To have a rant about airline seat booking?

[KiwiInTraining]

Just trying to book an airline seat (where you pay to book a seat). When I first tried to book it, the payment for the seat left my account, but I then got a message saying there’s been an error so the seat booking couldn’t be confirmed. The airline then refunded me the money for the seat.

I’ve just contacted customer services to ask if they can book the seat for me and it’s such a faff. Is it worth booking a pre-paid seat?? I don’t think I’ve done it before - it’s just, as it’s a long haul flight, I just thought it might be worth it.

It depends - if you're prepared to take your chances where you're seated, then don't pay. If you want to make sure you have an aisle seat/window seat/seat away from the toilets (delete as applicable!) then I'd always pay.

Thanks BIWI, that’s exactly why I’d like to book a seat, so I can choose where I’d like to be. The problem is the airline I’m booking with keep on taking the money from my account then saying there’s been an error in processing my booking, so my seat booking hasn’t worked and I’m left with then just getting the money refunded back into my account. It’s quite a big South East Asian airline and one I’ve flown with before and been happy with, so this feels quite frustrating.

Do they have a help function? Or someone you could talk to about your booking?

Maybe they’re just having a technical issue. Try again tomorrow.

I recently paid for a window seat with extra legroom on a long haul flight, and was looking forward to propping my pillow against the wall so I could sleep.

However my window seat was occupied by a man sitting next to his obese disabled mother in the aisle seat. It was a lose/lose for me. Either I insisted on my window seat and sat next to the very large disabled woman for 12 hours, or took the man's aisle seat with the prospect of no sleep.

I still had the legroom but it pissed me off no end, not least because the woman's knees were in my back all the way.

I’ve phoned their helpline, but either get cut off whilst I’m waiting to speak to someone, or I get cut off after I’ve spoken to a customer adviser about the issue and they’ve put me on hold whilst trying to look into it.

You should have asked staff to move you elsewhere if possible. Or first class.

Yes but I always like a specific seat and I hate flying so it's worth it to me.

As long as you don't not book one then try and ask someone else to move!

Sorry to hear Random, that sounds miserable. Do you know why the man was in the seat you’d booked? Had the airline double-booked your seat?

When I fly overseas I normally just chance it that I can get a suitable seat when free selection starts 24 hours before the flight. I always go for an aisle so I can more easily move about if I want to. Besides I've found that some people won't actually get up to let you out just move their legs so that you might squeeze past - but I'm not petite so that never works for me.

My recent trip last month I actually prebooked a paid seat to get the ones at the front of the section as it was an overnight flight and I knew there wasn't going to be many empty seats as there was a few years back. Best flight home I've ever had - yes - it was about £150 more but well worth it.

He plonked himself down next to his mother in my seat. I guess by the time he went to select his seat there were no pairs left. I had to take his aisle seat, or kick up a fuss, but I didn't want to sit next to his disabled huge bloody mother. It was a while ago but it still pisses me off 😩

They did move me elsewhere, to his aisle seat in front of his mother

How were her knees in your back if you were sat next to her?

If flying as a family I book seat so we’re all sat together, but on my own I’d take my chances. Except I’d also make sure I wasn’t too close to the loo on a flight going to Asia.

Not being a dick, I just don't understand the logistics of this.

If your all sat in a row him in the window, his mother in the middle and you in the aisle, how were her knees in your back all the way. Also extra legroom seats near plane emergency exits cannot be occupied by disabled people for safety reasons.

Some people are really deluded. They won’t move you to first class! He will be moved and you sit next to his Mother!

And an extra legroom/emergency seat will not be allowed to be occupied by a disabled person for obvious reasons

I get it about the knees now after @randomusername666 subsequent posts

The logistics are, there was a pair of seats, just an aisle and window seat, no middle seat, 2 seats only. He took my window seat instead of the aisle seat in front of his mother, she was in the aisle seat. I had to take his aisle seat in front of his mother.

Log out of booking and back in? Did you get an email from airline? Is the seat you booked still available?

You didn’t have to at all though? Why didn’t you ask him to move? Or have the stewards move him if he refused? As it is you paid for a seat you didn’t even get to use.

Because.... It was a lose/lose for me. If I had turfed him out of my seat I would have been squeezed next to his huge disabled mother. The aisle seat in front of his mother was the lesser of two evils.

I had extra legroom which I'd paid for, but not the window seat.

You probably did the pragmatic thing but I must admit I'd have politely run the situation past the cabin crew anyway...(for example to establish for certain if was it only the son who was in the wrong seat).

Sometimes, but not always, being seen to be gracious can bring it's rewards, though maybe not on the scale of an upgrade...

I never pay, 9 times out of 10 I get to sit next to dp too, if not who cares, it's only a few hours. When I had under 16's I did book