Seat assignment disappointment

I took advantage of the 336 day seat assignment when booking for MCO in March/April 05. On the outward leg, we secured 7 A,C and H

On the return leg, there were already 2 seats assigned (7 A & C) so I settled for 7 H & K and 8 K).

Eagerly anticipating the introduction of suites onto the LGW 747s I have been checking on a regular basis and there were still only the 5 reserved seats showing at the end of August.

On checking at the beginning of Sept, I was delighted to see that the flight was now showing as 74S so went to check the layout. As others have mentioned, the layout is still showing as the 744 non suite, but with all C and H seats greyed out.

I was dismayed to find that we'd been bumped back all the way to rows 11 and 12 for both legs (approx where the bar will be). On the outbound I was able to re-select 8A & K and 9A but there didn't appear to be an alternative for the inbound. I spoke to VA who have assigned us 6 A&K and 10 K which is better than I can do online (can't split group and row 10 doesn't show). I can't get a satisfactory answer though to why we weren't allocated seats as close to our original allocation as possible. It look like people who have booked more recently have in some way got priority in seat allocation (and they are allocated not being held for release at check in according to VA)

I know seat allocations can't be guaranteed and can even be changed up to check in but I was disappointed by the way this had been handled. I'd expected the other people already booked in 7A & C to be given 7 A & K and that we would take row 8 plus one in row 9.

Two things really - I'd advise anyone who is holding an UC ex LGW seat assignment to keep a close eye on it. Secondly, can anyone shed any light on what's happened?

PS - just a minor annoyance really - after all it will be UCS and we do have 2 seats away from the bar to get some ZZZZs

I've noticed that whenever I have have upgraded to UC from PE with miles my reserved seats have been changed on the day of the flight. When paying for Z class seats then I have always retained my reserved seat numbers. It seems that Virgin will bump a lower revenue class UC pax in favour of a later booking by a higher revenue class pax. (Which I suppose is not unreasonable). This in conjunction with bookings made on flights with J2000 seating which turn into UCS seating seems to be reason seat allocations are changed after reservations are made.

[Nottingham Nick]

I accept this is a minor annoyance but, as you quite rightly point out, the seats are never guaranteed.

Have you taken this issue up with Customer Services? A politely worded letter, along the lines of your post, may get them to explain why it happened and tell you what the exact policy is.

Nick

it could be that the people who have been allocated those seats were quicker to contact FC? Could they have beaten you to it?
just a thought...

If you're travelling as a family, it might also be worth noting the following from the VS FAQs

Q Can I choose seats which are not together?
A CAA regulations mandate that carriers make every effort possible to seat families together. If you are travelling with a child, we can only allow you to choose seats which are grouped together.



Cheers

Michael

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice - informative and useful as always.

Nick - I have spoken to UC reservations (initially) and FC (a few days later) as on the first occasion I ended up with the call centre in India (during the first Florida hurricane when capacity was obviously affected) and didn't really speak to someone who understood. On the second occasion a few days later the response was sympathetic and helpful (resulting in the seat allocation we now have)
I haven't gone as far as writing to customer services but may email them as you suggest. I can see why seats allocations may need to change if, say, a different aircraft is assigned or in other unforseen circumstances but this doesn't really apply here.

Alan - I doubt anyone could have been quicker - I've got so nerdy around this now I check almost every day[:I]. I did miss 1 - 3 September though as I only checked twice whilst in Paris [:I][:I]

Vic - we are on Z fares and accept the limitations of this (e.g. no limo, no changes, no refunds). I know rewards can be treated differently where overbooking occurs but wouldn't expect to have seat assignments overtaken by higher revenue passengers (Ds and Js) or perhaps I'm being naive.

Mcuth - we are indeed a family but the Daught is no longer considered to be a child. The online facility doesn't allow you to split your group but FC can. We're only left now with the argument about whether me or himself takes the seat nearest the bar on the return leg;)

I'll let you know what the outcome is.

Regards

Pat

Pat

quote:Mcuth - we are indeed a family but the Daught is no longer considered to be a child. The online facility doesn't allow you to split your group but FC can. We're only left now with the argument about whether me or himself takes the seat nearest the bar on the return leg;)

I think the regulation applies whether your family group includes a child or not - but if you're not travelling with a child, then you can have the choice whether to split the group up or not. Think that's probably why you ended up being down in 11 & 12. Still, that doesn't explain why they couldn't keep you near the original assignment when your flight is 6+ months away [?]

(BTW, I'd take the seat nearest the bar )

Cheers

Michael

quote:Originally posted by mcuth

(BTW, I'd take the seat nearest the bar )

Quelle suprise!:D:D

Pat

quote:Quelle suprise!:D:D

Just what are you trying to say? :D

Cheers

Michael

quote:Originally posted by mcuth
Pat
Just what are you trying to say? :D

Cheers

Michael

Just knowing that you are a very sociable chap who would want to keep the flight attendant company - why, what else could I possibly be saying[}:)]

Pat

quote:Just knowing that you are a very sociable chap who would want to keep the flight attendant company - why, what else could I possibly be saying[}:)]

Oh good, I wouldn't want any incorrect impressions flying around

Cheers

Michael

Hello All

Had a response from VS about the changes to my seat assignment - apparently the change to suites does affect all advanced seat assignments. I'm told that the process is then that Central Reservations Control department will go through each individual booking with a view to assigning seats back as close to the original request as possible. In the case of my booking. they say "At the time your reservation was updated I can only surmise that other passengers' reservations were amended before yours".

They haven't been able to do anything to change this but "have asked airport staff to see if they're able to amend your advanced seat assignments. They will do all possible to assist, though this is something that can only be looked into on the day of departure."

Presumably this will be flagged in some way on screen?

Although they haven't been able to remedy the problem, I was impressed by the speed of response given the volumes customer services must be handling at the moment. It also does look as though someone has put time into looking at this, rather than just sending a standard response.

Regards

Pat