When you get to select your seat and see lots of choice does that mean the plane is not busy or do some people not bother pre selecting seats? Does emirates automatically assign you a seat?
Just wondering on how reliable the seat plans they show are on working out availability!
Programs: EK Gold, EY Gold, BA Gold OW Emerald, A3 *G, SV Skyteam Elite
Posts: 958
It gives an indication yes, but you can't be absolutely sure. If you sign up for Expertflyer, the seat map there shows you not only the seats assigned but also the seats blocked by EK for whatever reason. With this you can "refine" your analysis a little bit better.
I would actually try to see the class availability (first, business, economy) on a site like Expertflyer (not that I advocate EF, I myself have lots of problems with EF and EK) for any given particular flight which gives you a more accurate picture.
The accuracy depends on various factors. It is more accurate in J and F than in Y.
I think in Y you can only choose a seat prior to OLCI if you are a Skywards member, I am not sure if it is different in the premium cabins. But in general there are more Skywards members in the premium cabin than in Y. Hence Y might show a lot of empty seats which will be allocated to passengers at the airport when checking in and still be fully booked.
The x on Expertflyer usually represents seats blocked for allocation under airport control (exit rows, premium seats (first row in a cabin), seats blocked next to HVCs (see other thread) or seats blocked for diplomats, groups, stretchers etc.. That is the reason why you often see blocks of several rows being blocked. These seats sometimes become available closer to departure but they might also get used for what they have been blocked for and never become available.
MMB does not make a difference between blocked and occupied seats and just shows them as unavailable.
I agree with GigoloArt to go with a tool checking availability of all the classes like ExpertFlyer or FlightStats for your purpose
The accuracy depends on various factors. It is more accurate in J and F than in Y.
I think in Y you can only choose a seat prior to OLCI if you are a Skywards member, I am not sure if it is different in the premium cabins. But in general there are more Skywards members in the premium cabin than in Y. Hence Y might show a lot of empty seats which will be allocated to passengers at the airport when checking in and still be fully booked.
The x on Expertflyer usually represents seats blocked for allocation under airport control (exit rows, premium seats (first row in a cabin), seats blocked next to HVCs (see other thread) or seats blocked for diplomats, groups, stretchers etc.. That is the reason why you often see blocks of several rows being blocked. These seats sometimes become available closer to departure but they might also get used for what they have been blocked for and never become available.
MMB does not make a difference between blocked and occupied seats and just shows them as unavailable.
I agree with GigoloArt to go with a tool checking availability of all the classes like ExpertFlyer or FlightStats for your purpose
