Tag Archives for seats.
A Melbourne-based couple traveling on Virgin Australia couldn’t get seats next to each other in business class when they booked. Virgin’s Boeing 737 premium cabin has just two rows up front.
So they took a window seat and an aisle seat on the other side of the aircraft, and tried to switch with another passenger when they boarded.
American Airlines became the first U.S. airline to offer a guarantee that families could sit together, by writing it into its customer service plan. That’s a commitment which is enforceable by the Department of Transportation.
When Lufthansa first started teasing their new first class product, it didn’t look especially impressive. Details began leaking out that suggested it was going to be very nice and indeed they’re out with a lot more information now and it looks awesome.
However new first class will be on some of their Airbus A350s, and those that have it will offer just a single row of three seats. Do not plan on flying this with your points.
United’s seat map tool seeks out available adjacent seats during the booking process. They’ll use this to make more adjacent seats available, even in more costly coach seats, when children under 12 are part of a booking. A full rollout of the capability will happen by next month.
The airline will also allow free flight change without fare difference when adjacent seats aren’t available prior to travel. Their new policy applies even on basic economy fares.
When you book a flight you have the option, in most cases, to select your seats. Not everyone does this, which is something I’ll never understand in cases where seat assignments are free. But I also don’t think the choice people make are logical when they do choose seats.
She likes room temperature bottled water available at all times (honestly, so do I). She likes a weekly hour-long massage. She wants to avoid flying Southwest though they’re a huge carrier in her home state. She starts work at 8:45 a.m. (reasonable) and doesn’t let staffers schedule activities past 8 p.m. without her express approval (also non-crazy!). She doesn’t like weekend work events before 1 p.m.
And her travel preferences turn out to be just like everyone else’s. She “does not like to fly” and asks staffers to pick her preferred seats when she does.
Surely the seat next to you, if left empty, is fair game for use right? You can spread out a bit. Not everyone shares this view, including an American Airlines flight attendant who reportedly scolded a new mom for putting her 4 month old in the empty middle seat beside her while pumping breast milk.
Madrid-based oneworld airline Iberia is introducing new business class suites with doors. This isn’t a future product we’ll see years down the road. It’s already flying. In fact it’s received an aircraft featuring these seats – an Airbus A350 registration EC-NXE.
United is holding an event on Tuesday with Boeing at the aircraft manufacturer’s facility in South Carolina. They are expected to announce a major order for Boeing 787 long haul aircraft.
These new planes will come with the same economy and premium economy seats United currently uses on their Boeing 787-10 aircraft, however business class with be a new seat – ‘next generation Polaris’ – which offers suites with doors.
Finally someone understands and has accepted a lesson I have been preaching for years. Stop complaining that passengers won’t trade seats with you when you’re offering a middle seat in the back, and asking for an extra legroom aisle seat. If you are looking to trade, you need to come up with the best trade bait possible. Don’t expect someone to downgrade their flight experience for your convenience. At a minimum, offer like-for-like.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
