QF Seat allocation

[ioki]

yes.. more seat allocation question!! =p

my wife and i are on AKL -> SYD this friday evening and as its my is a work related trip, so the 2 tickets are booked seperatly.

she's (silver) been allocated a much forward seat than me (gold) and so i called qantas FF ppl and asked for to be moved forward to be next to her..

as it turns out, they just won't do it.. the only option is for us to move further back in the metal in order to seat together.

the excuse was, oh, the seat has been pre-allocated and jsut ask for the seating when at the airport, of which we've tried before already and it has never gotten us anywhere

what is the proper way to go about in the seat allocation re-shuffle game?

[serfty]

It is very likely that most of the seating up front has been preallocated and there are no spare seats beside either your or your wife's preallocated seats.

As you are not CL, they are unlikely to move any other PAX as they would generally be elite in that forward area.

I suggest that if you wish to ensure sit together, take your lumps and move back now.

Other than that, check every few hours as people on flexible fares often change flights and a space may open up beside you or your wife.

Other than that, get to the Airport early (-4hrs?) and try again or look for an exit row.

Failing anything else, you may be able to get the FA's to arrange some sort of swap once you have boarded.

[NM]

Seat pre-allocation can be a black art. Since your two tickets were purchased separately, it is likely they were purchased at different times. Each seat allocation likely matched the FF profile according to the seats available at the time of booking. Note that seats are allocated when the reservation is made, not when the ticket is issued.

Pre-allocations can only be made until a certain percentage of the cabin has been allocated, then its all done at the airport. This allows some flexibility for seating groups together.

You can call QF and have the two bookings linked so they know you want to sit together.

Forward seats are often (usually) reserved for elite FF status members for pre-allocation. That generally means QF Platinum and Gold members and equiv OneWorld status members. It is possible that the seat next to your wife has already been allocated to someone else, and they should not be expected to move that person to accommodate you. It is also possible that the seat you desire is not yet allocated, but reserved for elite FF status members. If this is the case, then it should be available to you as a Gold status member.

Try calling back again. It can't hurt. And its amazing how getting a different agent can end in a different result.

If you were a Platinum FF member, you could request to be put through to the Premium Desk (if you don't get there on the initial call) and they are generally very helpful. I am not sure if Gold members get access to the Premium Desk, but it may be worth asking.

But its not a long flight. And I would happy just to sit together in any row and not be overly concerned about being forward or aft. Forward is nice, but unless its the bulkhead row you seek, the only difference is going to be how quickly you get off the aircraft upon arrival.

[ioki]

black art indeed....

this is actually the second time i've called to try and link the tickets and both time was told to get to the airport early <blah>.. unfortunetly, the earliest we'll get to the airport is ~2 hours before the flight..

i was platinum for a 2 cycles a few yrs ago, those were the good ol' days!

thank you all for the replies!!

[freaky]

I am not sure if Gold members get access to the Premium Desk, but it may be worth asking.

It won't happen. I used to be plat (now gold) and premium desk aren't allowed to deal with anything other than platinum requests and bookings. I had a couple of favourite consultants there, but now have to deal with the general lot.