Reserved Seat Selection

[esseeeayeenn]

As a WP I am not entirely happy with the seats reserved for P1 and CL, I think they receive enough other extra benefits, and WP fliers should be able to select all seats.
However, my angst over this situation in economy is amplified when it comes to business.
I think it is ridiculous that a high value customer, paying for a J class fare, is still denied access to some seats.
I understand that a balance needs to be struck between status recognition and getting what you pay for.
However in this case recognition of the status of a small minority seems to be given free rein without any balance at all.

 

[juddles]

If you were Gold would you think that WP, WP1 and CL get ¨enough other benefits¨so therefore as SG you should get access to all seats??

 

[dfcatch]

You're obviously not as high-flying high-paying as you think you are or else you'd be P1.

Besides - before P1 came along, those seats were blocked for WPs anyway.

So nothing has changed other than high flying frequent flyers now have a chance to earn a status than can pre-select them.

And I say this as a P1 who will drop to WP later in the year but you won't hear me complain about the seat blocks.

 

[opusman]

Just remember, platinum is the new gold. You won't be disappointed if you don't have any expectations!

 

[RooFlyer]

As a high value J customer, I certainly resent that I can't select F seats! DTKWIA?

 

[dmitri]

There is one solution to this, you need to cough up and get to P1. There are probably some gold members complaining about the perks that WP members get, in the big scheme of things WP are not that valuable to Qantas as there are so many of them these days, they really are closer to gold as stated above.

 

[blackcat20]

I can understand from a non-status pax point of view if they pay for a J seat, get stuck with only Row 3 as an option, then miss out on a meal due to slow crew (as has been known to happen) that the seat blocks can be a bit of a pain.

 

[boomy]

I think it is ridiculous that a high value customer, paying for a J class fare, is still denied access to some seats.

So what are you saying exactly, that because you payed for the ticket you should be able to select any seat even if you hold lower status? I'm afraid it's not the way it works in this industry.

However in this case recognition of the status of a small minority seems to be given free rein without any balance at all.

It doesn't have to be a small minority, all you need to do is fly more with QF and then you will also get to select any seat you like on the plane.

 

[JohnPhelan]

OK, well let's take domestic 737s as an example. As A WP travelling in J, you can select rows 2 or 3 at the time of booking. Row 1 normally opens up at T-80 (if seats are still available).

Is this really a problem to you? Really??

 

[RichardMEL]

As a WP I am not entirely happy with the seats reserved for P1 and CL, I think they receive enough other extra benefits, and WP fliers should be able to select all seats.
However, my angst over this situation in economy is amplified when it comes to business.
I think it is ridiculous that a high value customer, paying for a J class fare, is still denied access to some seats.
I understand that a balance needs to be struck between status recognition and getting what you pay for.
However in this case recognition of the status of a small minority seems to be given free rein without any balance at all.

What makes you think you're a "high value" customer to QF as opposed to anyone else? buying a J fare (Business Class as opposed to the J bucket which is what I presume you mean) doesn't have to mean you're high value. Sure, it's way more $$ spend than a red-e-deal/sale fare in Y but your fare may be down the totem pole yield wise for whatever sectors you're thinking of.

And even you agree that P1/CL members are a "small minority" so therefore the chances of one or more members of that status taking seats you would prefer to assign is also going to be just as small right? At T-80 or whatever you can then take 1A or whatever if available (domestic I'm talking, or an a/c without F ) so again what's the beef?

Also how do you KNOW you are being blocked from accessing seats for CL and P1 members? there could be multiple reasons some seats are blocked to access.

You're paying for travel in a class of service, not a specific seat allocation anyway. This post does read a bit of the DYKWIA memtanlity

and for the record my last flight, on Saturday night BNE-MEL I happen to know there was a P1 sitting in row 3 of the 73H, and 1 in row 2. In row 1 was a mother and infant and while I have no idea their status it seemed more like they were international connecting premium pax... and frankly I could care less. The young lass was quite cute the way she poked her head over the seat and waved at me but she didn't wave her CL card....

 

[ReLoad]

I dunno what you are going on about, in J row 2 is better than row 1 on a 737 anyway. GTG IFE, more leg room, as a P1 you'll find me in row 2.

As for whY row 4 is where it's at, although good old exit rows are just as awesome.

 

[PLANT]

Look it should be PILOTS of the airline that get to choose any seat they like then after that you can have your CL/WP's and full fare people..... I suspect a senior captain or management family may have pegged the row 1?

 

[esseeeayeenn]

There should be a balance between rewarding loyalty and delivering to passengers who've paid a premium on a particular flight. I don't think that's a controversial statement.
My only point was that the balance might have been askew.
However now I know the seats open up at T-80 I'm more comfortable with the balance.

 

[dfcatch]

There totally is a balance.

If you pay for Business Class you get to sit in Business Class.

If you pay for Business AND have P1 status you get better seat selection.

Same in Economy.

I don't see any issue with the balance at all and I never did as a plain WP either.

You still get better seat selection than everyone lower than you.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Striking the balance is a commercial decision. Clearly it is possible to have different views on which policies strike the right balance because different airlines have different policies, and the same airline may have different policies at different times, or across different product offerings.

 

[dfcatch]

I still feel your point in your original post is not logical.

1/ A higher status pax buying a fare is clearly more valuable or "high-value" than a lower status pax buying the same fare.

2/ A J seat is a J seat. There is not a "lot" of difference between seats in J. (Some difference I grant you - and I do like row 1).

But in Y - there is a HUGE difference between seats, particularly row 4.

So I can't reconcile your comment about the issue being worse in J. I would suggest it's the opposite.

Question for you - do you feel, as a WP, that you should have better seat selection option to a SG? Or should they be able to select the same seats as a WP?

 

[RooFlyer]

I still feel your point in your original post is not logical.

1/ A higher status pax buying a fare is clearly more valuable or "high-value" than a lower status pax buying the same fare.

2/ A J seat is a J seat. There is not a "lot" of difference between seats in J. (Some difference I grant you - and I do like row 1).

But in Y - there is a HUGE difference between seats, particularly row 4.

So I can't reconcile your comment about the issue being worse in J. I would suggest it's the opposite.

Question for you - do you feel, as a WP, that you should have better seat selection option to a SG? Or should they be able to select the same seats as a WP?

I'm thinking the same way; and struggling to see the other argument. But if its simply "I deserve better seat selection" - then I'm in total agreement - as long as the "I" in question is ME. Then I think the commercial balance would be about right.

 

[dacom]

There should be a balance between rewarding loyalty and delivering to passengers who've paid a premium on a particular flight. I don't think that's a controversial statement.
My only point was that the balance might have been askew.
However now I know the seats open up at T-80 I'm more comfortable with the balance.

I fly regular in whY and since im using expert flyer seat alerts when t-80 opens, i have a 100% success rate in sitting in row 4 on the 737's. I dont care when I select row 4 as long as i'm sitting there on the day

 

[RichardMEL]

I still feel your point in your original post is not logical.

1/ A higher status pax buying a fare is clearly more valuable or "high-value" than a lower status pax buying the same fare.

Just on this. I'm not QF but I suspect on a *per flight* basis any pax paying the same fare is going to have the same value. This gets muddles when you put O&D into the mix, because yields will be different. By example if I fly MEL-SYD on a J fare vs someone else who flies MEL-SYD-LAX on a J fare, the yield *on the sector MEL-SYD* is going to be significantly higher for my ticket vs the lady who is going to LAX, but that's just complicating the point (which is what I do )

At any rate I agree, seats are seats. I wonder if the OP thinks it is fair if, as a WP, he changes to an earlier flight on the day and the ony seatin J free is 3D.. Or what about the situation where you buy a ticket for a flight in a couple of days, and again your seat selection is limited due to previous choice.. maybe they are all Silvers. The shock!!!!

At the end of the day you're buying a seat in a class of service one way or another. It's up to the airline as to their policy regarding seating requests and allocations (hey folks remember the good old days when there was NO pre-allocation on domestic flights and the mysterious computer allocated seats the night before a flight - domestically anyway). From each of our perspectives we want the most ideal seat for us. Sometimes we can snag it, sometimes we can't. Stuff happens.

Even as a P1 I've not always been able to allocate my preferred seat well boo hoo. I live.

now, shall we get started on the issue of meal selections and availability?!