too many cancellations mainly just a late return DPS-BNE flight.

Yep I checked flightaware history too after I made that post and apart from a couple of near midnight departures at least there haven't been cancellations for BNE.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

What's the state of seat allocation for JQ domestic flights? I'm booked on a $36 Starter return fare from SYD to PER next year and would like to snag a decent seat on the plane (i.e. window). Is free seat selection during OLCI possible? If not, how does seat allocation work? Is it like RyanAir where they will put you in a middle seat if one is available so checking in late makes the most sense?

-RooFlyer88

 

[henrus]

Is free seat selection during OLCI possible?

No.

f not, how does seat allocation work?

About 24-48 hours before departure the computer system will automatically assign everyone seats (it's not based on check in time) - using the manage booking page you'll be able to see this seat you have been randomly assigned (JQ at least tries to keep pax on the same booking together where possible).

If there are still spare seats then you can change it via the manage booking or during online check in but will be charged the normal amount for that seat, so even if it assigns you a standard seat to change to any other standard seat is going to cost you.

From my experience exit rows and upfront seats are the last to be automatically assigned, I guess with the assumption that someone sitting in the middle seat last row might see their cough seat and decide to pay more to change it.

Sometimes that is not the case and there will still be exit rows free (more likely on shorter domestic flights) basically non existent on international or long haul domestic and you can ask the staff at a check in desk to change you to one for free. It's worth noting that because many flights are really busy right now, once the computer has done it's seat assigning magic there may be no spare seats left anyway in which case you'll get an error message saying check in at airport for seat assignment.

 

[aikman]

My observations

1 person in booking - if they try to check in online as soon as it opens they will get a middle seat almost all of the time. They can wait for the computer to allocate everyone a seat which allows the possibility of getting a window or aisle but the risk is that if they do get a middle and the flight is full then they won't be able to purchase any more aisles or windows except maybe the more expensive upfront or exit row seats.

Multiple people in booking - 2 or 3 people will be seated together. A 4th person could be seated far away or close by to the rest of the group.

 

[johnjones878]

Just gonna keep checking the seats available every once in a while through their payment screen. We're still long way off being 1.5 months out and so far only about 1/3 of the seats look to have been taken so far.

 

[RealtimeY]

and the flight is full

Careful though, last time I tried the "wait a bit then OLCI" as a solo traveller, it actually closed early because it was oversold. Airport check-in agent recommended checking in online to avoid getting booted.