Is My Flight Almost "Full"?

[kristenrice]

I was playing around on the Delta website, watching the fares skyrocket, and I stumbled upon something that got me wondering...

I looked at the flight we are booked booked on and when I checked the availability/price for 1 or 2 tickets, the prices stayed the same (>$400 one way!) but when I searched for 3, our flight does not even show up as an option. Our itinerary is two legs, GRR-DTW and DTW-MCO, and when I "investigated" further, I realized that it is the GRR-DTW leg that appears to only have 2 seats remaining.

Is that assumption correct? The seat map shows plenty of open seats, but I was surprised that there was no offer of First Class or Comfort + fares, even if Main Cabin and Basic Economy were sold out. Can someone enlighten me as to how there are so many seats showing available if only two remain unsold? Are there really THAT may people that buy main cabin fares without picking their seats?

 

[drwadadli]

There are seat available but only two tickets because not everyone reserves a seat when they book there tickets. So, even though the tickets are sold, the seat is not reserved. We did it on our last flight. One ticket was booked through airline points and the other tickets was purchased. At the time of booking, the agent couldn't get us two seats together so therefore we held off on reserving seats until we checked in and talk to someone at the airport about seeing if we could get two seats together. I checked us in online the night before and was able to reserve seats at that time that were together.

So, to answer your question....."Are there really THAT may people that buy main cabin fares without picking their seats?"..............the simple answers is.........YESSSS

 

[writerguyfl]

Seat maps are not indicators of whether a flight is nearly sold out or not. Aside from fare products that don't allow advanced seating, there are other reason why travelers don't select seats. For example, tour groups and wholesalers don't get seats in advanced. (Although it's unlikely there will be a tour group going to/from Grand Rapids.) Also, some business travelers won't bother selecting seats until they are certain that they be taking the flight.

Finally, some people don't really care where they sit. That's particularly true on a small regional jet. Looking at Delta's schedule for a random day in July, it looks like 6 of the 7 flights from Grand Rapids to Detroit are on regional jets that have 2-2 seating. (Two seats - aisle - two seats.) Without the specter of the dreaded middle seat, some people wouldn't be bothered by any seat on that plane. That's doubly true considering the flight time is just under an hour.

If you really want to know how many seats are for sale, you need a travel agent or a paid product like Expert Flyer. With those, you can see how many seats are for sale in each fare class. But as far as I know, that's the only way to really tell the tale of how many seats are actually for sale.

 

[kristenrice]

Thanks for the information...I appreciate the education. So based on the fact that there are only 2 tickets available in the Main Cabin class, I would assume that the flight from GR to DTW is, in fact, nearly sold out. I am planning to upgrade our tickets to Delta Comfort + so I guess I better hurry up and get that done. I wonder, though...just because there are only 2 main cabin fares left, why would the entire flight disappear from the search when I search for three tickets? Would that mean that there is not even 3 First Class or Delta Comfort+ available either?

 

[DebbieB]

Is the GRR-DTW a regional jet? Some only have 50 to 75 seats.

 

[kristenrice]

Is the GRR-DTW a regional jet? Some only have 50 to 75 seats.

Yup...a CRJ700

I'm not a fan of "confined" spaces so I am not looking forward to that 54-minute flight.

 

[writerguyfl]

I wonder, though...just because there are only 2 main cabin fares left, why would the entire flight disappear from the search when I search for three tickets? Would that mean that there is not even 3 First Class or Delta Comfort+ available either?

That's how I would interpret those results. Sounds like Delta is only selling two seats.

Are you searching GRR to DTW or GRR to MCO? Sometimes an airline will stop selling seats on a nonstop flight in order to "save" the seat for a multi-leg ticket. They may even stop selling a domestic itinerary to save that seat for an international ticket that produces more revenue.

If you are searching GRR to DTW and can't see three seats, the flight is probably almost sold out. If you're searching GRR to MCO, try just searching for just that first leg.

I'm not a fan of "confined" spaces so I am not looking forward to that 54-minute flight.

I'm the same way. If I'm not on the aisle, I'll choose a middle seat over the window on a "regular" size plane because it feels more open. On a regional jet like a CRJ700, go with the aisle. You may even want to choose a row closer to the back (if possible). When you sit further back, you'll be able to see more of the plane. That may make you feel less claustrophobic.

 

[kristenrice]

I'm the same way. If I'm not on the aisle, I'll choose a middle seat over the window on a "regular" size plane because it feels more open. On a regional jet like a CRJ700, go with the aisle. You may even want to choose a row closer to the back (if possible). When you sit further back, you'll be able to see more of the plane. That may make you feel less claustrophobic.

I’m going to take the aisle across from my two daughters. I actually prefer to sit near the front. Even though I see just a small space in front of me, my mind tells me that there is a large, open plane behind me. If I sit near the rear of the regional jet, I will be very anxious if I can see the entire enclosed space in front of me with just a few rows behind me. We are currently booked in row 13 (of 18) and I am planning to upgrade to the Comfort + fare so that we can move up to row 5 or 6. As long as I am in front of the wings, I do just fine.