Advance Seat Selection on Virgin - now available!!

[k3nnis]

Thanks serfty. My situation is I got a free amex reserve flight for myself. Then I purchased a ticket for my wife and my daughter (lap child) as she is under 2. So 2 different PNR's.

So I will need to hope not too many WP/SG's on the flight or even flex ticket holders so I can be seated next to my wife/daughter! Probably turn up 3 hours before flight at checkin

Sort of - a WP/SG can select seats at T-14 days.

 

[WCFCHobart]

Thanks serfty. My situation is I got a free amex reserve flight for myself. Then I purchased a ticket for my wife and my daughter (lap child) as she is under 2. So 2 different PNR's.

So I will need to hope not too many WP/SG's on the flight or even flex ticket holders so I can be seated next to my wife/daughter! Probably turn up 3 hours before flight at checkin

Call Virgin and ask them to link the two bookings. This will usually result in you getting seats allocated together.

 

[k3nnis]

Have you tried linking before in virgin? When I call they say they can't do it

Call Virgin and ask them to link the two bookings. This will usually result in you getting seats allocated together.

 

[WCFCHobart]

Have you tried linking before in virgin? When I call they say they can't do it

I've previously had Virgin link two separate bookings for domestic legs on more than one occasion. Most recent was in August this year.

Never involving an AMEX reserve flight, but I have done it where one of the bookings was a SQ reservation on a VA flight.

 

[k3nnis]

Ok thanks. I will call again. Did you say why you wanted to link the bookings together?

 

[WCFCHobart]

Ok thanks. I will call again. Did you say why you wanted to link the bookings together?

Yes - just said we were a family party on separate bookings who would like to sit together if possible. The answer has always been 'we'll link the bookings and that should be noted when seat allocation is done'. Once at check-in we found we weren't together and the check-in agent couldn't help. VA staff in the lounge moved some other passengers around so that we were together (up the back, but together). The guy in the lounge also confirmed that we had done the right think by having the bookings linked.

 

[k3nnis]

Ok thanks.

 

[Jama]

Yes - just said we were a family party on separate bookings who would like to sit together if possible. The answer has always been 'we'll link the bookings and that should be noted when seat allocation is done'. Once at check-in we found we weren't together and the check-in agent couldn't help. VA staff in the lounge moved some other passengers around so that we were together (up the back, but together). The guy in the lounge also confirmed that we had done the right think by having the bookings linked.

My last 2 family flights I were told were linked were in fact not. Both instances I found out when checking in and was asked if we were all travelling together as there is no record of it. Once was ok but twice was a bit poor.

 

[TheInsider]

Virgin reservation system doesn't allow bookings to be linked at all.

 

[k3nnis]

Did they ended up seating your whole family together?

My last 2 family flights I were told were linked were in fact not. Both instances I found out when checking in and was asked if we were all travelling together as there is no record of it. Once was ok but twice was a bit poor.

 

[serfty]

Virgin reservation system doesn't allow bookings to be linked at all.

With Navitaire I believe the best they can do is put comments in the separate bookings referring to the other.

Once they move to SABRE they'll be able to do more, such as TCP'ing.

 

[oz_mark]

I've previously had Virgin link two separate bookings for domestic legs on more than one occasion. Most recent was in August this year.

Never involving an AMEX reserve flight, but I have done it where one of the bookings was a SQ reservation on a VA flight.

Internation reservations are on a separate system to domestic (amadeus vs newskies). The result is that some things can be done with international flights that can't be done so easily on domestic flights.

Once they are all onto Sabre, these things should improve.

 

[k3nnis]

Do you mean on international e.g. SYD-ZQN on Virgin metal is on a different reservation system to their domestic network??

 

[Fruitcake]

Do you mean on international e.g. SYD-ZQN on Virgin metal is on a different reservation system to their domestic network??

No, it's not. Short haul international is the same system as domestic, and thus has all the limitations discussed above.

Oz_mark is however correct that long haul international's system - Amadeus - is a "full featured" reservations system and can do a lot more than New Skies can.

 

[k3nnis]

Ok thanks for that