Qantas New Check In Seating Allocation

[Nathan75]

All,

Just checked in at ROK for BNE and was told that you cannot ask for emergency exit rows anymore due to their new system that came on-line this morning.

I have been calm until now about QF/JQ with late departures/dogey aircraft, but if this is true I will be switching my travel arrangements to the Virgin's.

Can anyone confirm if this is the case. It was explained to me that the computer automatically assigns you a seat based on status (which I already knew) but won't allow you to move to exit rows etc...

Maybe its the staff that aren't yet fully trained in the system???

Who Knows???

[Mwenenzi]

Were the exit row seats already allocated to other pax ?
What is your QF status ?
Other AFF'ers have reported being able to change seat allocations without trouble

[International Lady]

True! Seating map of available seats will only show what's left applicable to your fare and/or status.

Even Chairmans Lounge members on cheapie economy tickets will have less access to better seats than someone paying a full class fare!!!

[serfty]

True! Seating map of available seats will only show what's left applicable to your fare and/or status.

Even Chairmans Lounge members on cheapie economy tickets will have less access to better seats than someone paying a full class fare!!!

Not sure about that; Qantas haven't been able to get the revenue side of things working properly; 95% of my doestic travel is on the cheapest of the cheap fares and I am still getting the better seats to select from.

See this post:

• http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/comm...tml#post182339 (Qantas check-in fury as economy passengers turned away)

[Travel Guru]

According to someone I was chatting with the other day, Qantas' new system major focus is weight distribution, as they've worked out they can save a bundle in fuel if the plane is evenly weighted L-R and Fwd-Rear.

Im not sure the specifics, but i know they're going to get tougher on seating in order the even weight distribution targets are achieved.

I dont know what this has got to do with the exit rows, but im sure time will reveal all.

Incidently, I always find asking at the QP elicits a much better response re seat changes than at bagdrop.

TG

[International Lady]

That's good! Let's see what happens when it kicks in with International flights next month.

[JohnK]

Even Chairmans Lounge members on cheapie economy tickets will have less access to better seats than someone paying a full class fare!!!

Not sure I agree with this statement based on my experiences with my last 3 flights on the cheapest possible red e-deal. I have been allocated bulkhead aisle on 767, 2nd row aisle on another variation of the 767 and a complimentary upgrade to business class on a 767.

This is how I would expect the system to work. I do agree though that if there are 2 identical status passengers and they have paid a different price for their ticket then I would expect the higher airfare would get a better seat allocation. I do not expect to see a situation where a bronze passenger with a high fare class would be given a better seat than a Platinum passenger on the cheapest fare class. Maybe I am wrong....

[Travel Guru]

Not sure I agree with this statement based on my experiences with my last 3 flights on the cheapest possible red e-deal. I have been allocated bulkhead aisle on 767, 2nd row aisle on another variation of the 767 and a complimentary upgrade to business class on a 767.

This is how I would expect the system to work. I do agree though that if there are 2 identical status passengers and they have paid a different price for their ticket then I would expect the higher airfare would get a better seat allocation. I do not expect to see a situation where a bronze passenger with a high fare class would be given a better seat than a Platinum passenger on the cheapest fare class. Maybe I am wrong....

I'd have to agree with you there John, aside from identical status and different bkg classes, i'd expect status to win out when it comes to seating.

TG

[codash1099]

According to someone I was chatting with the other day, Qantas' new system major focus is weight distribution, as they've worked out they can save a bundle in fuel if the plane is evenly weighted L-R and Fwd-Rear.

Yeah, I've heard that as well. In fact I was on a 767 with a very light PAX load but with people scattered all over the plane. CSM announced that was for "balancing" reasons but we were free to change seats after take-off.

Not sure whether this relates to fuel conservation, though.

[Homer]

I'm sitting in the CNS QP waiting to board a flight to SYD. This is my first time in Y for a very long time - but the revenue seats for three of us were far too expensive and I couldn't get three upgrades at a time that suited us. Anyhow...

I just had a long chat to the QP staffer on the front desk about the new system and she says that load balancing has no more effect on the seating allocation than it previously did. As far as she has been told the three influencing factors are your tier, the price you paid for your seat and - get this - your commercial worth to QF. Apparently the new software adds up not just your individual spend over a pre-determined period with QF but also the spend that you might have influence over; ie a CRM type system.

I got three seats in row 27 on a 763 so I'm not loving the new system so far...