Seat assignment - help?

[mnmomof2]

Made our reservations on Delta but when I went to choose seats it shows that only 1 seat is available and there are 5 in our party - they do have priority comfort seats avail for an additional $19 per person. - Will they just assign us seats at the airport and if so does anyone know why I can't just pick them now?

 

[nefritz]

Made our reservations on Delta but when I went to choose seats it shows that only 1 seat is available and there are 5 in our party - they do have priority comfort seats avail for an additional $19 per person. - Will they just assign us seats at the airport and if so does anyone know why I can't just pick them now?

Not sure where you booked, so only passing on another experience. My good friend booked delta on a travel site (I think Expedia) and wasn't assigned seats. Then week before trip found out they had to pay the $19 to get seats. Now I booked directly on deltas site and was assigned seats for everyone in our party at the end of the transaction.
Hope that helps a little

 

[mnmomof2]

I did book on the Delta site and have always just been able to book the seats right then so I am not sure why it doesn't show any available. I will probably just give customer service a call.

 

[Mariep26]

They may be holding back seats and most likely they have not assigned exit row seats.

 

[crashbb]

Generally, only a certain number of seats are available for pre-selection. They hold some back for those who might need them for special reasons (like bulkhead seats for those with a service dog or mobility issue), or because there are restrictions on who can sit there (like emergent exit seats), or to allow flexibility at flight time.

They will assign seats when you check in (either at the airport or online) but they may not be near each other (they can only assign with what is left). Depending on the airline, those without preselected seats may be higher on the list for those that will be bumped in an oversell situation, but there are often many factors there.

 

[DebbieB]

Delta holds most of the non-Economy Comfort aisle and window seats in the front half of the plane for their medallion members (very frequent flyers). If not taken, these will open up on the day of the flight for anyone. Also, medallion members are sometimes upgraded to first class, which will open up coach seats. With 5 people, you may not all get to sit together. You can choose to pay for the economy comfort seats or switch to a different flight that has open seats available for pre-assignment. Or just take your chances that seats will open up close to each other.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) I am a frequent flier, with over 420,000 miles STILL in my Delta account.
2) Having not enough open seats depends upon how early you book.
3) The closer to the flight, the fewer seats truly open.
4) Frequernt fliers are upgraded at 5-day, 3-day, 24-hr pre-flight periods.
5) Inability to get a seat assignment is due to one of these
. . . a) flight is already overbooked
. . . b) frequent fliers in Coach are not yet upgraded (5-3-1 day free upgrades)
. . . c) there is a tour that had pre-booked seats not yet released

NOTE1: Prior to the 5-day advance date, in most cases, it is 2b. But,
if less than 5-days prior to flight date, it is probably due to 2a and you
may be in big trouble and likely to be bumped. Best advice is to check
several times a day to see if seats opened. If not, get to the airport
at least 3-hrs ahead of time. The earliest people at the counter or the
gate are the ones who are first ones to get on the wait-list and the first
ones to get any last-minute available seats. (Airlines can overbook by 10%
per law. So, when I see a flight without open seats, I pick another flight.
Just because they sold you a ticket, it does not guarantee you a seat on
that plane)

NOTE2: If the seats are not available because they are being saved for
frequent fliers, then the seats are simply "gray" versus being noted as
unavailable. This means that the seats are not bought and could be
assigned later. If the seat is "unavailable", then it is sold and the flight
is probably overbooked.

 

[seashoreCM]

You don't "have" to pay extra for premium seats. If it gets down to the last minute and you get to the airport and all they have is premium seats, then they will give you one at no extra charge. They're not going to mandatorily pay you bump compensation for not letting you board, and then simultaneously send out the plane with premium seats empty because no one stepped up to the plate and paid for them.

Sooner or later (I hope sooner) someone will make a stink if they got bumped and not wanting to pay for a premium seat made a difference. The sequences of events that could lead to that are too complex to show here.

 

[aubriee]

My husband and I bought airfare on Delta last July for our Oct 27th-Nov 4th trip. A little over a week before we left my mom's blood sugar went completely haywire and started dropping really low for no reason, then would skyrocket into the 400's. Her doctor adjusted her insulin. However I did not want to leave her alone, but she refused to let us cancel our trip. We finally decided she would just go with us. We were flying out the next Sat and the Monday before had to try to get her on the planes with us. Delta allowed me to book her on our flights, but on one of them it would not let me choose her a seat. With her medical problems, there was no way we could let her be bumped, so I called Delta to see what was going on and to see if I could get her a seat assigned and then maybe switch my husband's seat for hers. I told the agent we didn't necessarily all three have to sit together, but one of us needed to be next to mom to help get her on the plane and to be close in case her blood sugar dropped unexpectedly. The very nice agent said to let her see what she could do, put me on hold, then came back to tell me she freed up three seats together in the first row of coach, so we could all three sit together. She said they keep some seats in reserve that don't show up when you book.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You don't "have" to pay extra for premium seats. If it gets down to the last minute and you get to the airport and all they have is premium seats, then they will give you one at no extra charge. They're not going to mandatorily pay you bump compensation for not letting you board, and then simultaneously send out the plane with premium seats empty because no one stepped up to the plate and paid for them.

Sooner or later (I hope sooner) someone will make a stink if they got bumped and not wanting to pay for a premium seat made a difference. The sequences of events that could lead to that are too complex to show here.

I have no idea how things work on Delta, but on UA, it is extremely rare for them to move non-elite PAX into E+ seats if they do not pay. I have been on many UA flights where economy is completely full, but E+ has empty seats.

 

[Lewisc]

I have no idea how things work on Delta, but on UA, it is extremely rare for them to move non-elite PAX into E+ seats if they do not pay. I have been on many UA flights where economy is completely full, but E+ has empty seats.

The question is what happens if the flight is not only overbooked but more "regular" economy passengers arrive at the gate then the airline has regular economy seats. Assume all elite PAX have already been upgraded. Will the airline "upgrade" a regular economy PAX or will they bump the passenger. I suspect under those, limited, circumstances a non-elite PAX will get an E+ seat.

Economy being completely full with empty E+ seats isn't the question. The question is if economy pax were bumped under those circumstances.

 

[dudspizza]

The question is what happens if the flight is not only overbooked but more "regular" economy passengers arrive at the gate then the airline has regular economy seats. Assume all elite PAX have already been upgraded. Will the airline "upgrade" a regular economy PAX or will they bump the passenger. I suspect under those, limited, circumstances a non-elite PAX will get an E+ seat.

Economy being completely full with empty E+ seats isn't the question. The question is if economy pax were bumped under those circumstances.

Yes. I was on a flight that the equipment changed. They moved my dad and I to E+ for no charge.

 

[bumbershoot]

DH has that happen with his work travel a lot, where he doesn't have a seat until near the flight time. Even before he got "status" with airlines, he was never left behind. He would get to the airport and be assigned a seat.


And it happened to me and DS while using miles. We were seated separately, so the OP needs to anticipate that and have a plan. DS and I talked a whole lot about how to deal with it if we remained separated. Some kind and sweet people did move around, and we were only a row apart, which he ended up LOVING, LOL, and he did well. If I hadn't talked to him about it beforehand, however, I'm not sure he would have enjoyed finding out he was sitting apart for mme at the last minute. So if the OP has kids in the group. Talk to them, and get to the airport very early so you have ample opportunity to get seats closer, as seats open up.