Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus - F or J award seats for 3

Thanks to the RGN - YVR deal, now I have enough UA points to fly in J one way to Bali (DPS) for our vacation next May from New York. From my searches, 2 F or J seats are available on TG from CDG - BKK - DPS or FRA - BKK - DPS routes on A380. However, if I search for 3 passengers, the seats are not available.

If I booked 2 seats, will I able to book 1 more at a later date? Then can we combine them into 1 PNR? We do not want to sit separately in different classes.

If I booked 2 seats, will I able to book 1 more at a later date? Then can we combine them into 1 PNR? We do not want to sit separately in different classes.

Why not book two separate PNRs (if available) now, one for two seats and one for one? Then, all you have to play with later is the seating. And not sitting together for some finite number of hours seems a small price to pay to get the vacation dates which you prefer. You didn't mention if you are three friends, a family, or whatever. Regardless, however, I'd take the flights which work best and not worry about sitting apart.

There is indeed a good chance one you have made a booking for 2 F seats that another one may immediately , or soon after, be released.

However there is no sure way of knowing other than trying.

If I booked 2 seats, will I able to book 1 more at a later date? Then can we combine them into 1 PNR? We do not want to sit separately in different classes.

You can think of a PNR as being an alpha-numeric reference for a booking. So what you're really asking, I think, is can you make one booking now and another booking later, then combine them into the one booking. Perhaps others have more insight, but I believe the answer to this question is no.

So to your first question, can you book another seat at a later date? Well, this depends on availability at that later date. My strong advice is to make the booking(s) right now if three seats are available... it's a folly to assume you'll be able to get availability down the track. Getting on the same plane is a precursor to getting seated together. Remember you can always ask other pax politely once on board if they would be kind enough to move so you can sit as a group. Of course, they may decline and this is their right.

Once you've got three confirmed seats (across one or more bookings), it is a relatively simple matter to arrange seating (assuming 3 seats are available together/separated by the aisle etc). Call the airline to request seats and, at the same time, have them link the bookings (if you're on more than one).

Why not book two separate PNRs (if available) now, one for two seats and one for one? Then, all you have to play with later is the seating. And not sitting together for some finite number of hours seems a small price to pay to get the vacation dates which you prefer. You didn't mention if you are three friends, a family, or whatever. Regardless, however, I'd take the flights which work best and not worry about sitting apart.

It will by Mr. and Mrs. Y and our 3yo so not sitting together isn't an option. Actually I wouldn't mind it but Mrs. Y will not allow it...

It will by Mr. and Mrs. Y and our 3yo so not sitting together isn't an option. Actually I wouldn't mind it but Mrs. Y will not allow it...

Then your options are limited. If you were a ROP*G or *P member, TG would probably open up a third seat. However, it's incredibly unlikely this will happen for a UA FF. If three seats are not available now, you would just have to hope they release another redemption seat and that you get it... and I would never recommend "hope" as a travel strategy.

Bear in mind the configuration of the a/c you'll be travelling on. On TG's A380, 747, 777-300ER and A346 in F/J, you will not get three seats together in F/J in any event. It may be worth showing Mrs Y the seating plans. Very best case, one person will be across the aisle or in the seat behind. If you're on the 777-300ER ex CDG, then the herringbone config in J will mean you're well separated. If you're in F on any machine, then there will be a large distance b/w you.

Sounds like economy may suit Mrs Y's seating requirements better?

Sounds like economy may suit Mrs Y's seating requirements better?

Indeed. As has been posted in other fora, the problem with having your wife, g/f or whatever turn left on boarding is that she'll never want to turn right again. :D

Thanks to the RGN - YVR deal, now I have enough UA points to fly in J one way to Bali (DPS) for our vacation next May from New York. From my searches, 2 F or J seats are available on TG from CDG - BKK - DPS or FRA - BKK - DPS routes on A380. However, if I search for 3 passengers, the seats are not available.

If I booked 2 seats, will I able to book 1 more at a later date? Then can we combine them into 1 PNR? We do not want to sit separately in different classes.


To answer your first question, on some routes it's highly likely that a third seat will become available immediately. BKK-MUC-BKK is a good example, as are most of the intra-Asia flights in business or coach. TG only allows redemptions for two at a time for some reason, so if you want a third seat you'll actually have to do it they way you describe. If you can put the first two seats on hold, that's the best move. That way if you can't get a third you're not out any money.

Thanks for all the responses. I got lucky and was able to snag 3 C award seats on Qatar. Hopefully I get to try TG in the near future.

To answer your first question, on some routes it's highly likely that a third seat will become available immediately. BKK-MUC-BKK is a good example, as are most of the intra-Asia flights in business or coach. TG only allows redemptions for two at a time for some reason, so if you want a third seat you'll actually have to do it they way you describe. If you can put the first two seats on hold, that's the best move. That way if you can't get a third you're not out any money.

I had to split my party of three up as two different itineraries to book 3 F or J seats on Thai. I cannot talk to many routes, but this was the case for HKG-BKK and PEK-BKK.

We were able to get 4 *A award F seats on TG flights by initially booking two into F and two into J. On three of our four legs additional F award seats did later become available so we changed the J to F seats on those flights and ended up flying 3/4 legs in F and 1/4 legs split between F and J.

You can think of a PNR as being an alpha-numeric reference for a booking.

I believe that PNR stands for Passenger Name Record, from the original implementation of SABRE which IBM did for AA in the 1960s. To be technical, the PNR is the entire reservation record, itself. The alphanumeric designator (originally six characters in SABRE) was originally called the PNR code, IIRC. N.B. That was many, many years ago; and my memory isn't what it used to be.