Qantas International Seating Observations

[NM]

I was checking the seat map for an upcoming Qantas international flight and noted some interesting observations.

Firstly, I have been looking at the seat map in both J and Y for the last week or so, and noted some significant changes at what is pretty close to the T-24 mark. The flight is for tomorrow and its now about 23.5 hours before departure. This is for an A333 aircraft.

Last time I looked at the seat map (yesterday), J was showing 6 seats allocated and EF was showing J6 D5 I0. Today, all except 2 J seats have been allocated (5EF) and EF is showing J3 C3 D3 I3. I assume 3 Y passengers may have received FF upgrades and they are keeping the others available for last minute sales and flexibility.

The Y cabin when from about 20% allocated to all allocated except for 40 seats. And these 40 seats are all either rows of DEFG seats or DE or FG pairs. So all AB and JK seats are allocated. This would give maximum flexibility for seating requirements at check-in time. There are 7 rows of 4 seats available, and 6 pairs of 2 seats.

So it seems the pre-allocation process has been run at the T-24 hour mark and the system has tried to provide maximum flexibility for the check-in staff to weave their magic for groups that want to be together but were not understood as such by the computer system.

 

[straitman]

Thanks NM, very interesting.

 

[JohnK]

Thanks.

Interesting observations on how seat pre-allocation works before a flight. Was the majority of blocks of 4 WHY seats unallocated at front or back of cabin or were they just scattered throughout the cabin?

 

[NM]

Thanks.

Interesting observations on how seat pre-allocation works before a flight. Was the majority of blocks of 4 WHY seats unallocated at front or back of cabin or were they just scattered throughout the cabin?

They were very much spread throughout the cabin. A couple of blocks of 4 also had an empty pair in the row in front or behind. But there were no blocks of two consecutive rows of 4 empty seats.

This morning (the flight departs in about 5 hours time) there are only two pairs of 2 seats showing as unallocated, 26DE and 28FG. And this is before local check-in has opened so I assume this is really just reflecting that seat allocation has now been delegated to the airport.

 

[JBH]

Hi NM

interesting the EF site allows access to seat plans within 24hrs of the flight time ??

 

[NM]

Hi NM

interesting the EF site allows access to seat plans within 24hrs of the flight time ??

I could still see it this morning from the BNE lounge. But its not available now. J is now down to J1 so either one more upgrade was granted, the sold another J seat or had to manage a displaced passenger/re-routing etc.

Note that I was able to see the seat map even after I was checked-in for the flight. But as I have SEQ 1, and was checking just a few mins after check-in, the missing Y seats were not due to early check-ins.

 

[JohnK]

And this is before local check-in has opened so I assume this is really just reflecting that seat allocation has now been delegated to the airport.

Do all check in agents have access to the same seat maps for the flight? I have been told on a number of occassions that certain forward WHY seats are unavailable only to find many seats available when boarding. This even happened recently checking in for a Dash 8 flight but this may have more to do with weight and balance factors rather than what seats are available. Anyway there does not appear to be consistent interpretation of what is actually available or is this more to do with the competence of the person at checkin?

 

[Mal]

Do all check in agents have access to the same seat maps for the flight?

I believe certain seats can be blocked and other agents can't touch them (only supervisors etc). I've heard of battles trying to get Exit row seats allocated that are free, but the agents don't have rights to put people in them for example.

Load and Balance issues don't suprise me as a possible cause as well.

 

[JohnK]

I've heard of battles trying to get Exit row seats allocated that are free, but the agents don't have rights to put people in them for example.

This had nothing to do with exit row but I remember on a few ocassions asking for a more forward aisle seat at checkin and being told that none were available. When boarding flight I could see many forward aisle seats available. Again cannot comment if weight and balance issues were the reason but I was able to swap to seat of choice straight after boarding.

This is not restricted to QF only but other carriers I have flown in the last few years.

 

[serfty]

Qantas have their own internal seating plan that can vary from the ones available via Amadeus. I believe they are generated a day or two before the flight.

For international flights you can see this when you get a BP with a different seat than one allocated. Checkmytrip (& Qantas.com) will still show your original seat.

 

[jpk]

So for international QF flights where a certain percentage of seats are pre-allocated, does this still occur according to status? For example, a NB rings up for a flight 6 months away, will they get a seat towards the front? Or do they still hold some of those better seats back for the status people that book < 2 weeks out?

Hmmm I am probably not making much sense. I guess I am wondering if early seat assignments are open slather to all passengers, or if this still occurs according to status to some degree?

Thanks,
JK.

 

[serfty]

With Qantas, Until around 20-25% of seats are preallocated, any with a ticketed/confirmed booking can also have a seat preallocated.

However, the first few rows of WHY are reserved for those of SG or higher status (inc oneworld elites). (e.g. 2 Class 744, rows 26-31 are restricted thus).

After the 20-25% limit is reached, subsequent preallocation is limited to some elites; I am not sure where it kicks in but SG/QP can do.

 

[Shano]

Interestingly for my QF187 flight yesterday I was pre-allocated 23J on the A333. According to EF I booked the very last seat in the Y cabin as it was only showing B1 (all other buckets zeroed out) as I was talking to the TA to make the booking.

When I tried to check details under Manage My Bookings on the QF webiste, my FF # didn't seem to be attached to the booking. I entered this online and was automatically re-allocated to 28J . I called QF and had this changed back to 23J.

For my return flight I was allocated something like 56C, but this changed to 48C when I entered my FF#.

I am not sure why I would be allocated a premium seat without the FF# being attached to the booking and why this would change when I entered this detail.

 

[jpk]

I am not sure why I would be allocated a premium seat without the FF# being attached to the booking and why this would change when I entered this detail.

A rough guess, but maybe the logic in the seating function doesn't check where you are first. So you put in your number, and it decides to find you a seat based on your profile preference. But it doesn't check first if you are in a seat that already matches your profile.

 

[jpk]

However, the first few rows of WHY are reserved for those of SG or higher status (inc oneworld elites). (e.g. 2 Class 744, rows 26-31 are restricted thus)

Ok that makes sense. I just booked some flights with CX for xmas, EF was showing flights as chockers, I had to chase availability over a few days, so i got the last seat. CX let you choose seats when booking (i've always liked this) and for 4 flights i was always within the first couple of rows.

It could also be that i got those seats because a high status passenger changed their flights tho...