Seat selection in new system?

[DJSYD81]

I booked a paid J one way to PER for next week and could select any seat in the J cabin that was showing as available.

I also booked the return on points to SYD in J via MEL and could select seats for both legs, so no issues for me when booking either paid or on points.

 

[Plutonus]

I don't think VA restricts J seats based on status, even though QF does.

 

[Boof1]

Hopefully the examples shared today mean that the problems with the A330 seat maps are fixed!

I'd rather not have to ring up again!

Cheers,

Boof

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Got the "seat not confirmed message" and it was just me flying (gold) and booked row 8.

What kind of rubbish is that?

also OOL-SYD first flt booked out, took the next and it was packed, all bays at OOL chockers with a VA on the apron waiting. Flight back this evening, 5.10 fully booked so no fly ahead available so I just have to sit here in the lounge and partake!

Wonder why QF want to come back to OOL?

 

[Boris spatsky]

I get the seat not confirmed' rubbish on any flight where the PNR includes a flight on an ATR (even if the flight concerned is a 737 or E190). It's ridiculous, and really starting to get to me.

 

[93D]

I just got a "seat selection unconfirmed" message when booking a flight for this Friday, however the return flight which is sunday night which is on the same reservation I was able to select a seat and not get the message.

 

[hummel]

Also got the 'seat selection unconfirmed' when booking a simple MEL-BNE redemption for next friday.

Is it best to call to get seats I want?

 

[lewyVA]

I booked a return SYD-MEL redemption seat this weekend, the way down in Econ I was able to select my seat, however the way back in J I also got the uncomfirmed seat message. It is interesting watching the mis-matched information as I go through the process as well, at one stage the reward J booking showed up as Confirmed Economy, however the email showed as a J class seat. Very strange!

 

[serfty]

...
Is it best to call to get seats I want?

Absolutely call ...

 

[Deleted member 29185]

at one stage the reward J booking showed up as Confirmed Economy, however the email showed as a J class seat. Very strange!

Strange indeed, but this has happened frequently and they are definitely business class, not economy.

 

[Jurahn]

Have just booked return flights PER-LAX in J for Nov/Dec. Was able to select seats for both international legs, but received the "Seat Selection unavailable for this flight. Seats will be allocated on check-in" message for both domestic legs (PER-MEL, MEL-PER). Looks like I'll be making a phone call ...

 

[Jurahn]

I just checked the VA website to see what it says now about advance seat selection. I know when we (eventually) received official notification of the changes to seat selection and "Preferential Seating", that it mentioned (a) select seat at time of booking or (b) at check-in or (c) after booking was complete, contact the GCC for seat selection. Interestingly, there is now nothing on the website under "Select A Seat" about contacting the GCC - just:

"therefore eligible guests can select their preferred seat at time of booking or at time of check in for your flight"

and the only thing about contacting the GCC is:

"Eligible guests who have specific seating requirements or special needs should ensure this information is passed on to our Guest Contact Centre or Travel Agent to ensure they are allocated an appropriate seat as per their specific needs"

Exactly the same info is shown for domestic and international flights (short and long-haul). So are they now trying to avoid letting people know that they CAN contact the GCC for a seat request?

Also - do Virgin intend to start charging for advance seat selection on international long-haul flights?? On the Select a Seat page, on the International Long-Haul tab: Select a Seat | Virgin Australia there is a "Terms and Conditions" link, much of which seems to refer to Seat Selection fees. AFAIK, the only seats currently charged for are Exit Row? However these T & Cs seem to give the impression that it's more widespread. Does it read like that to anyone else or am I just imagining things??

 

[eastwest101]

.... Interestingly, there is now nothing on the website under "Select A Seat" about contacting the GCC - just:

"therefore eligible guests can select their preferred seat at time of booking or at time of check in for your flight"

and the only thing about contacting the GCC is:

"Eligible guests who have specific seating requirements or special needs should ensure this information is passed on to our Guest Contact Centre or Travel Agent to ensure they are allocated an appropriate seat as per their specific needs"

Exactly the same info is shown for domestic and international flights (short and long-haul). So are they now trying to avoid letting people know that they CAN contact the GCC for a seat request?

In a word - yes. I have heard annectotal stories that over 50% of the call volumes coming into VA/Velocity call centers would be existing pax requesting seat selection/allocation. I would also imagine that since mid-Jan that call volumes have at least doubled. Another good reason to start fixing their web sites maybe.

Also - do Virgin intend to start charging for advance seat selection on international long-haul flights?? On the Select a Seat page, on the International Long-Haul tab: Select a Seat | Virgin Australia there is a "Terms and Conditions" link, much of which seems to refer to Seat Selection fees. AFAIK, the only seats currently charged for are Exit Row? However these T & Cs seem to give the impression that it's more widespread. Does it read like that to anyone else or am I just imagining things??

Looks like that part of the site is still under construction to me, but then again, so do all the Virgin and Velocity web sites. I can only see those T&C's when looking at International Long Haul (ie: they vanish when Int Short Haul or Domestic is selected). I am not sure if these T&C's are changed as I don't fly VA long haul international a lot but I encourage everyone to have a close look at them including the non-refundibility of seat selection fees if you have a flexible ticket and you change the date or flight number on a flexible ticket.

Even more intriguing is that when you have selected International Long Haul and then hit "View Seat Maps" you are then presented with the entire VA fleet from B777-300ER all the way down to ATR72s

Both or one of them could be a Hanlons Razor though: (Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity/incompetence)

 

[Rdarby]

I haven't been keeping up to date on if any of this has changed so appologies if this is old news.

I am still Gold, and today was able to check in online and select 3D. I am flying Economy. The flight is tonight. So something seems to have changed, as in the past I had to go to the airport and line up to do that.

 

[Ewing]

I am still Gold, and today was able to check in online and select 3D. I am flying Economy. The flight is tonight. So something seems to have changed, as in the past I had to go to the airport and line up to do that.

I had 3D as a Gold last Sunday as well.

Don't tell too many people!

 

[eastwest101]

I haven't been keeping up to date on if any of this has changed so appologies if this is old news.

I am still Gold, and today was able to check in online and select 3D. I am flying Economy. The flight is tonight. So something seems to have changed, as in the past I had to go to the airport and line up to do that.

Thanks for the data point Rdarby and sorry for all the questions. Was this for a Virgin domestic flight? I assume that the flight was not booked this afternoon? Were you able to view and see your existing booking on the Virgin Website? How and on what device did you do online checkin? Computer with paper printout or smartphone? Did you get an electonic boarding pass or a paper boarding pass? It seems that maybe OLCI may work at T-24hours now.

 

[Fruitcake]

It seems that maybe OLCI may work at T-24hours now.

OLCI has been opening at T-48 as advertised since the Sabre rollover. In fact, that's one of the few things that has consistently worked for the majority of pax, judging by reports here.

I booked some J rewards SYD-CNS-BNE-SYD last week, I was able to allocate seats on the 737 sector (CNS-BNE) but not on the E190 sectors.

Personally I don't have a strong preference between J seats so I won't waste my time calling but if I was in the Y cabin I'd probably be on the phone, and would be annoyed about having to call up.

 

[Jurahn]

Looks like that part of the site is still under construction to me, but then again, so do all the Virgin and Velocity web sites. I can only see those T&C's when looking at International Long Haul (ie: they vanish when Int Short Haul or Domestic is selected). I am not sure if these T&C's are changed as I don't fly VA long haul international a lot but I encourage everyone to have a close look at them including the non-refundibility of seat selection fees if you have a flexible ticket and you change the date or flight number on a flexible ticket.

I'd never seen these T & Cs before, although we've flown VA long-haul international several times (Y+ each time) - I've had a look at the Seating FAQs on the website, which state "All guests travelling with Virgin Australia operated flights to all other international destinations (other than Bali, coughet, NZ etc) may select their seat in advance of their flight. With the exception of guests travelling on a V Promo fare, this is available at no additional cost. For guests travelling on a V Promo Fare, a fee will apply to select a seat in advance". This information used to be on the International Long Haul "Select a Seat" page, but as mentioned, that page now contains identical information to the other two (and yes, you can only link to those T & Cs from that page, not the Domestic or Int Short Haul ones). The T & Cs seems to be casting a wider net, as it makes no mention of fees only applying to certain seat selections or fare types, and V Promo fares can't by any stretch of the imagination be described as a flexible fare!

 

[Jurahn]

In a word - yes. I have heard annectotal stories that over 50% of the call volumes coming into VA/Velocity call centers would be existing pax requesting seat selection/allocation. I would also imagine that since mid-Jan that call volumes have at least doubled. Another good reason to start fixing their web sites maybe.

Well, the call centre is going to get a call from me, whether they like it or not! Being the domestic A330 legs of connecting international long-haul flights, I can't select seats at online check-in because they don't allow online check-in for these flights, I have to wait until I get to the airport, so who knows what seat I could end up with (first time flying J, and I guess there are no really bad seats LOL, but with the amount I'm paying, I'd like to at least request where I'd like to sit!!!!).

Seriously, you'd think this is one thing VA would go into high gear to fix - massive increases in volume to the call centres isn't good for anyone - not the operators, who are under huge pressure, nor the customers who are just p*ssed off at having to make yet another phone call (and sometimes multiple calls) to do something that should be a simple point/click/select/confirm on the website. Makes absolutely no sense to inflict this sort of thing on their passengers or their staff, especially with all the other issues that have arisen.

 

[Foreigner]

Got row 4 on E190 CNS-SYD today. Almost full flight in Y but J had just 2 pax for 6 available seats. On checkin I did ask if row 3 was available but advised no. Yet 3B was vacant. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed all E190 flights. Flight attendants are very attentive. Pre-flight safety drill looks decent and in sync with what's being described.