Can't select J seats on Dreamliner

[Hvr]

Have a week between shifts at work (got to love 12 hours shifts) and thought it would be good to have a few days in BKK. Booked on JetStar from MEL and am able to select my seat on the way out but the trip home is on the Dreamliner.

Have rung JetStar and was told the seat will be assigned at the airport. What the heck? Does anybody know why?

 

[banger2]

Have a week between shifts at work (got to love 12 hours shifts) and thought it would be good to have a few days in BKK. Booked on JetStar from MEL and am able to select my seat on the way out but the trip home is on the Dreamliner.

Have rung JetStar and was told the seat will be assigned at the airport. What the heck? Does anybody know why?

Last time this happened to me all the standard business seats were fully booked (when I booked online I wasn't given the normal choice to select a seat). It took 1/2hr on the phone with CS to confirm I would actually get a BC seat and would be assigned a seat at the airport....I was very worried they had overbooked business and at the airport I would receive an economy seat instead! When I turned up at the airport, I was assigned one of the 2 BC crew seats...which were great as they have more recline than normal

Last time I booked a 787 flight with JQi I selected the crew seat online. But when I boarded I was very disappointed to be approached and told I couldn't have the seat as it was reserved for crew...but pleasingly they shifted some people out of the first row and put me there Sorry for those people but I was very pleased!

Maybe you will get the same seat selection.

 

[Hvr]

Thanks will ring again tomorrow and discuss with JQ. An assurance of a J seat will be welcomed.

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

Just out of Interest did you originally book Y, but receive an email to upgrade to J ?

If so, JQ automatically selects the seat for you upon payment of the upgrade, but its easy to change seats, as you simply go into your booking & change seats..... this was my case last month when flying MEL > SIN on JQ.

 

[BillytheFIsh]

Last time I booked a 787 flight with JQi I selected the crew seat online. But when I boarded I was very disappointed to be approached and told I couldn't have the seat as it was reserved for crew...but pleasingly they shifted some people out of the first row and put me there Sorry for those people but I was very pleased!

Banger did you notice which seats (if any) in row 1 were bassinet seats? Fly JQ Dreamliner in a couple of months and have reserved 1A&C, but I can't confirm whether it has a bassinet and can't bring myself to call J* just yet.

 

[Hvr]

Just out of Interest did you originally book Y, but receive an email to upgrade to J ?

If so, JQ automatically selects the seat for you upon payment of the upgrade, but its easy to change seats, as you simply go into your booking & change seats..... this was my case last month when flying MEL > SIN on JQ.

Booked J straight up,

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

Booked J straight up,

Yeah you should be able to select your seat with no effort online. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Hvr]

Yeah you should be able to select your seat with no effort online. Let us know how you get on.

Well I just went back to see if I could allocate a seat on the BKK-MEL leg and was finally able to choose the last remaining seat, 3A. Even 3J and K were shown as allocated.

Am pleased to have one selected even if not my preferred aisle. Still there's always the chance to choose at the airport.

 

[N860CR]

3 J/K are crew rest so they may be blocked and not actually allocated. Don't get too excited about the 787 J product... I found it to feel cramped and claustrophobic

 

[Hvr]

And my trip home had a little drama. At check in I asked for an aisle seat and was assigned 1G.

After boarding I sat in my seat and watched the passing parade some with a huge amount of carry on luggage.

The bloke in 1H sat next to me and was enjoying the window as it were.

Then a women in the middle with a young child asked the FA for a seat in the bassinet row which were either 1A/B or 1G/H. I got the impression she had paid for upgrade from Y to J having been assigned a bassinet seat there and under the belief she would have one in J.

The bloke in 1H was happy to move and immediately got up to change seats.

However that wasn't what she wanted, she wanted the aisle seat not the window. I refused to move to the window and the people in 1A/B were travelling with the people in 2A/B and didn't want to move.

After discussion with the head FA who told her that he wasn't going to move me because she had a bassinet seat she took the seat by the window and whilst she said no more the person in 2G started to become vocal telling me to move which I ignored.

Anyway we travelled home and the child was quite quiet (occasional squawk which was normal) and the bassinet was left down until the plane was prepared for landing. I would've been totally confined if I had moved to the window.

The woman and child had a drama with the child seat belt which wasn't supplied until we were taxiing out for take off having initially been provided with a clearly marked demonstration model,

Am I a bad person or should the woman and child have remained in Y where they had the bassinet seat and if they upgraded to J just taken any bassinet seat that was available?

 

[mannej]

I don't think it's the place of 2G to get involved.

As for your actions, I don't think you were in the wrong.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

And my trip home had a little drama. At check in I asked for an aisle seat and was assigned 1G. After boarding I sat in my seat and watched the passing parade some with a huge amount of carry on luggage. The bloke in 1H sat next to me and was enjoying the window as it were.

Then a women in the middle with a young child asked the FA for a seat in the bassinet row which were either 1A/B or 1G/H. I got the impression she had paid for upgrade from Y to J having been assigned a bassinet seat there and under the belief she would have one in J.

The bloke in 1H was happy to move and immediately got up to change seats.

However that wasn't what she wanted, she wanted the aisle seat not the window. I refused to move to the window and the people in 1A/B were travelling with the people in 2A/B and didn't want to move.

After discussion with the head FA who told her that he wasn't going to move me because she had a bassinet seat she took the seat by the window and whilst she said no more the person in 2G started to become vocal telling me to move which I ignored.

Anyway we travelled home and the child was quite quiet (occasional squawk which was normal) and the bassinet was left down until the plane was prepared for landing. I would've been totally confined if I had moved to the window.

The woman and child had a drama with the child seat belt which wasn't supplied until we were taxiing out for take off having initially been provided with a clearly marked demonstration model,

Am I a bad person or should the woman and child have remained in Y where they had the bassinet seat and if they upgraded to J just taken any bassinet seat that was available?

Did the woman initially get a middle seat between two people in the centre section of three seats? If so, it should have been made clear to her at checkin what seat she would be in and the fact that it's not a bassinet seat. That's assuming that she did just purchase an upgrade to J at the airport.

She should've been gracious in accepting the offer of 1H from the guy who vacated that seat but it sounds like she had no regard for anyone else's preferences and how they may have reserved that seat months in advance. The person in 2G should've shut the hell up as it's none of their business. Some people are all too quick to give their 2c worth however if it was them in seats 1G&H I bet they wouldn't have moved.

Good on the F/A for saying to the woman he wasn't going to move you.

Of course these incidents aren't restricted to JQ - there are plenty of stories of DYKWIA behaviour on US carriers when people get last minute upgrades at the gate then want their preferred seat at someone else's expense.

 

[N860CR]

Observed a similar issue on a JQ DPS-SYD a few weeks ago. I was seated in row 3 J and the economy bassinet row is directly behind.

Didn't get a good look at it, but I'm guessing that for whatever reason the bassinet isn't on both sides. A lady got on and remarked that she'd booked a bassinet seat and there wasn't one on the bulkhead (ABC side I think). In typical Jetstar form, the CSM announced "well there isn't one, and you can't booked it anyway. Noooo airline will guarantee you a bassinet". Luckily for this lady, the couple on the other side of the cabin happily offered to swap.

Interestingly, on boarding I also observed a charming interaction between the "true Australian" woman and her unlucky Indonesian male seat mate. She dropped anchor in the window and he advised here that she was seated in the aisle. Missed the initial exchange but the subsequent discussions were adequately aggressive and rude (including remarking to the flight attendant that she'd "need a wine to deal with this coughhole". I really don't get some peoples behaviors on aeroplane's. Is seating really that hard? And why do people feel so entitled.

Or does JQ just bring out the worst

 

[banger2]

Banger did you notice which seats (if any) in row 1 were bassinet seats? Fly JQ Dreamliner in a couple of months and have reserved 1A&C, but I can't confirm whether it has a bassinet and can't bring myself to call J* just yet.

Sorry I missed your question. From my memory, which is poor, I dont think 1A/C had a bassinet.

Well that was my initial reply...but...knowing me I took a photo of the cabin...and as you will see my memory sux! 1A/C does have a bassinet on this aircraft (VH-VKE)!

 

[BillytheFIsh]

Thanks banger2, much appreciated.

I'll call JQ to ensure the seat selections stick (hopefully) because rows 2 and back look terrible for International J. (I swore I'd never fly JQ again, but wanted to give the 787 a go.)

 

[Hvr]

Thanks banger2, much appreciated.

I'll call JQ to ensure the seat selections stick (hopefully) because rows 2 and back look terrible for International J. (I swore I'd never fly JQ again, but wanted to give the 787 a go.)

Having recently flown on the Dreamliner I've had the opportunity to compare the J seats. Frankly the Dreamliner seats were a disappointment with less recline and they felt less comfortable to me.

 

[BillytheFIsh]

Having recently flown on the Dreamliner I've had the opportunity to compare the J seats. Frankly the Dreamliner seats were a disappointment with less recline and they felt less comfortable to me.

Yeah - I figured as much. Only a short hop BNE-DPS-BNE, so should (hopefully) be fine with the bub at 10 months. Alternative was VA J on 737, but no bassinet and the seating is probably equally as uninspiring. Still haven't worked out how to do Garuda J redemptions though (not sure if that's possible/feasible).

 

[Bundy Bear]

Having recently flown on the Dreamliner I've had the opportunity to compare the J seats. Frankly the Dreamliner seats were a disappointment with less recline and they felt less comfortable to me.

Jetstar enhanced them.

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

Having recently flown on the Dreamliner I've had the opportunity to compare the J seats. Frankly the Dreamliner seats were a disappointment with less recline and they felt less comfortable to me.

Also worth noting that the reduced number of J class seats ....21 Business class seats on a JQ 787, whereas at least 35 business class seats on the soon to phased out JQ A330.

Less J seats = less chance of discounted business max upgrades

It appears the MEL > NRT route may be the last route to go to the 787.

 

[cmon0005]

Or does JQ just bring out the worst 

It's only going to get worse with Air Asia's $99 fares to DPS!