Paying for seats review (2 issues)

[blue1878]

In recent years airlines have started charging travellers who want to book seats in advance

I think it's wrong but as we all know paying for seats in advance is here to stay

Anyway I've very recently flew home from Thailand and I flew with Emirates on there A380 double decker planes.  I flew Manchester to Dubai and then Dubai to Bangkok

I paid a total of £100 (4 x £25) for my seats.  And I booked 42C on all 4 of my flights.  42C is downstairs.  And is an aisle seat in the 2nd row from the front on the left hand side.

1st Issue - Just before I flew out I found out that the configuration of the plane flying between Manchester and Dubai.  And emirates gave me an aisle seat further back in the plane.  So I phoned Emirates to try and change my seat back to 42C.  They told me I couldnt do it over the phone.  So when I got to Manchester airport I had to sort it out at there service desk before checking in.  I managed to get the seat I paid for

2nd Issue - Just after I boarded the Dubai to Manchester flight.  A guy walked on and mentioned to the cabin crew that he is flying with his family but couldnt get seats together.  His family were already on board sitting in a row near the front of downstairs.  And he has a seat upstairs.  He asked if she could help him sit near his family??  She said she would try and then noticed me. She asks if I am a lone traveller and I say yes.  So she asks if I would like to sit upstairs so that the guy can sit downstairs near to his family.  I told her lady no because I had to pay £25 for the seat.  If the airline hadnt introduced charges for pre booking seats in advance I might have let the guy have my seat and had his seat upstairs. So if airlines are going to charge then they are going to lose the good will of there customers 

[gmoule]

If he wanted to sit close to his family he should of paid for the seat

[WoWuk]

25 minutes ago, blue1878 said:

I told her lady no because I had to pay £25 for the seat.

You should have asked for £50, saying that was your fee for off-loading your pre-paid seat.

Or ask the tight-ass how much he is prepared to pay you for swapping seats.

[Gunna123]

In recent years airlines have started charging travellers who want to book seats in advance
I think it's wrong but as we all know paying for seats in advance is here to stay
Anyway I've very recently flew home from Thailand and I flew with Emirates on there A380 double decker planes.  I flew Manchester to Dubai and then Dubai to Bangkok
I paid a total of £100 (4 x £25) for my seats.  And I booked 42C on all 4 of my flights.  42C is downstairs.  And is an aisle seat in the 2nd row from the front on the left hand side.
1st Issue - Just before I flew out I found out that the configuration of the plane flying between Manchester and Dubai.  And emirates gave me an aisle seat further back in the plane.  So I phoned Emirates to try and change my seat back to 42C.  They told me I couldnt do it over the phone.  So when I got to Manchester airport I had to sort it out at there service desk before checking in.  I managed to get the seat I paid for
2nd Issue - Just after I boarded the Dubai to Manchester flight.  A guy walked on and mentioned to the cabin crew that he is flying with his family but couldnt get seats together.  His family were already on board sitting in a row near the front of downstairs.  And he has a seat upstairs.  He asked if she could help him sit near his family??  She said she would try and then noticed me. She asks if I am a lone traveller and I say yes.  So she asks if I would like to sit upstairs so that the guy can sit downstairs near to his family.  I told her lady no because I had to pay £25 for the seat.  If the airline hadnt introduced charges for pre booking seats in advance I might have let the guy have my seat and had his seat upstairs. So if airlines are going to charge then they are going to lose the good will of there customers 

A similar thing happened to me recently when flying with Etihad. As with Emirates it seems that Etihad have now introduced a system whereby you pay in advance to select your seats although having spoke with the airline you can select for free when you’re checking in from 24 hours before your flight leaves. I am travelling alone so there are no issues of getting seats together with friends etc. So I checked in 24 hours before the flight and booked my aisle seat from London to Abu Dhabi no problem although when doing this I noticed that the airline automatically selected me a seat for the Abu Dhabi to BKK flight and when I checked it was a middle seat and not an aisle seat.I changed this to an aisle seat and there was a small fee to do this, just under £12.00. I’m not sure if it was me or the airlines system but I somehow ended up paying for that seat 4 times (obviously something that I’m gonna raise and reclaim with the airline when I get back home). When I boarded the plane in Abu Dhabi I sat in my aisle seat and was approached by a French mother and daughter the mother was to be sitting in the middle seat next to me and the daughter was a bit further up the plane. Daughter asked if I was traveling alone and then asked if she could switch seats with me - I found out the daughter was sitting in a middle seat so said no. It was a bit awkward and tried to explain that I had paid an extra fee for this seat but they didn’t speak too much English so that didn’t help. Anyway had I not paid for that seat (4 times) I may have been a bit more inclined to give it up for the mother and daughter. Another thing that occurred to me is you can select your seats for free from 24 hours before flying. So if you’re leaving London at 8.00 am and flying to BKK via Abu Dhabi you can select your seats on the London and Abu Dhabi flights from 8.00 am the day before (UK time). Obviously passengers traveling from a different time zones in the Abu Dhabi flight are going to have an unfair advantage over others. Some are gonna be able to choose their seats before others


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[Atlas]

On Air Asia I noticed you could book spare seats as rows and pay an extra $50 … They could not guarantee the row, but if you did not get it on check-in then there was refund... 

It seems the 'cheap' airlines are charging for everything... Perhaps it will grow... 

 

[Billyboy294]

On one occasion on BA Bangkok to London (Business Class) i booked a window seat where i did not have to step over a sleeping persons legs to get out but when i got on the plane i got the seat number i booked but they had changed the layout and i had to step over legs. As i had not paid to book, i did not complain..

[jaynewcastle]

With Emirates, paying for a seat is completely voluntary (not compulsory), there is no need to pay unless you want to select a particular seat, and you can choose any seat still available for free when online check-in opens 48hrs before the flight

As Emirates is the only airline I fly with, I do agree that its a downwards step however as far as customers are concerned 

I flew out to Singapore, from Newcastle, with Emirates just on Friday. I did pay for advanced seat reservation in the end for my flight to Dubai, as I like an aisle seat at the back of the plane & the plane was sold out, but chose an aisle seat for free on the next flight.

Got on my connecting flight in Dubai, 2:45am, and theres a bloke sitting in my free assigned aisle seat, next to his girlfriend . nearly 3am, & tired, I told him to move, the idiot asked why. I said because its my seat you're sitting in, show me your boarding card if you think its your seat. To make it completely obvious to him, I showed him the seat number on my boarding card which matched the seat number on the seat screen that he was sitting in.

The prat moved to the seat the other side of the girl. A couple of minutes later, he got shifted again, as the people who had that seat booked then arrived & told him to move, and he moved to a middle seat a row behind, which obviously was his actual seat.

His girl then complained to the steward about not being able to sit next to her husband, and if there were 2 seats together anywhere on the plane. I asked her why on earth they didn't book seats together if that's what they had wanted to do, she wasn't happy, (Especially as the steward had said he would look for 2 seats together for them, and he never came back to speak to here again) but said nothing more 

[lincsfun]

I would never pay extra for picking my seats unless I was travelling with family.

Can you imagine paying extra for your chosen seat only to discover that the person next to you was a smelly fat person or a crying baby.

I board the plane find my allocated seat wait for my meal and pop a sleeping tab.

[Ron Rat]

If they (the staff) want you to move ask them for an upgrade to business in a nice way. . If not possible a free lounge pass.

Dickheads who have families travelling and can't organise a friggin thing should should travel in the cargo hold.

A lot of couples travelling together request aisle and window in the hope the plane is not full and the middle aisle will be free. 

The other little trick is order some special meal like vegan or whatever you can live with. If you move say nothing and get a meal and watch the dickhead complain. Generally special meals are served first so he or she feels special until he realises it is a bean salad and you have steak. All his complaining will get him fuck all.

If you have an aisle seat and they want you move tell the coot that he had better be prepared as

a. Have a bladder problem and will get up 20 times during the flight

b. Are a practising Muslim and will have to pray every hour or so.

 

 

 

 

 

[Tarl]

Agree if you pay for a seat and they move you, at the very least, they should refund your money.

I have given up my seat (free not paid for) twice on flights to accommodate families. Both times they were travelling last minute to a funeral.

[petehoax]

12 hours ago, Gunna123 said:

Another thing that occurred to me is you can select your seats for free from 24 hours before flying. So if you’re leaving London at 8.00 am and flying to BKK via Abu Dhabi you can select your seats on the London and Abu Dhabi flights from 8.00 am the day before (UK time). Obviously passengers traveling from a different time zones in the Abu Dhabi flight are going to have an unfair advantage over others. Some are gonna be able to choose their seats before others

 

a small correction: if you fly etihad and have several legs, the free seat selection opens 24 hours before EACH single leg. so you can check in 24 hours before your london flight leaves for the london abu dhabi leg. and then ~8 hours later the abu dhabi - bkk leg opens for free seat selection. this makes it quite annoying because you have to do the selection twice. and it also automatically assigns you a seat for the 2nd leg if you only pick a (free) seat on the first leg and then continue the check-in. (you can change the 2nd leg as described at a later time). 

[Mr Wombat]

7 minutes ago, Tarl said:

Agree if you pay for a seat and they move you, at the very least, they should refund your money.

I have given up my seat (free not paid for) twice on flights to accommodate families. Both times they were travelling last minute to a funeral.

So they say... Whats the chances of that happening twice to one person - lotto odds

[snowy34]

i had the same as the OP issue 2. i had paid extra for 2 seater at the back of the plane. It turned our the seat beside me was vacant and i was asked to move so someone could sit beside his wife. I refused which caused a bit of a scene. I just said why dont you ask someone in business to move. Its the same thing just more money involved.

[keepitfun]

I’m happy to move if requested nicely BUT

the alternate seat needs to be an aisle further forward in the plane than the one I am in.  AND they need to make sure my bag is overhead my seat.   Generally by the time they want to move you all the bins are full.  

I find that those 2 perfectly reasonable requirements calmly stated are beyond most flight crew and they seek easier prey.

[Tarl]

7 minutes ago, Mr Wombat said:

So they say... Whats the chances of that happening twice to one person - lotto odds

Yeah could be. Not sure on the odds although I travelled weekly for 20 years.

[soi6falang]

Im sick of planes im considering starting to sail into Patts

the only time i get out my seat and move is if im moving to a better seat

[rickyroo]

3 years ago I was flying economy from Valencia to Bangkok via Zurich.  I'd paid 25 euro for a bulkhead seat on the 1st leg.

When I boarded the aircraft there was a women sat in my seat.  Checked boarding cards and 2 for the same seat had been issued. I sat elsewhere. 

At Zurich I asked at the check in gate, how do i get reimbursed my 25 euro having explained what happened. 

I was asked to wait. 

Eventually,  a manager came up and said I'd been upgraded to business for the Bangkok leg and was that ok because they had no system in place to actually reimburse cash.

On my return from Bangkok I cheekily reported the incident at check-in.  Hiw do I get my money back?.

They discussed and upgraded me again.

Unbelievable,  2 business class upgrades, 11 hour flights for 25 euro.

Keep praying for it to happen again.

 

 

[Not_Shameful]

The airlines used to sensibly assign exit row seats to very tall passengers at check in. These days those seats get pre-booked by a guy who is 5'9" but rounds it up to 6' if anyone asks. Then the actual tall passengers are stuck in a regular seat with their knees invading their neighbour's space and the aisle. Makes little sense except that the airlines are in business to make money and it's a way of squeezing a little profit out of economy class. 

[Tarl]

4 hours ago, Mr Wombat said:

So they say... Whats the chances of that happening twice to one person - lotto odds

Just for fun I looked up my travel over 2 years. Averaged 37 trips. So over 20 years approx 740 trips. Incident occurred twice  so approx 0.3% chance  

[Barhop]

Have booked 2 upcoming trips via Singapore Air and have paid for aisle seat in front of economy for the legs into Changi.  Only have 50 minutes each time to make connecting flights.  So have cut out the worry of being held up disembarking (for whatever reason).  Cost was $A20.90 each time.  Small price to pay to remove any worry.

[Mr Wombat]

1 hour ago, Tarl said:

Just for fun I looked up my travel over 2 years. Averaged 37 trips. So over 20 years approx 740 trips. Incident occurred twice  so approx 0.3% chance  

37 trips... you must be accruing some serious frequent flyer miles

[Tarl]

1 hour ago, Mr Wombat said:

37 trips... you must be accruing some serious frequent flyer miles

Yeah accrued a lot although when I did work trips they get the points not me sadly. 

[Gunna123]

a small correction: if you fly etihad and have several legs, the free seat selection opens 24 hours before EACH single leg. so you can check in 24 hours before your london flight leaves for the london abu dhabi leg. and then ~8 hours later the abu dhabi - bkk leg opens for free seat selection. this makes it quite annoying because you have to do the selection twice. and it also automatically assigns you a seat for the 2nd leg if you only pick a (free) seat on the first leg and then continue the check-in. (you can change the 2nd leg as described at a later time). 

Ah that makes more sense now. I actually called Etihad a few days before flying and it was they who advised me I could select the flight for the second leg of the flight for free when selecting the seat for the first leg. The guy I spoke with obviously didn’t know what he was talking about because the way you have explained it is the way it actually happened. Why they have to make it so difficult is beyond me.


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[jpmelville]

Qatar still offers the seat selection for free after getting your reservation number. Can not fault their service. I doubt Emirates is better even if you have to put £100 for your preferred seats. You can have flights for 500€. paying over 100€ for seats for 4 legs is purely a robbery. Up to you if you want to pay that.

[Iluvpattaya]

So sheasks if I would like to sit upstairs so that the guy can sitdownstairs near to his family.  I told her lady no because Ihad to pay £25 for the seat. 

Upstairs on an A380 Emirates is business/1st class I'd  of 100% swopped!!!