fholt

I had to change my HKG>ORD flight to this coming (busy)Friday. With no status, and a corp E+ if available 5 days out (not) policy, I'm going to be in the back. No seat assigned, but there are middles on ua.com

My question is whether I'm better off grabbing a middle in a block with 2 free in the center 4 section, or just wait it out, and hope for an aisle at checkin? No guarantees, I understand, that the adjacent middle stays empty, but if I am in a middle, better it be a middle with a free seat adjacent than blocked in hard. <Yes, I dread this>

Thanks

Mike Jacoubowsky

Ouch, just looked at the seatmap. I feel your pain! With no open seats in C it doesn't look likely anyone is going to be upgrading out of Y. What do you see as the advantage to "waiting it out?" And when you made the change, it wasn't possible to to HKG-NRT-SFO, which has some better seating options available? Best bet would have been HKG-EWR and parachute out when over Chicago. Wow, looks like a busy travel day coming back from Asia!

gradsflyer

Things always change within t-24 and even earlier with upgrades and such, so you may still luck out. I'm also always amazed how many seats seem to open up at checkin on the map due to what I assume are cancellations, people being re-booked during IRROPS, etc. My strategy is to always select to best seat I can and then keep checking the last few days up until checkin, at which time something indeed better is often available. Of course being a lowly silver this has become even more the case for me with no E+ until t-24 to begin with. On a TPAC long haul I would personally still take an E- aisle or window over E+ middle, but that's just me. I sat in an E+ middle due to a last minute IRROP rebook on SFO-PEK earlier this year and I wouldn't do it again.

chinatraderjmr

Best Transpacific seat strategy I can think of is upgrade or buy up out of there

fholt

Thanks guys, I grabbed 40E as the current "least worst" seat on the plane. Unfortunately, I don't have the capability to buy up (even in it were available) and need this flight in order to make it back for a funeral. My original flights were Saturday, and much less crowded.

How far we have fallen. Here I am hoping against hope to get an aisle in E- as my "best case scenario".

aacharya

In this situation i would have not assigned a seat.

CDKing

Why not assign a seat? Id say don't assign a seat to try to get a bump but OP has to make the flight.

chinatraderjmr

No, UA holds plenty of good seats for airport check in only. If E- is full, he would get E+ at no extra charge. If all the seats left online suck, it's always better to wait for a seat at the airport. So many VDB's these days I would not even worry about a bump

aacharya

Ding Ding. This is why.

The "theory" that an unassigned seat is more likely to be bumped is unfounded.

craz

Well looking at s seat map means nothing, every carrier blocks apx 30% of the seats for airport check-in, on the other side many people dont get preassigned so norael telling what the load factor is

That said if I had to chose between having an E- and an empty seat next to me or E+ but every seat taken.Id grab the E- . So theres a slight advantage in grabbing a middle E- now since those who are traveling with someone wont want the 1 empty next to the OP but would grab any 2 seats together that they can

OP every so often check back to see if the seat is still empty if its taken switch if theres no 2 middle empty ask a rep to simply remove your seat assignment and play the Gate Lottery as you cant really lose if you reached this pt, and a middle E+ is better then a middle E- if if there wont be any empty seat/s next to you

ExpatSomchai

Just book the best seat available, when OLCI opens see if there is anything better to change to if not ask when at bag drop.

JNelson113

I don't think there will be any empty seats on this flight, FWIW. I was checking it out for a possible mile run and decided against it because of the seat situation.

fholt

Exactly my question chinatrader - I wondered if that would be wiser. I did just manage to move to an E- aisle that just opened up. I guess my "best case" just came through. I can't move to e+ without availability and calling my travel dept, which in turn calls UA. I wouldn't trade this aisle for an e+ middle either.

Thanks for all the opinions - I hate being in this situation (last time here in was AA PLT flying Cathay) but here I am.... on the aisle now!