Qantas Seat Selection using OLCI

[thevas]

I'm currently at T-23 for QF127 from SYD to HKG in Y tomorrow and I was holding out until online check-in to select my seats so I could avoid the $30 charge; it seemed like a reasonable thing to do given that the seat selection screen was showing plenty of free seats on the flight. However, when I checked in the "seat selection" screen was completely greyed out and forced me into a a seat I'm not particularly happy with. The seat purchase screen still shows plenty of window seats (which I was hoping to get) available. Has anybody had this problem before and is there anything I can do, or will I just have to roll the dice and take whatever's left when I show up at the airport?

 

[Mattg]

I think that Qantas allocates a seat to each passenger that hasn't already selected one when OLCI opens. Which might explain why fewer seats are now available.

I just had a look at the seat map for your flight, and there are still quite a few seats that are either available or blocked, meaning nobody has been allocated them yet. This includes 43K, 60K (a bulkhead window seat) and a couple of individual window seats at the back of the plane where seats are in pairs.

I would probably try to get to the airport early tomorrow and request one of those blocked seats. In the meantime, check in now and select a seat that you'd be happy enough with to avoid getting a middle seat!

 

[thevas]

Thanks for checking that out for me! The main problem is that I have absolutely no choice in seat selection at all - when I went through the check-in screen the entire plane was unavailable. It's a little bit annoying since it sounded like there would be actual room for seat selection in the 24 hours leading up to the flight. I think getting to the airport early sounds like the best idea too, so I'll just try and do that.

 

[Happy Trails]

That flight is virtually sold out, so I agree your best chance is to try at the airport as early as possible.

 

[harvyk]

+1 for getting to the airport as early as possible. Also don't forget that QF127 has quite a few feeder services (eg flights from CBR / other regional places), which will have pax been allocated seats quite a few hours before one would normally turn up at SYD T1 to check in.

Depending on how desperate you are for a half decent seat, you are potentially going to be needing to get to T1 very early to beat the early birds on connecting flights whom will have already checked in.