Are there any tricks to F9 online check-in process for seating?
Jun 26, 2017, 9:01 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 611
Are there any tricks to F9 online check-in process for seating?
Will anyone share online check-in tricks for F9 seating? For example, is it better to wait near the end for a chance to get a better seat?
I've noticed that if I check-in 24 hours before, not paying for a seat, I always seem to get the last few rows. So, I don't see the benefit in checking in that early.
What if F9 has oversold the cheap seats - do they first fill in the cheap seats, and then resort to giving out the better seats to those checking in later?
Has anyone seen an algorithm to fitting in a family with young children? Although they scare you that you may not sit together, will they really make a 3-year old sit in a separate aisle from the parent?
Thanks!
I've noticed that if I check-in 24 hours before, not paying for a seat, I always seem to get the last few rows. So, I don't see the benefit in checking in that early.
What if F9 has oversold the cheap seats - do they first fill in the cheap seats, and then resort to giving out the better seats to those checking in later?
Has anyone seen an algorithm to fitting in a family with young children? Although they scare you that you may not sit together, will they really make a 3-year old sit in a separate aisle from the parent?
Thanks!
Jun 27, 2017, 9:16 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
Their seating algorithm seems to hand out seats from back to front which makes sense since those are the cheap seats, but it does seem to put identifiable groups together. How they do it I don't know. Possibly by matching last names and ages or by people on the same reservation. If you check in and your party is separated they will try to get you together, but if the flight is full that's sometimes not possible. If the cheap seats fill up they will give you a more expensive one. If you get a bad seat assignment I have often been able to get a better one at the gate sometimes even a stretch seat. It seems many people don't bother to check-in before they get to the airport. Since I never travel with several people my experience is limited to my flights and what I observe at the gate..
If you are traveling with small children my advice is to put everyone of the same reservation and check in early. If you get separated you can call and see if you can get it changed or go to the gate early and try there.
If you are traveling with small children my advice is to put everyone of the same reservation and check in early. If you get separated you can call and see if you can get it changed or go to the gate early and try there.
Jun 30, 2017, 1:15 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 75
Back to front in my experience. Only one goof up last year, row 8 (C, D, E, F) and foward were all that were left. Checking in at the kiosk while printing our boarding passes something in the back middle happened to open up within that 10-15 second window and it assigned it to my 4 year old. Ticket counter fixed it with no issues. Flight ended up cancelling 12 hours later so in the end it didn't really matter. 