Oh, so it probably slipped through the cracks. On a 737, unlikely you wouldn't get any seat in rows 4/5 as a P1 prior to T-80 at that time.Not sure how far ahead it was booked. Too many flights! Typically a couple of weeks. You can't select seats on Dash 8.
I would have to agree with you. Especially as I was checked in about 90 minutes prior to boarding. To be honest, it was the Mel - Lst leg that annoyed me. Row 5 and jammed in. Generally, I ring the SST and get a soft block next to me on this flight. I had rung them this time but I didn't specifically confirm the Launceston leg and I suspect it "slipped through the cracks". My beef is that I shouldn't have to ring every time for such a trivial matter. I can't imagine many P1's want someone in the adjoining seat, so why isn't this a basic default seating arrangement?Oh, so it probably slipped through the cracks. On a 737, unlikely you wouldn't get any seat in rows 4/5 as a P1 prior to T-80 at that time.
Even on SYD-MEL during peak hour. You would have to have 12 P1/CLs on that flight who beat you to it for that to occur. Not impossible but not overly likely either.
.... My beef is that I shouldn't have to ring every time for such a trivial matter. I can't imagine many P1's want someone in the adjoining seat, so why isn't this a basic default seating arrangement?
....
This is my central theme with the P1 program. These are the small but invaluable things that would be nice, yet they should not cost QF almost anything. A spare seat next to me is fabulous. But in my experience, despite doing everything to try to ensure this (expertflyer, seat selection, etc) I usually get the "vacant seat' next to me occupied - frequently on long haul by someone that is a last minute blow-in - staff travel, etc.
Thank you for a very interesting comment. I totally agree with your suggestion as to how it should be done. When I was WP I got the impression that was how it worked, however, since P1, it doesn't appear to work that way, not for me anyway.Can't help when last-minute seat warmers get on but prior to that QF has the control ... but the desire to improve?
To help the Qantas Loyalty and IT lurkers, here's how the logic should work:
- When a pax with value score over X (or blanket all Emeralds) selects a seat, soft block the seat next to them (and when the booking has 2 or more pax, soft block additional seat either side of all pax on the same PNR).
- Soft block means that Gold status or lower won't be able to select those seats until all Plats and above have been assigned a seat with a 'soft block'.
- Block airport staff from moving non-Emeralds into soft-blocked seats unless the flight is >99% full.
- If all remaining seats are soft blocked, allow selection of seats that are next to the next 10-lowest value Plats. Continue until all seats allocated.
[Any changes/suggestions from AFF?]
The current set-up on seat allocation means that Gold and Silvers get the best seats on 737s in economy. In rows 5-12 (let's call it the Gold zone), pax select windows or aisles and the middle seats remain unselected. Pax will choose the next row back instead of the middle seat in a more forward row. Whereas, in row 4, the middle seat is considered desirable, and therefore 4B/4E are chosen BEFORE aisle and window seats further down the plane. Anyone can choose 4B/4E even non-status passengers at the airport. This means the P1/CL/WPs in 4A/4C/4D/4F have a seatmate of low-no status, and the Gold and Silver members in rows 5-12 have nobody next to them.
I'd get back to emailing them if it's more convenient for you. Bear in mind though I email them about lots of stuff, even errors I find on the website. There's probably a picture of me in the office with the banner 'Problem Customer'
Well. I just tried my first email request - and got a quick reply along the lines of “contact the premium reservations team”. Seems like that route is only open to some P1’s and it’s back to the telephone for this one.
I must confess to struggling with the P1 thing. Recent trip SYD - LST. Heading to airport early, called the SST to ask for assistance on the smoothest trip home. My plan was lounge upgrade to J (using points, not asking for freebee) and an empty seat next to me on the MEL - LST Dash 8. Advice was to stick with my existing MEL flight as it had the most available J seats.
Because I had luggage, I checked again prior to dispatching my bag in SYD. Possibly a little bit paranoid but my original flight was the tightest connection to LST and I had several earlier flights to choose from. One delay and I'd be spending the night in Melbourne. All good, I was told several J seats available. Sent bag down chute, through security, into the lounge. Smooth run, five minutes max. Asked for upgrade and was told J was full. Boarding the plane, I couldn't help but notice at least two staff members in J. No big deal, I was in the economy seat I paid for. Hadn't expected 7F with 7E occupied, but it happens. I was however left wondering whether the SST team see empty seats in J, whilst the airport staff see seats with staff in them?
Come the next leg, I found myself in 5D (on a Dash 8) with an extremely large gentleman of Polynesian extraction next to me. He was really nice and did his best but it was still a cramped journey. He had come from Perth so his BP was issued well before mine. Had it been a full flight, I wouldn't have been annoyed but in the rows ahead of me, I counted five empty seats and there were more behind.
Perhaps all of those enjoying the company of their shadows were all P1 and I drew the short straw but I'm skeptical. I'm debating whether to pursue it further. Seems petty, but what's the point of being P1 if you can't get a decent seat? Realistically, all I ask of the status is a decent seat, although the Adelaide Hills tour sounded good!
Well. I just tried my first email request - and got a quick reply along the lines of “contact the premium reservations team”. Seems like that route is only open to some P1’s and it’s back to the telephone for this one.
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Disagree with this assertion. Res do all that stuff anyway. If you called the SST they just pass through anyway with anything reservation related, except during IRROPS when they have some measure of control(in my experience, anyway).
I have no issue with this and in fact just call res directly and don't bother the SST.
Personally i would prefer being able to send an email to the SST and let them sort it out. This is what I was hoping they’d gone back to.
You *may* have been able to use the app to change your seat allocation once checked in(I'm not sure on Dash8 services though tbh0.
Can't help when last-minute seat warmers get on but prior to that QF has the control ... but the desire to improve?
To help the Qantas Loyalty and IT lurkers, here's how the logic should work:
...
I agree with at least part of your 2 cents. With regard to the availability of seats in J question, I can see that it entirely possible for seats to disappear rapidly. It was very rapid though... My speculation was whether or not the SST see empty seats but the airport sees seats with staff in them.I find simple explanations for this and I am not entirely sure what you expected from the SST.
Corerect me if I'm wrong in my understanding here, but you were on your way to the flights in question, as in you called on the day of departuere.. at this point all flights are under airport control.
re SYD-MEL J seats. SST may have seen some empties available when you called. Those staff members(and if you identified them due to being in uniform it is most likely they were deadheading for work and thus assigned those seats OR they may have been on standby travel and got the seats at the last minute). I mean you call SST they see seats, by the time you get to th elounge it's possible thos seats were taken by, for example, someone changing into them, a delayed/missed connection, or anything. It could also be that the lounge agent got "computer says no" for U availability (possibly because of the standby situation and/or other fators like filling mssed connections) and thus no go. It happens.
re MEL-LST.. flight under airport control. There's not much SST can do about that, let alone block a seat IMO. There's considerations of weight and balance as well as allocations made when people checked in. You *may* have been able to use the app to change your seat allocation once checked in(I'm not sure on Dash8 services though tbh0.
I can understand why there would be a feeling that P1/SST failed you, but it it were me, I am not so sure I would fee that.
As anyone who flies enough to make P1 knows, on day of travel all bets can be off in terms of what can happen, specially at the last minute.
my 2 cents.
I would do the same as a WP, but also sometimes wondered if my being pro-active might be counter-productive to some angel in the background's efforts to provide a shadow. I concluded not, but always wondered.This is my central theme with the P1 program. These are the small but invaluable things that would be nice, yet they should not cost QF almost anything. A spare seat next to me is fabulous. But in my experience, despite doing everything to try to ensure this (expertflyer, seat selection, etc) I usually get the "vacant seat' next to me occupied - frequently on long haul by someone that is a last minute blow-in - staff travel, etc.