Air France Frequence Plus - Releasing AF 747 upstairs seats?

I'm doing a booking to SGN in March 2010 and when I get to choose seats, all the upstairs seats are either booked or blocked? So are the first 8 or so rows in Y!

It can't possible be so or are they reserved for full paying Y PAX? I'm Elite+ so seats should be available shouldn't they?

are they reserved for full paying Y PAX? I'm Elite+ so seats should be available shouldn't they?
Cupart,
I am going through the same process right now with a reservation I made weeks ago for a flight later this month. The seat reservation tool has been down for days ( today it is working) so I emailed AF, the reply was that all the seats were blocked that I requested. I emailed again and asked what you are asking,the response I got was "Sorry and we understand but there is nothing we can do, we suggest you try at airport check in"
I told them that was akin to putting an ashtray on a motorbike,utterly useless.
I tried called the special number on the back of my FF card but alas its keeping me on hold forever and ever.
Another email has been sent asking for clarification on the availability of seating for elite members.

On another note, In the nineties I flew a lot with KLM and whenever I introduced my FF Number they always gave me the same seat in business, alas, they don't do that anymore:(
If I get a reply I will update you!

The problem you are encountering is absolutely not normal. You should call the AF elite number (AF le club). They are most of the time very efficient and helpful and I never had any trouble to reserve a seat at the upper deck (I'm platinum)

i had a smiliar issue last flight from paris to rio....tried to book upstairs for weeks, to be told it was full - asked again at dublin to be told it could only be sorted in paris and then refused in paris - only to meet a silver card holder who was sitting upstairs (i am platinum)....i had call the gold line as well to be told not possible.

i thought i would write to air france to say, as i was travelling alone, there wasnt really any reason why a single silver card holder should get the perks....i was more annoyed to be honest that i was then sat right in the middle of a large school group - i wondered if it was some kind of joke!

i got 2 replies from air france - one to say sorry but seats become avaliable at different times (go away) and a second to say that even though i am platinum, the fb program dont deal with complaints....

now my travels will be extended to montevideo on a regular basis i am seriously looking at the alternatives vis sao paolo as i thought the treatment of someone who has paid plenty out of his own pocket would gte shabby service - i am price driven and appreciate the ease of moving up the scale easiler - but please dont make me feel grateful for it!

good look cupbert - enjoy the arriva dublin lounge - take bite repeliant ;)

Thanks for all your replies guys ^ Highly appreciated.

What I have learnt from this exercise is that nothing seems to be straight forward with AF regardless of what FB membership level your on especially when flying in Y.

I seriously expected at least half of the seats being available to Elite+ upstairs in Y (other half to full paying PAX) but this is obviously not the case. Maybe I'm better off choosing a different date to avoid the 747 service to SGN then?

I don't get the extra hassle that us (frequent Flyers) have to go though to get a better seat just to be swept aside with contradicting explanations that we are a bit too smart to fall for :confused: :rolleyes: :( :mad:

cardhappyaf I stay clear of the Anna Livia Lounge at Dublin as if my life depended on it. I'm though very happy with the CDG 2E lounge that I always pop in to when getting back to DUB ^

Hi Cuppart !
did you try to call Le Club number ? because I think it's really the easiest way to solve your problem in less than 5 min

Hi Cuppart !
did you try to call Le Club number ? because I think it's really the easiest way to solve your problem in less than 5 min

What is "Le Club"?

What is "Le Club"?

The 24/7 phone line for Gold & Platinum members. They are usually very effective.^

Hi Cuppart !
did you try to call Le Club number ? because I think it's really the easiest way to solve your problem in less than 5 min

Hi Goldorak,

Don't have the number to Le Club (or ever heard of it before). The phone numbers on the back of my Ivory, Silver and Gold card are all the same for AF (+353 <= Irish country code) but seems to be different for KLM.

Thanks for the tip ^

All tips are ALWAYS highly appreciated ^

Cupart, YGPM

Cupart, YGPM

Thanks bodory ^

I just tried and have no problem assigning myself another another upper deck seat. Maybe they are starting to enforce the PE-only rule for premium seating?

well I got my reply today and basically all it said was that we are unable to assign the seats that you have requested, please contact our paid department on 03 7712XXXX for further assistance. Yet another expensive overseas call beckons...what a load of bollox!

I just tried and have no problem assigning myself another another upper deck seat. Maybe they are starting to enforce the PE-only rule for premium seating?
I think you could be right!

Have you tried www.klm.com?

I just tried and have no problem assigning myself another another upper deck seat. Maybe they are starting to enforce the PE-only rule for premium seating?

There's a Platinum-only rule for selecting premium seating ? Where ?

There's a Platinum-only rule for selecting premium seating ? Where ?

I am just trying to see why I can still assign myself upper deck seats and several posters with FB Gold claim they can't.
The AF system has been broken for me before and actually tried to charge me 50 EUR ... had to call to get this fixed. Could very well be that AF is changing the rules again.

I just realized that my FB miles were going to expire soon due to lack of revenue travel on Skyteam (yes, my move back over to Oneworld is serious and has been great so far!).

I was in BKK last week and took the opportunity to do a same-day return to Hanoi on AF. With just over 250k FB miles still in my account, the $180-odd cost was well worth it in my opinion.

That said, I too found that the upper deck was blocked off when I tried to pick a seat at the time of booking. Then, when I tried again, I got the standard "Our reservation tool is currently unavailable. We are doing our best to restore the functionality in the shortest terms" message. Since it was a short-ish flight anyway, I didn’t bother.

At the airport, I was given a window on the lower deck. The BKK-HAN segment was pretty full, by the way. And they also said they couldn’t check me in for the return, and I would have to do that at HAN.

Anyway, the flight was pretty vanilla, though they did serve a little snack (sandwich, dessert, fruit) and a full beverage service.

On the return, I was given an upper deck seat without asking. Turns out I was one of only four people on the UD – and the downstairs wasn’t all that full either.

Oh, and no food of any kind on the HAN-BKK leg.


By the way, do AF have a policy of not letting you buy online if flight departure is within 24 hours? That’s what I discovered when looking at BKK-HAN / SGN last week.

Have you tried www.klm.com?

Hi cfischer,

I haven't done the actual booking yet as I want to see what seats are available before parting with my cash, and KLM.com doesn't give you a pre-view or seat selection option at booking like AF does (great feature IMHO ^)

By the way, do AF have a policy of not letting you buy online if flight departure is within 24 hours? That’s what I discovered when looking at BKK-HAN / SGN last week.
That's been the case for as long as I can remember. Last time I had this issue, I just called the 24/7 Elite Plus line.

Hi cfischer,

I haven't done the actual booking yet as I want to see what seats are available before parting with my cash, and KLM.com doesn't give you a pre-view or seat selection option at booking like AF does (great feature IMHO ^)

once you booked (elsewhere), airfrance.com is often not cooperating with seat assignments, but klm.com works just fine.