OLCI - What's the point? Shocking seat selection

[Warks]

As a PS (but pushing for SG in the next few months) I flew SYD-CBR-PER this week and did OLCI right on 24 hours before getting SEQ NBR 1 for SYD-CBR and 2 for CBR-PER. When I looked at CBR-PER I was seated in the aisle with the window seat taken and no one in the middle - that is my absolute preference for longer legs (apart from J but dream on!) When I got to CBR I checked again to see if the seat was still empty but it was showing as occupied - the only other empty seats on the plane were a few scattered middle seats (738 by the way). Lo and behold the seat was unoccupied for the flight. Now was that a function of status (of the window seat guy, not me) or did someone get moved?

My status is worth nothing on busy flights, just returned from ADL tonight and was dumped in row 25 (738). I've never seen a flight take so long to load and unload. It was like flying in the US with way too much hand luggage. The flight was 'full' which is even fuller than "very full".

 

[Hvr]

Now was that a function of status (of the window seat guy, not me) or did someone get moved?

Or did the person in the middle seat review what was allocated to them and then seize the opportunity to move to their preferred aisle/window as people moved about?


You may never know and like Xmas you have to ask yourself would it spoil the illusion if you knew what did happen and it was nothing other than happen-stance?

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Warks

As a PS (but pushing for SG in the next few months) I flew SYD-CBR-PER this week and did OLCI right on 24 hours before getting SEQ NBR 1 for SYD-CBR and 2 for CBR-PER. When I looked at CBR-PER I was seated in the aisle with the window seat taken and no one in the middle - that is my absolute preference for longer legs (apart from J but dream on!) When I got to CBR I checked again to see if the seat was still empty but it was showing as occupied - the only other empty seats on the plane were a few scattered middle seats (738 by the way). Lo and behold the seat was unoccupied for the flight. Now was that a function of status (of the window seat guy, not me) or did someone get moved?

It could be that if the seat is manually blocked off by staff as a courtesy that it shows as "occupied" on the kiosk seat map but in fact is just not available for allocation due to its "blocked" status.

For premium pax I believe Altea tries to leave a spare seat next to these pax if it can but I'm not sure if this would show up on the kiosk seat map as occupied or just reserved (for pax with that status).

Sometimes people OLCI themselves into a middle seat where there is a block of 3 seats as yet unoccupied because they think if they take the middle it will prevent a couple sitting there and they'll end up with three seats to themselves.

The harsh reality is that flight may actually be full however misinterpreted by some pax as being empty due to seat map display when they webcheck where there's "all these empty seats". They just haven't factored on a heap of people checking in after them both online and at the airport.

Oz

 

[JohnK]

Sometimes people OLCI themselves into a middle seat where there is a block of 3 seats as yet unoccupied because they think if they take the middle it will prevent a couple sitting there and they'll end up with three seats to themselves.

The harsh reality is that flight may actually be full however misinterpreted by some pax as being empty due to seat map display when they webcheck where there's "all these empty seats". They just haven't factored on a heap of people checking in after them both online and at the airport.

Sometimes cheeky people deserve to sit between a couple who cannot stop talking and arguing about nothing throughout the flight. Won't pre-select middle seat again in a hurry.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Just did OLCI for a flight to DRW tomorrow (direct from PER).

Thought I would report results - well, there really wasn't one. 2 on the ticket (FF return classic redemption), both NB, given 27D and 28C (B738) with no other seats to choose from. Seq 2, 3.

I suspect I'll be sitting on the QF site for a while :evil:

 

[ozbeachbabe]

You just can't pick it sometimes. Sometimes there will be 20 people on redemptions that do okay with seating, a lot of them will be NB status pax on X class tickets.

Those who are QP will probably get the same sort of seats as they would on a bought ticket as long as their QP number is in the booking. Pax with children under 12 who are manifested as children have a higher 'value' so would be less likely to be split up.

Anyway see what happens.....

Cheers

Oz

 

[Joshua]

Just did OLCI for a flight to DRW tomorrow (direct from PER).

Thought I would report results - well, there really wasn't one. 2 on the ticket (FF return classic redemption), both NB, given 27D and 28C (B738) with no other seats to choose from. Seq 2, 3.

I suspect I'll be sitting on the QF site for a while :evil:

The flight you're on is completely booked... Y0. So as NB and on an award ticket you'll have to have fingers crossed. Most of the seats look allocated already but there's still a handful of seat pairs that are unallocated and a dozen or so that are blocked.

Let us know how you go.

 

[kamchatsky]

My better half and I will be catching the same flight SYD-ADL 6:30pm tomorrow night (Friday). This time OLCIing, we got originally assigned 29A/29B (same as my previous Qantas flight, unbelievable!!!), Sequence 16/17. This time though, QF is "generous enough" to open up 28E/F so we picked that one instead. Afterall it is better to sit further away from toilets. Our booking class is O/X.

Given my earlier experience with QF earlier, I did not expect QF to do me any favours by giving me seats more forward than row 28, and I know that the flight is completely full. Hopefully the food will be better than my last experience (very bland vegetarian pasta). Hopefully there will be no engine trouble either and just get there on time/safely :shock:

 

[ozbeachbabe]

My better half and I will be catching the same flight SYD-ADL 6:30pm tomorrow night (Friday). This time OLCIing, we got originally assigned 29A/29B (same as my previous Qantas flight, unbelievable!!!), Sequence 16/17. This time though, QF is "generous enough" to open up 28E/F so we picked that one instead. Afterall it is better to sit further away from toilets. Our booking class is O/X.

Given my earlier experience with QF earlier, I did not expect QF to do me any favours by giving me seats more forward than row 28, and I know that the flight is completely full. Hopefully the food will be better than my last experience (very bland vegetarian pasta). Hopefully there will be no engine trouble either and just get there on time/safely :shock:

Believe it or not it's not unbelieveable - that's the norm if you're on an X or O class ticket with no status or NB. If you were PS, QP, SG WP you would be able to allocate yourself the usual forward seat same as if you were on a higher fare or non-redemption ticket.

As you're on a peak hour flight as far as business travellers go there could easily be 100 people that are PS and above so would get priority seating over you so the system's only doing what it's supposed to.

Others on AFF have done OLCI and got an even lower sequence number than you yet got seats like 27E & 26B even in the same pnr so at least you're together.

Why not ask for the exit row when you get there, you never know.

The engines on the 73H are CFM's by the way not RR like the A380.

Enjoy your flight.

 

[Warks]

So I'm flying SYD-BNE-TSV on the 15th and a couple of days ago I allocated my seats. As I've just hit SG rows 10 back have opened up to me early (737). If I looked online early in the piece I'd be offered back of the plane only as PS. I didn't think I could get allocated seating this early before either but maybe I never book very far in advance.

Anyway I booked the same seat (row 11) for my three 737 legs and then managed row 30 in the 767. None of these are bad seats and I assume at T-80 the rows in front of these will open up. Either way I'm not bothered now as I'm used to travelling in there areas of the plane - it's generally the best I could get as a PS.

 

[medhead]

Anyway I booked the same seat (row 11) for my three 737 legs and then managed row 30 in the 767. None of these are bad seats and I assume at T-80 the rows in front of these will open up. Either way I'm not bothered now as I'm used to travelling in there areas of the plane - it's generally the best I could get as a PS.

As SG I could usually get into row 5 to 7 on a 737 and sometimes row 4 after T-80. Of course, the other thing that might happend is an equipment change from a 737-800 to a 734. This is can be a good thing if you've preallocated row 11, as that's an exit row on a 734 iirc. I remember this happening to me about 3 times this year, only because I was annoyed at having already moved to row 6-ish from that row 11.

 

[blu]

Having worked through this thread; have I got this summary correct, as an NB (pair):
no seat is allocated until T-24.
the only way to check seat allocation & availability is by OLCI after T-24.
if I OLCI at (say) T-23 & print the BP, we still can repeat OCLI again (ie: a number of times) & reprint updated BPs.
thanks all, those posts were very informatve.

 

[Joshua]

Having worked through this thread; have I got this summary correct, as an NB (pair):
no seat is allocated until T-24.
the only way to check seat allocation & availability is by OLCI after T-24.
if I OLCI at (say) T-23 & print the BP, we still can repeat OCLI again (ie: a number of times) & reprint updated BPs.
thanks all, those posts were very informatve.

Essentially yes. Your first chance is at T-24 and it appears if you're on a E or O fare you often don't get much choice. Definitely worth doing it right away and can keep checking. Often worth the effort closer to departure because spots open once seating is initially under airport control IME. If you've got a smart phone I once found you could remain logged in after the minimum OLCI check-in time and still alter seat selection. If you can change seats at that point you can get a new BP at the gate.

I have found all sorts of trickery with OLCI, especially with getting a NB into row 4 when they're on a separate booking. But fundamentally a NB only booking makes it tough. Can always use expertflyer's seat alerts but the window of opportunity may be small. That said, not all hope is lost. I was able to casually allocate 4x NB flying into row 5 & 6 on a 734 all on O tickets on a peak morning PER flight with Y0 availability. Sorry to all the status pax I pissed off on that one

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Having worked through this thread; have I got this summary correct, as an NB (pair):
no seat is allocated until T-24.
the only way to check seat allocation & availability is by OLCI after T-24.
if I OLCI at (say) T-23 & print the BP, we still can repeat OCLI again (ie: a number of times) & reprint updated BPs.
thanks all, those posts were very informatve.

AFAIK QF theorectical seating kicks in at T-48 which means Altea reserves in its mind that it might allocate you 27AB but this is not the same as physically allocating yourself a seat at T-80 like PS and above can do.

As a NB the earliest you can OLCI is T-24 & then you may now be physically allocated 27AB. You can certainly keep trying OCLI to change your seats, don't worry if you can't reprint your boarding pass until getting to the airport they can do it at the gate.

If you tried to board with a (now) invalid boarding pass it will reject as the gate reader will beep as you would appear on the ineligible to board list meaning you must be given a new boarding pass first.

Note: if a NB 'couple' is an adult travelling with a child they will have a wider selection of seats to choose from as the child now has a higher PCV (pax commercial value). Previously too many kids were getting separated from the herd either at OLCI or if the family are one of the last to check at the airport.

I believe there are issues with Mobile checkin in that once you checkin & receive the square 2D barcode to your phone it won't let you seat change. I've only heard this second hand on AFF from a WP on another thread so not 100% sure of this.

Essentially yes. Your first chance is at T-24 and it appears if you're on a E or O fare you often don't get much choice. Definitely worth doing it right away and can keep checking. Often worth the effort closer to departure because spots open once seating is initially under airport control IME. If you've got a smart phone I once found you could remain logged in after the minimum OLCI check-in time and still alter seat selection. If you can change seats at that point you can get a new BP at the gate.

I have found all sorts of trickery with OLCI, especially with getting a NB into row 4 when they're on a separate booking. But fundamentally a NB only booking makes it tough. Can always use expertflyer's seat alerts but the window of opportunity may be small. That said, not all hope is lost. I was able to casually allocate 4x NB flying into row 5 & 6 on a 734 all on O tickets on a peak morning PER flight with Y0 availability. Sorry to all the status pax I pissed off on that one

I too have seen an NB couple on an O class ticket get 4BC on a 73H & a NB on X class award ticket get 23J on a 767. I'm only guessing but I'd say those forward seats opened up when the WP pax previously in those seats did an ODU in the QP.

If the flight is full it's got to put those people somewhere but it's impossible to try & predict when this window of opportunity would open up. Is the 'trickery' you refer to linking yourself with the WP so you are allocated the seat next to them?

It's worth noting that the only time to scan your phone at the boarding gate is when you've done Mobile checkin so when the scanner reads the 2D barcode it prints out a docket with your name and seat number which you show onboard the aircraft in lieu of a boarding pass.

Some people OLCI & have the image of their OLCI boarding pass on their phone which they scan at the boarding gate. I think what actually happens it boards the pax but will not print out a docket. In short if you OLCI you must either print out a copy or get the QP or Gate agent to print you a boarding pass that you can take with you onboard.

 

[dk4]

Some people OLCI & have the image of their OLCI boarding pass on their phone which they scan at the boarding gate. I think what actually happens it boards the pax but will not print out a docket. In short if you OLCI you must either print out a copy or get the QP or Gate agent to print you a boarding pass that you can take with you onboard.

from the introducing a new way to fly instructions (with the NGCI card/tag pack)-
"No matter which way you choose to check in, simply scan your card at the departure gate..."

So looks like the issue of OLCIing without printer access has been solved.

 

[Joshua]

I had noticed that having a child in the booking does alter things a bit, thanks for that clarification. Did have some fun one day watching it block out the adjacent seat w/ parent sitting some 20 rows back. Tinkering is a good way to learn!

If the flight is full it's got to put those people somewhere but it's impossible to try & predict when this window of opportunity would open up. Is the 'trickery' you refer to linking yourself with the WP so you are allocated the seat next to them?

Without going into it too much, I've found that whenever any pax is reallocated their existing seat is not recalculated by Altea for a <2 seconds but left available. Not a glitch but simply the reservation system internally waiting for a re-ranking of seats I guess. I have been able to manipulate it to get a NB up front using OLCI. Saves the airport staff and reduces the risk of making the WP sit further back The technique isn't simple and is only possible under relatively uncommon circumstances.

In reality there are busy flights and there are sucky seats (middle, back). If it's sticking in pax wo/ status on cheap fares there, then it's doing its job. No fun though, I have been there.

Great news with the swiping card at gate anyway btw. May try it next time I 'lose' my boarding pass.

 

[Ozvirginuk]

I must say that I've always found OLCI to be pretty good with regards to seat selection. Since the introduction of seat selection at time of booking, I always select seats then. As an SG, I was often left with fairly mediocre choices at booking stage, but almost without exception, I was able to "improve" my seat at OLCI (or sometimes at T-48). I usually travel with my partner, so it's always 2 seats we're after.

With regards to price of ticket/booking class... Not sure if this counts in J. When I travel domestically I now always use JASAs. As an SG at time of booking I could only ever get Row 4 (767), but always improved at OLCI to row 1 or 2. Interestingly, I made my first 2 bookings as a WP, purchasing JASAs and was able to select Row 2 (767) on both sectors of both bookings. I was surprised being that JASAs are using reward inventory... But hey... I"ll take it. I may not yet have the shiny new card, but I'm still reaping the benefits of the heady heights WP takes you to..

 

[Stealth]

How about some of you guys doing it hard? With so many 'Qantas-Link' flights over here, you can't even select a seat half the time. How about 2 hour + flights with no IFE, not even bloody music and in-flight catering like the early days after the demise of Ansett?

 

[markis10]

in-flight catering like the early days after the demise of Ansett?

That may be considered a bonus by some

 

[Stealth]

That may be considered a bonus by some

Presumably you don't recall the finger sandwiches they served on MEL-PER - MEL flights in the dark ages of monopoly? Cacooned in 737-300s that seemed to run at random times.