Originally Posted by mctrip
Just a thought! If Jode-D is unable to get her seats in advance through HA reservation department since the rest of the seats are blocked for airport check-in, will the seats become available 24hrs in advance by using their HELE-ON check-in at home(if a seat is not assigned you will not be checked-n)? If Jode-D is still unable to, then she still must go down to the airport early to get seating for her family since they will not have been checked-in.
A few months ago, I had the same question. Was checking in family members using Hele-on check-in but could not get pre-assigned seats. Worked like a charm and got them seats together at about the 22 hour mark pretty close up in the front of the Y cabin. As long as there are seats to assign (e.g., flight is not overbooked) during the online check-in process, the system will spit you out boarding passes with whatever seat numbers you choose.
aloha