Last week, I heard from a young man who returned from a trip to Europe. He had a great time, but was upset with the airline. On his outbound flight he didn’t have a power port at his seat that he’d expected, and on his flight back he had to complain to have his original seat assignment restored.
The airlines fly a variety of airplanes, each with an assortment of cabin configurations. The configuration of a plane such as the Airbus A330 can vary from airline to airline, and each airline may have more than one configuration themselves. For example, Air France flies the Airbus A330–300 in two different cabin configurations, which are both significantly different than the A330–300 cabin configuration used by US Airways.
Not only can the cabin configurations differ, and therefore the seating, but the seat amenities of a particular plane can be significantly different from plane to plane between airlines and within an airline.
Seat amenities include the type of entertainment system available, if any, and EmPower Ports to supply inflight power to electronic devices such as laptop computers.
The young man flew to Europe a couple of years earlier on the same airline, in the same type of plane (A330) as this trip. He had an EmPower Port available for his seat in coach. He assumed he would have the power port again, to run his laptop. Unfortunately the airline, in what they termed “a cost-saving measure,” pulled the ports out of coach in some of their A330 planes. He didn’t know that, but he could have.
Prior to making a airline reservation and choosing my seats, I check the plane’s configuration.
Two popular sites to check airline cabin configuration and seating are SeatGuru, and SeatExpert. My favorite is SeatGuru. I find their information more complete. For example, only SeatGuru noted that some of A330’s, on the airline the young man flew, had the EmPower Ports removed from coach.
SeatGuru and SeatExpert provide other excellent information about the cabin configuration and individual seats on planes, such as if the seats don’t recline as much as other seats in their class, how close they are to the galley or lavatories, if the tray is in immovable arm rests reducing the width of the seat, etc.
On his return flight, upon checking-in, the young man found his seat had been reassigned from an aisle seat near the front of the coach section, to a middle seat toward the back of the plane. He was extremely unhappy, especially considering he had paid the airline extra to reserve an aisle seat.
In the airlines’ “Contract of Carriage,” you can generally find a section concerning the assignment of seats, similar to this one in US Airways “Terms of Transportation,” their name for “Contract of Carriage.”
Seats assigned in advance are not guaranteed and form no part of the Terms of Transportation. Seat assignments may be subject to change and/or may be released for reassignment.
Of course, now that some airlines are charging extra for seats they call, “Premium” or “Choice,” due to their location, can they reasonably reassign you to inferior seating, if you have paid extra for it, and if they do, don’t they have an obligation to make you whole, in that case?
He complained, and asked for a supervisor. He was polite, but firm in his stance that he be reassigned an aisle seat toward the front of the plane, for which he paid extra. Fortunately for him, the airline agreed that he did pay extra. They apparently still had available aisle seats toward the front of coach. He got his seat back.
I know others who haven’t been so lucky.
Sometimes, when there is only one flight a day to your destination, and you’re on a tight schedule, if the airlines reassign your seat without prior notification, it’s possible you’ll be out of luck. You may need to seek redress some other way, such as a refund, which would have been the young man’s second choice.
You can improve your odds if your seat is reassigned. Most airlines let you check-in online 24 hours in advance. You should check-in as early as possible. If the seat assignment is changed, you can call to rectify the assignment and have a better chance of doing so, as many, if not most other passengers will not have yet checked-in.
I also periodically check my reservation online, prior to my flights, to make sure the reservation is in order, and flight times haven’t changed. That saved me once when I discovered our flight times had significantly changed and we didn’t have enough time to make our connection. We were able to change flights.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I generally don’t pay for premium seating. A couple of years ago when I had plans that involved several flights on United I purchased their United Economy Plus package that provided premium seating for one year and I encouraged my sister who was flying on some of the same flights as me to do the same. While it was easy to purchase Economy Plus it was harder to get seats in it. Virtually every flight required multiple phone calls requesting reassignment to the proper seats and only constant monitoring of the reservation online kept me aware that I had been “re-seated.” My sister and her husband were on the same flights as me and my partner. We were seated together in Economy Plus both directions. On arriving at CDG for our flight back to the US she was told she had been reassigned to seats at the rear of the plane. The agent insisted there was no record of her having had Economy Plus seat assignments and no record of her having paid the $150 plus (I don’t recall what the exact price was at that time) membership fee. None of us had been given any sort of card to show we had purchased the Economy Plus program for a year but we were assured it showed up on our Frequent Flyer record which it apparently did not. Eventually the agent reassigned her to better seats but not the ones she had been assigned when she purchased the tickets. Even though we flew United again several times the following year neither of us paid the extra membership after that.
I have resigned myself to being reassigned to seats at the rear of the plane multiple times before I depart regardless of the airline. I try to check online frequently and when I discover I am at the rear again I try to choose better seats knowing that I will likely have to do so again before departure. The airlines seem more willing to take your money for premium seating than they are to provide it and I am no longer confident that paying extra will get me better seats in economy.
He assumed he would have the power port again, to run his laptop. Unfortunately the airline, in what they termed “a cost-saving measure,” pulled the ports out of coach in some of their A330 planes. He didn’t know that, but he could have.
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Fleet commonality is a tricky thing. An airline can have several different cabin interiors based on where they fly that particular aircraft. Years ago, USAirways had ONLY COACH on the shuttle, but the aircraft was Airbus 319′s and 320′s. Mainline had first class.
Seatguru is a perfect example for checking for inflight cabin differences. But, you need to check on what type of aircraft you’re scheduled to be on. And, what versions.
The selling of premuim or choice seats can be a headache to flight attendants who are trying to get a family together due to different areas of the aircraft. I have approached passengers if they would mind changing, only to hear, yes. I paid for this seat. Sigh, compassion comes at a cost.
Agree with you on SeatGuru.com. I’ve used them most often when flying on airlines that are not my “regular” ones. I’ve found them to be accurate if somewhat conservative (conservative as in it wasn’t quite as bad as they suggested).
As for changing seat assignments, I have been a UA Premiere Exec or 100K for each of the last 10 years or more. As a result, I get to pick my seats, including Econ Plus and exit rows, when I book.
However, recently, on their 767s, I’ve had my seats changed without notice. Like you, I check often, and, luckily, I was was able to put myself back in my chosen seat. But on one flight, they actually moved me out twice, once when they renumbered their rows and once for no apparent reason at all.
On another time, while they kept me in a coveted exit row on the 767, they moved me forward a row into the bulkhead exit which is too cramped for my stretch-out-and-slouch sitting style. I got reinstated to the old seat when I checked in at the airport which only made me wonder why they moved me out in the first place and were then able to move me back.
And because where I sit in a specific confirguation or plane model is THE most important part of the travel experience, I now feel the need to check even more often.
only to hear, NOOOOOOOOOO. I paid for this seat. Sigh, compassion comes at a cost.
(typo)