Seating Allocation??

[bluRider]

those JAL express seats are a good idea - would easily pay $20 - $30 extra...

would be nice tho if QF would introduce something like extra legroom economy seats - i think United have it (economy plus), and its usually allocated to elite flyers. be a nice reward for the frequent flyers ... but i guess qantas has little reason to do it

 

[waltervp]

Re: Seating Allocation and other little grudges - grin!

I used to always trust seat allocation, especially as a Gold FF you tend to get half decent seats even though they often disregard your preferences.

Generally I am not too fussed where I sit. British Airways however, 10 hrs in advance of my flight, gave me the rear window seat on a UK-US flight! Once I realised (in the plane), I crawled over the hippy kid with his 'addicted to dope' cap and asked the crew about a better seat. Despite being 99% full they found me a top seat in a flash - and by the way the plane did not feel lop sided or unbalanced!

I must also add that BA, like Q, was next to pathetic. The extra security in Heathrow was the pits and took forever. After queuing for 30 minutes the line went around a corner to reveal an empty line for 'special' people. With my Gold FF card I presumed I could do that. I left the queue and went through there to be told I was not flying business class and had to join the end of the original queue again!

Unbelievable that the Amsterdam BA lounge does not have a TV, does not have a toilet, does not have a computer. When the BA flight was delayed over and over again (at Heathrow) the passengers were horded together at the gate and not allowed back into the lounge/terminal. The only machines vending water/lollies accepted pounds. I was transiting and had none. Other passengers helped me out after one hour wait. Shortly after I got my lollies they released us from the holding area with the advice the plane would be another 20 minutes or so...

The United flights (AUS-US-AUS) were no better, especially the food was totally gross! The healthy choice was as healthy as the Apple Crisp in it was not crisp nor did the peanut butter contain peanuts. The United lounge in SanFran is not worth paying the 7000 points for to use as there is nothing to use!! No computers there either.

This trip I had tried to get away from Q. and use United. I went to the trouble of getting status matching, but what I got from United did not give me any benefits that I could see except a better seat then my partner who was seated else-where in the cabin!!! No business class check in, no lounge access... I am back to Qantas for my next flight just for the lounge privilege.

Fortunately I do not care about these things, I expect them and laugh at them and think how bad it must be for their repeat business! I do not care if I have to buy entirely new flight segments (full fare economy) at times to accommodate an upgrade or unexpected date change. Nothing is possible with the ultra cheap fares I seem to buy from travel agents (from little ones to Flight Centre). I always end up with $2000+ fares when the under $1000 ones are advertised but for some reason still get accused of having a highly discounted fare and nothing is possible. In the end it is still cheaper than just buying the full fare economy for all segments... Sometimes I don't even get points for certain code shared segments! Air travel is just a joke, something to entertain me trying to get good deals but like with poker machines, you rarely win. And who cares for that relatively short period that we go from A to B, we all get much the same seat/food in the end, and babies and huge people are randomly placed! I sleep on my flights and dream about the service we used to get.

 

[turbo]

Can anyone tell me why on a CBR - MEL flight on a dash 8 i end up with row 6 out of 9 when my QC profile has my preference for a fwd window seat? i used OLCI today about 20 hrs before my flight dep and there was mine 6D, a couple in the very back row or aisle seats 2B 3B up the front. i appreciate plat, gold etc would get allocated before me but i was a bit disappointed. has happened before on 737 as well.

my OLCI BP had seq no. 2. does that mean i am the 2nd person to have checked in for that flight?

does the seating preference in the QC profile count for anything or not?

 

[NYCguy]

Can anyone tell me why on a CBR - MEL flight on a dash 8 i end up with row 6 out of 9 when my QC profile has my preference for a fwd window seat?

CBR is CL-city. Perhaps that was a contributing factor? I guess that when it comes down to a NB QC member vs a CL for a seat, it's a foregone conclusion who will come out on top?

 

[turbo]

sorry, CL being chairmans lounge?? for all the govt ppl etc?

 

[JohnK]

my OLCI BP had seq no. 2. does that mean i am the 2nd person to have checked in for that flight?

Seq #2 does imply that you are the 2nd person to have checked in for that flight.

does the seating preference in the QC profile count for anything or not?

Seating preference does play a role but you need to consider the number of people in front of you in the pecking order. CBR-MEL flight I would expect to be full of not just Chairmans Lounge but also Platinums, Gold and Silver.

As a QF Gold I generally do not have much hassle being allocated my forward aisle preference.

 

[NM]

Can anyone tell me why on a CBR - MEL flight on a dash 8 i end up with row 6 out of 9 when my QC profile has my preference for a fwd window seat? i used OLCI today about 20 hrs before my flight dep and there was mine 6D, a couple in the very back row or aisle seats 2B 3B up the front. i appreciate plat, gold etc would get allocated before me but i was a bit disappointed. has happened before on 737 as well.

Your profile says you are Qantas Club Bronze status. On a CBR-MEL flight, I would expect a very high proportion of the passengers will have some form of QF FF status and probably most being Qantas Club, Silver, Gold, Plat or CL. You really are at the bottom of the pecking order for seating preferences. There only needs to be 10 people ahead of you wanting a window seat and you are going to be back in row 6.

Perhaps if you were on a Dash-8 service flying SYD-CFS you may find there are less high-status FF members on board and hence you are pre-allocated something further up front. But a CBR-MEL flight will have a significant proportion of passengers being at least the same and probably higher status than your.

my OLCI BP had seq no. 2. does that mean i am the 2nd person to have checked in for that flight?

Yes indeed you were the second person to check in. However, that does not mean you were the second person to be allocated a seat according to your preference. Seat allocation and check-in are two very different and separate processes. For domestic flights, Qantas' computer system pre-allocates seats for all FF members with a seating profile before the OLCI process is opened for the flight. So you had already been allocated 6A before OLCI opened, and the other 10 passengers with window seat assignments had also been allocated before OLCI opened.

OLCI does not allow you to choose form all the seats on the aircraft that do not have a checked-in passenger. It allows you to choose between the seat the computer has pre-allocated to you and any seats that are not currently pre-allocated to anyone else. Sometimes you may find a better seat available due to the person who was originally pre-allocated to that seat having changed their flight details - cancelled or changed to another flight. In that case the seat they originally pre-allocated by the computer before OLCI opened is now available for anyone to select using OLCI, QuickCheck or even agent-assisted check-in at the desk ot Qantas Club.

So using OLCI as soon as it opens for the flight is unlikely to secure you an improved seat allocation. Using OLCI say 5 hours before the flight may well enable you to find a better seat if another passengers has changed their travel plans.

does the seating preference in the QC profile count for anything or not?

Yes it does. But a Qantas Club Bronze member is at the bottom of the pecking list for eating preference.

 

[turbo]

thanks for your explanation NM, appreciated. as i have used OLCI am i still able to use Quick Check when i get to the airport to see if better seats are available or is this not possible as i have already checked in?

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

a Qantas Club Bronze member is at the bottom of the pecking list for eating preference.

yeah have to feed the fat cats first

 

[NM]

yeah have to feed the fat cats first

lol, that one slipped through the spell checker!

 

[NM]

thanks for your explanation NM, appreciated. as i have used OLCI am i still able to use Quick Check when i get to the airport to see if better seats are available or is this not possible as i have already checked in?

Not sure. However, if you have not yet printed your own BP during the OLCI process then I don't see why not. You can revisit OLCI and change later. And you can ask at the service desk at the Qantas Club lounge.

 

[acampbel]

Actually you won't be able to use Quick Check - it will spit out a "See the Service Desk" boarding pass. If you have started the OLCI the system sees you as being checked in (with your original seating allocation).

You can, however, revisit OLCI and keep looking for a better seat or just ask for one at the service desk. Probably a lost cause by then.....


Cheers,


Andrew

 

[JohnK]

Do travellers on the SYD-CBR services play musical aircraft often?

I booked a SYD-CBR return at 1:00pm today.

The SYD-CBR flight was at 17:55 on a 737-400 and I was lucky enough to be allocated 5D. Looking at online checkin it was a good seat and aircraft looked like it had a 3/4 full load. On boarding it became clear that the flight was only around half full. What happened to the rest of the passengers? Or is online checking blocking seats?

The CBR-SYD flight was at 20:10 on a DHC8-300 and I was allocated 7B. Someone sitting in 7A but no one in 7C so I took this seat. By the way all the first 6 rows were blocked for me. On boarding there was only 17 passengers out of 50 possible. And blow me down with a feather 7A,B,C&D were all allocated with the rest of the passengers spread out through the cabin. What is going on?

 

[oz_mark]

Do travellers on the SYD-CBR services play musical aircraft often?

I booked a SYD-CBR return at 1:00pm today.

The SYD-CBR flight was at 17:55 on a 737-400 and I was lucky enough to be allocated 5D. Looking at online checkin it was a good seat and aircraft looked like it had a 3/4 full load. On boarding it became clear that the flight was only around half full. What happened to the rest of the passengers? Or is online checking blocking seats?

The CBR-SYD flight was at 20:10 on a DHC8-300 and I was allocated 7B. Someone sitting in 7A but no one in 7C so I took this seat. By the way all the first 6 rows were blocked for me. On boarding there was only 17 passengers out of 50 possible. And blow me down with a feather 7A,B,C&D were all allocated with the rest of the passengers spread out through the cabin. What is going on?

On lightly loaded planes, they can get quite finnicky about where you sit. I have flown SYD-CBR with maybe 10 passengers on board and there was no opportunity to move to a better seat (at least not till after we were off the ground )

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Yup balance can be an issue if really light load. On flights with moderate load they may block seats next to elites to give them more room. NZ does this if the load is below say 80%. Makes it tricky to interpret the quick check in - do I accept the seat offered which is in a sea of seats not open to selection in the hopes they have done the block or move further back out of the elite zone where I can see an empty seat beside me (which has a risk someone else will nab it later)? It takes experience and a bit of luck to work out which situation applies.

 

[NM]

Weight and balance plays a big roll in seat allocations on lightly loaded Dash-8 aircraft.

And yes, the frequency of flights between SYD and CBR, and the fact that many passengers on that route are using flexible tickets, means there are lots of last minute flight changes.

 

[JohnK]

Yup balance can be an issue if really light load. On flights with moderate load they may block seats next to elites to give them more room.

There was 3 people seated in the first 6 rows. :shock: That is taking the blocking of seats to give elites more room a little to the extreme.

And what dingbat allocates 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D, to individual passengers, on a DHC8-300? It can't have too much to do with balance issues as these passengers were seated in 7A, 6D, 7D and 8D and were free to sit anywhere they wanted to really.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

I'm certainly no expert but my understanding is when a/c is lightly loaded they generally want pax sitting reasonable distance back to get the centre of gravity correct. Too many pax towards the front is a problem (lack of lift).

I don't know how QF Link deals with these situations (only DH8 flights of various configs I have taken with QF have had reasonable loads), but in this situation most other airlines will make an announcement for pax to remain in their allocated seats for take off and landing. Pax may be free to change seats during the middle of the flight.

I have lost count of the number of times I have flown prop flights whereby I have no choice of seats at check-in due to balance reasons.

 

[NM]

There was 3 people seated in the first 6 rows. :shock: That is taking the blocking of seats to give elites more room a little to the extreme.

And what dingbat allocates 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D, to individual passengers, on a DHC8-300? It can't have too much to do with balance issues as these passengers were seated in 7A, 6D, 7D and 8D and were free to sit anywhere they wanted to really.

It IS to do with weight and balance. Many times the cabin crew or captain will ask people to ensure they are seated in their allocated seat for take-off and landing. Just because that particular captain did not make that request does not mean the check-in system was not blocking seats according to the manufacturers recommendations for weight and balance.

 

[serfty]

I have flown many times on Crash-8's and in general most PAX are preallocated toward the rear of the aircraft for lightly loaded flights; indeed, as previously posted, it is for weight reasons.

As for 737's, weight distribution is NOT such an issue (although some FA's believe otherwise ). When travelling on lightly loaded 737's I find it quite a normal occurrence as an WP and even as an SG to find the seats beside mine blocked off. (e.g. Quick-Check shows few seats available; board the aircraft and there's plenty of empty seats.)