airplane question

[kxmeeh]

I am searching for a non-stop trip from eithr phili or newark to MCO. Here's my problem. We are flying down on the 18th. He is flying down on the 19th. to join us. How can I be sure we can all sit together on our return on the 26th?

 

[dweitzel0]

I typically fly Delta and they usually give you the option of selecting your seats when booking online. Just select a seat for the first reservation that has an empty seat next to it.

You can also just give the airline a call (any airline) and they will be able to arrange it for you.

Third option is to fly Southwest with their open seating, (although I don't know if they fly nonstop from your lacation).

 

[CleveRocks]

Just select a seat for the first reservation that has an empty seat next to it.

I can't see how seats for one flight will possibly have any relationship to seats on another flight one week later. Flights just don't work that way.

It's very simple, just get on the phone with your airline and do seating assignment that way. It will, however, require both of you to be on the phone at the same time, unless you "own" the entire reservation and not just your ticket.

 

[dweitzel0]

I can't see how seats for one flight will possibly have any relationship to seats on another flight one week later. Flights just don't work that way.

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. See each leg of the the trip (departure and return) are treated separately. Seats can be cosen for each leg individually (you typically aren't sitting in 34A for both flights). The departure flight seating is not the concern, as they will be flying on separate days. It is only the return flight that they will be selecting adjacent seats. So you are correct, seats for one flight will not have any relationship to seats on another flight one week later.

CleveRocks is correct that the surefire way to do it is call the reservation line. But I hate waiting on hold and prefer booking over the internet whenever possible. So for further clarification IF you want to book online, select the itinerary for the first persons flight. You may choose the outbound seat if you desire, but it is not required. When picking a seat for the return flight choose one that has an empty seat next to it (say 34A with 34B still available). Purchase the ticket and select the itinerary for the next persons flight. The outbound flight seating choice does not matter. Now on the return flight, which should be the same as the preious person pick the seat next to the ( if they selected 34A, you take 34B). It may sound confusing but its actually pretty simple.

 

[kaytieeldr]

While I understand anybody's reluctance to wait on hold, in even the couple of minutes it takes to complete the first transaction and get to the 'select seat' portion of the second transaction, that seat could (not likely, but could) be taken by/assigned to another passenger.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Delta doesn't fly non-stop from PHL and has an awful history of changing flight times and seating arrangements.
Best flights out of Philly would be Southwest, AirTran or the dreaded USAirways. All go non-stop several times per day.
SWA would be my 1st choice and with their open seating policy you could easily sit together as long as you check in 24 hrs. ahead online to get an "A" boarding pass. If this is difficult while on vacation, you could always ask someone from home to do it and you can get a reprint at the airport and still keep your A status.
USAir has a bad rep esp in PHL for losing luggage. I found this out twice the hard way besides reading it in our Sunday paper!
I've never used AirTran so I can't comment on their service but SW usually beats their price anyway. Still worth looking into.
Also, reread OP and you could also look into JetBlue out of EWR. That's really far for us to drive to so I've never even considered them but I've heard they have tv's on every seatback.

 

[cbrfan]

I can only comment on AirTran. But all their flights are booked as one-way flights. If you flew with them you could book the trip down on it's own without DH. Then book the return trip with all of you together as a separate one-way trip. Then check in online at the 24 hour mark. I've always had seats together when I do that.

 

[tjmw2727]

I would book one way flights - first book the outbound leg for the party on the 18th then book the outbound for the party on the 19th. Then book the return flight on the 26th for the entire party. Keep in mind though that booking seats together in now way guarantees them. You are booking passage in that class and most of the legacy airlines regularly change things around resulting in seat changes.

Personlly I prefer SWA from Philly to MCO. Go online and get your A boarding pass 24 hours prior to your flight, get to the airport on time or early and choose your own seats.

TJ