28A seat release process question

Morning all,

Firstly, allow me to introduce myself - I'm a long time lurker and this is my first post, so please be gentle with me.

I'm flying to SFO in a couple of weeks for work, and they've agreed to let me go PE (which is nice). Given that I'm reasonably long in the limb and having read various trip reports and seat reviews I'm rather interested in attempting to get positoned in the famous 28A. So my question is this: I've seen mention in the TRs about asking checkin to make a phonecall to release the seat...who is it they phone and am I likely to get any grief...?

Thanks for your help...!

Jon

[Neil]

Hi Jon and welcome to the site.

With row 28 being a exit row on the new LHR config it is highly likely that it will be already open for allocating when you get to the airport. If you happen to check in very early for your flight and 'ops' haven't unlocked it yet then the check in agent should just be able to make a call to get them to do so.

You shouldn't have any problem with this and it something I have personally asked before without any problem. The only possible issue you might have is if the check in agent doesn't know what they are doing or is particularly awkward/unhelpful (does happen sometimes unfortunately). If this is the case just politely ask them to ring through and see if they can be released and then you should be ok (unless of course they have already been allocated to other pax)

Have a great flight and we look forward to a TR on your return.

Neil

welcome from me to v-flyer Jon and thanks for asking that question it was helpful to me, so thanks to Neil as well as we are off on the VS005 in the morning

Hi John and welcome - yes 28A is a coveted seat in PE on the rejigged LHR 747s. As such lots of knowledgeable insiders know about it and it is likely that on each flight at least one person is after that seat. It is an exit row seat, the door adjacent is the most common one used for the jet bridges and boarding and disembarking.

Now, my tip and I shouldn't share it, is 29HandK - these are fantastic seats because while technically they are also exit row seats, there's a wall in front (the back of a UC coat cupboard) giving it a much more peaceful and enclosed feel. Mind you I'm a short a*** and find I have to stretch to comfortably rest my feet on the same wall whereas a 6footer+ might not.

Whichever you choose, the advice is to be at check in sooner rather than later, because they are allocated on a first come first serve basis - that is unless with 29HandK a family wants the bassinet and so these would be reserved, for example.

One of the little white lies that VS check in staff are prone to say is that exit row seats are being blocked by seat management as there are families checking in. Sometimes this is true, sometimes I have discovered through experience it means they've got a problem with over booking in UC and some people need to be downgraded, they then give these seats to those people as they are the best PE seats. This happened to me on Monday flying to JFK - probably because it was a 343 (horror of horrors, why on the premium route!).

So nothing is guaranteed, but check in early and give it a go!

Originally posted by slinky09
Now, my tip and I shouldn't share it, is 29HandK - these are fantastic seats because while technically they are also exit row seats, there's a wall in front (the back of a UC coat cupboard) giving it a much more peaceful and enclosed feel. (snip)
Whichever you choose, the advice is to be at check in sooner rather than later, because they are allocated on a first come first serve basis - that is unless with 29HandK a family wants the bassinet and so these would be reserved, for example.

How does that work ? If it's an exit row surely whacking a bassinet in there creates an obstacle ?

Paul

[Neil]

Originally posted by pjh

How does that work ? If it's an exit row surely whacking a bassinet in there creates an obstacle ?

Paul

29 H&K isn't an Exit Row, it is a 'bulkhead', a bit like Row 18 on the A346. 28 A&C are exit rows though, there isn't a row 28 on the H&K side.

Neil

Excellent. Thanks all for your replies - I shall see how I get on. Many thanks,
Jon