Advance Seat Selection on Virgin - now available!!

[straitman]

You guys love to pounce. Also i have to ask are any of you married?

Actually, I don't 'like' to pounce. Your post indicated a lack of awareness of reality with an over-the-top aspersion to those who may have preferences. I felt I needed to correct this.

Yes, I am married ... that reminds me, my wife is a fearful flyer - if she does not get an aisle seat in economy - she WILL NOT FLY; so seat selection with confidence is imperative.

Jack,

No pouncing necessary. You set yourself up.

People have requests for a variety of reasons that vary from wants through to needs.

An example for you is several weeks ago when I flew in PE from CBR-MEL with my 85 year old mother. Of the eight seats in PE that you mention there are only two that are suitable for her. I selected one at the time of booking and for what ever reason the that selection did not hold and she was moved. Fortunately she was moved to the other seat that was suitable so it was not a problem. It so easily could have been a major issue though.

 

[LiamR]

Who cares, as long as you get a seat. Its a seat guys, you will get one. Some people need to get over themselves, seriously.

You guys love to pounce. Also i have to ask are any of you married? As for the seats i mean business class, not economy, there is 8 seats, you will get one, you can request it at the airport, or try again, no need to have a hissie fit. As for the drunk people at the back, if they were, wouldnt they be denied boarding? Screaming kids are on every flight, we did it when we were younger, and if you have kids yourself, you will be used to it (if you have kids oneday) *cough*. Also i dont care if i would sit in "24E", i can meet new people, no wonder you guys are a bad image from the standard traveller, you think your better then everyone else when your not.

Seat selection is most certainly important to me. Sure, I can sit in 17B and still get there, but for me it's all about being efficient. As well as being comfortable.

Bookings with children in them are usually allocated towards the rear of the aircraft, I can't remember the last time I copped a crying baby on a Virgin 737 flight, only when you are seated back half of the aircraft.

I've done exit rows before, and on Virgin it takes about 7mins from the doors opening, to you stepping off the aircraft. (Remember, Virgin board via the front and rear left doors, so sitting down the back is just as fast).

Today, I was sitting in 3C, having my hand luggage ready and sitting in an aisle seat I was off within seconds. I'm going to pull a Ryan Bingham here, but it'll prove why Seat Selection is important to me.

7mins saving per flight, this year I'll travel 150 sectors.

That's 1050 minutes.
Or 17.5 Hours
That's nearly a day.

You willing to waste a day due to picking a bad seat?

As for selecting a seat at the airport? Not practical, yesterday when I went to do OLCI at around T-22hrs the best seat I could see was a window at Row 10 something. I can't even imagine what it's like at the airport. J was fully booked when I went to checkin this morning.

So yes, to prove my point. Seat Selection is a very important tool for me and makes travel just that little bit more efficient. 7mins means I can get ahead of the rest of the flight and get a cab without having to queue at the taxi rank.

 

[pshepvic]

You guys love to pounce. Also i have to ask are any of you married? As for the seats i mean business class, not economy, there is 8 seats, you will get one, you can request it at the airport, or try again, no need to have a hissie fit. As for the drunk people at the back, if they were, wouldnt they be denied boarding? Screaming kids are on every flight, we did it when we were younger, and if you have kids yourself, you will be used to it (if you have kids oneday) *cough*. Also i dont care if i would sit in "24E", i can meet new people, no wonder you guys are a bad image from the standard traveller, you think your better then everyone else when your not.

Um this is the Australian FREQUENT FLYER Forum Jack - if you're not one why are you here? By your statement it implies you are not, because you describe us as if you are not part of this "elite" (sic) group.

Anyway, not going to bother replying to the irrelevant questions about marriage or having kids, but I will say not every seat in business class is the same. I much prefer row 2 - there is more legroom under the seat than row 1 with the bulkhead. Additionally, I can recline the seat without disturbing anyone behind. I'd say that makes me a pretty considerate traveler who probably doesn't have as bad a reputation as you might suggest.

(and by the way, I was never a screaming child on a flight - I didn't ever get on a plane until I was about 12 years old - back when I was growing up air travel was much more expensive than it is today, and maybe that was a good thing...)


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app

 

[nlagalle]

You guys love to pounce. Also i have to ask are any of you married? As for the seats i mean business class, not economy, there is 8 seats, you will get one, you can request it at the airport, or try again, no need to have a hissie fit. As for the drunk people at the back, if they were, wouldnt they be denied boarding? Screaming kids are on every flight, we did it when we were younger, and if you have kids yourself, you will be used to it (if you have kids oneday) *cough*. Also i dont care if i would sit in "24E", i can meet new people, no wonder you guys are a bad image from the standard traveller, you think your better then everyone else when your not.

Jack,

How many times a year do you fly? Once or twice? I'm currently flying weekly so yes seat selection IS important. I like an aisle seat near the front so I can be off quickly to catch a cab before the stampede hits the cab rank.

I'm also betting you are only saying "who cares" simply because QF's seat selection works brilliantly but VA are having issues. If the roles were reversed would you say then same thing?

 

[straitman]

It's time for this thread to have a short rest and for a few people to calm down.

This thread is reopened with the opportunity for people to remain a little more relaxed. (PLEASE)

Several posters have been asked to review their posting stye and think a little more prior taking shots at each other. Remember the basic rule of 'attack the thread and not the individual.' If you think that people have posted inappropriately please don't attack back at them. Use the report button and give the moderators something else to do.

 

[medhead]

Who cares, as long as you get a seat. Its a seat guys, you will get one. Some people need to get over themselves, seriously.

I understand you POV. When I was a teenager I used to think the same. Now that I'm older seat selection is much more important; I think others have adequately outlined all the good reasons that my feelings on this have changed.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app so please excuse the lack of links.

 

[kpc]

DJ flights booked before I was matched to DJ Platinum don't seem to allow advance seat selection within the 14 day window. Can the call centre fix the problem or is it just wasting my time to call?

 

[Sifor]

DJ flights booked before I was matched to DJ Platinum don't seem to allow advance seat selection within the 14 day window. Can the call centre fix the problem or is it just wasting my time to call?

I think someone said in this thread about removing your Velocity number then re-adding it to the booking solves the problem.. I don't know where such a button is on "manage my booking" however.

 

[notzac]

I think someone said in this thread about removing your Velocity number then re-adding it to the booking solves the problem

To do so, you would need to call the Platinum desk in any case.

 

[kpc]

To do so, you would need to call the Platinum desk in any case.

Rang DJ who manually selected the seat (3D)

 

[straitman]

I have the reverse issue. Within manage my booking it says

'*Seat Selection is eligible for this flight from 14 days prior to travel. Please visit Manage Bookings during this time to select your seat.'

Unfortunately my trip is to NZ and this is apparently the wrong information for several reasons.
1. It's International &
2. It's a DJ flight operated by Air New Zealand.

The Premium desk actually asked me to screen shot this and email it to them.

 

[antycbr]

Not feeling overly enthused about advance seat selection after I was moved from 3BC to 4DE upon online checkin for today's CNS-SYD sector, despite selecting 3BC 14 days beforehand. Upon enquiring with the unhelpful checkin agent, she asked her supervisor and came back with the two word answer "Platinum Reseat" and then printed my 4DE boarding passes. No offers to see what could be done, or explanation as to why I had been turfed out of my seat allocation. Luckily I know what's going on with the VA program and knew what she meant.

While I can understand that reseats are required for operational reasons, IMO it's not a great feeling when you specifically requested those seats. I have mixed feelings on this as I can see how platinums might feel about lowly Gold members snagging their preferred seats. The passengers in the row 3 seats had no plat tags in evidence either.

As an aside, the ground staff in CNS really need to sort out the priority checkin line - having a priority line that leads to a closed counter really doesn't work. At least they did do priority boarding right but the scrum had already formed so my partner and I shamelessly queue jumped.

On the whole, not one of my better VA experiences.

 

[pshepvic]

Row 3 I believe is reserved for gold and platinum. Either they should just make it platinum only (to avoid this exact issue) or leave people where they were.

If I miss out on row 3 because I booked late or whatever, I don't expect as a Platinum for them to move someone else out of their seat for me.


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app

 

[serfty]

At what time of day shuld seat selection open?

OK, should seat selection be available 14 calendar days before a flight or 336 (24x14) hours beforehand.

i.e. If you had a 2pm flight on Dec 29th and today being Dec 15th, should seat selection be:
?

1. 
   [*=1]open now,
   [*=1]open today at 2pm (336 Hours) or
   [*=1]open tomorrow?

 

[markis10]

Open today at 2PM!

 

[serfty]

Open today at 2PM!

Goodo! So 336 hours it is ...

 

[krispyjim]

Not feeling overly enthused about advance seat selection after I was moved from 3BC to 4DE upon online checkin for today's CNS-SYD sector, despite selecting 3BC 14 days beforehand. Upon enquiring with the unhelpful checkin agent, she asked her supervisor and came back with the two word answer "Platinum Reseat" and then printed my 4DE boarding passes. No offers to see what could be done, or explanation as to why I had been turfed out of my seat allocation. Luckily I know what's going on with the VA program and knew what she meant.

While I can understand that reseats are required for operational reasons, IMO it's not a great feeling when you specifically requested those seats. I have mixed feelings on this as I can see how platinums might feel about lowly Gold members snagging their preferred seats. The passengers in the row 3 seats had no plat tags in evidence either.

As an aside, the ground staff in CNS really need to sort out the priority checkin line - having a priority line that leads to a closed counter really doesn't work. At least they did do priority boarding right but the scrum had already formed so my partner and I shamelessly queue jumped.

On the whole, not one of my better VA experiences.

I agree it feels like a kick in the guts to arrive and discover the preference they have asked you for has been conveniently ignored. Few weeks ago I was on a VA LA-SYD and had preselected my seat only to arrive to discover that I'd been moved to Seat 52F!!! Basically the worst freakin seat on the plane - back row in the middle. I was fuming at the time and was questioning my loyalty to the brand. The side effects of antihistamines were a blessing that day let me tell you.

 

[Jama]

I wouldn't have been impressed with that either. The advanced seat selection is offered to Gold and Platinum equally so it should be first in.... Once you have select a seat it should be locked in no question.....

 

[Noob]

Not great
Can I recommend that people lodge feedback via the official form:

Send Feedback | Virgin Australia

 

[pshepvic]

OK, should seat selection be available 14 calendar days before a flight or 336 (24x14) hours beforehand.

i.e. If you had a 2pm flight on Dec 29th and today being Dec 15th, should seat selection be:
?

1. 
   [*=1]open now,
   [*=1]open today at 2pm (336 Hours) or
   [*=1]open tomorrow?

Interesting question - I've found that it varies significantly. I've had situations where a 10am flight hasn't been available for selection until nearly 4pm, but in other cases a 6pm flight
has been available hours earlier.

In one case two flights on the same day both became available for seat selection at the same time - even though they were 10 hours apart!


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app