yvrcnx

We will be going to Australia this summer (Australian winter) and almost all our domestic flights are with Qantas.
I was able to get 'good' seats on all flights with the exception on our flight from Ayers Rock to Cairns which is still almost 90 days out but when I made the booking, there were only 2 separate seats available in the entire aircraft (2 of us traveling) and they were a few rows apart.
Is it quite common to have such a limited seat selection availability this far out?

Having never flown with Qantas, just wanted to ask those of you who fly with them frequently, if there is a chance of more seats being opened up during the next 2 -3 months if I check periodically or is there a better chance to get seats together during online check-in?

Thank you in advance.

serfty

Welcome to the Friendly Qantas forum.

If you can give the flight number and date, someone may be able to assist with the seating.

yvrcnx

Thank you so much serfty, this is a very friendly forum.

We are booked on QF 1854 on August 22nd; Ayers Rock to Cairns
We are also flying from Brisbane via Alice Springs to Ayers Rock a few days before and I booked us on purpose on the B717 services, really like these planes and it's also nice to get the 2 seats on the left side of the aircraft which I was able to reserve on all other flights but for some reason QF 1854 shows no seats available.

DH188

The front half is currently empty and should open up to non-status pax around 80 hours before departure.

I don't think you'll have a problem getting seats together.

ggggrey

What would be the reason for such a large swath of seats being blocked? Looked at the seat map for multiple days (both soon and far) and its the same...

Would this be related to weight distribution?

og

As a WP on EF, I'm seeing your seat diagram but rows 1 and 2 are also blocked. I assume you're P1?

Notwithstanding, it may well be load /weight distribution. Looking at random dates on EF between now and August, its certainly a feature that the seats infront of the wing are consistently blocked. Keep the ballast down the back

serfty

I suggest a call to Qantas, explaining your situation. Maybe you will get an understanfing agent who will take to effort to allocate seating for you both together.

yvrcnx

Thanks so much everyone for the helpful information.

I will give them a call and see if they are able to reserve seats for us and if not, I'll check a few days before departure and do the online check-in.

With all the flights I booked with Qantas for this trip, I did notice that the only seats available to pre-select, even on the A330-200 services (MEL-PER/PER-BNE), were after the wing but I have no status whatsoever with QF or any other OneWorld airline, so that's why I probably get the limited seat availability.

Interestingly there is only one sector I booked with Virgin Australia, the last one from Cairns to Sydney because the times worked better and there we were able to get the first row in Economy Class, 3 E&F (for a fee) which was nice.

I did really want to fly with Qantas for most of the flights though; going to Australia and not flying with Qantas, for me would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower.

eminere

That's right. Just check back 80h before your flight departure as the remaining seats should be unblocked and made available for selection then.

Dover2Golf

Please may I ask is the 80 hour rule still current and does it apply to domestic business class too?

I'm a OW Sapphire but looking at the flights more seems blocked even on Expertflyer than taken.

serfty

T-80 is definitely still current for Business and Economy.

If there are a few P1 or CL in a cabin it can appear difference as they can often have a blocked seat beside them, for them.

Dover2Golf

Thanks - I'll keep a look out. The route is SYD-CNS on a Wednesday in November so I doubt it's that premium heavy already but you never know!

serfty

T-80 means 80 hours, I had assumed your flight was within that time period.

With a November flight the 738's first row would currently be blocked from all but CL / P1, the second row blocked from all but P1, CL and WP.

So the blocking you are seeing is normal and should clear up somewhat within 80 hours of the flight.

Dover2Golf

Thanks - I've created an alert in my diary to look at T-80.

RSDoha