sts603

In the past weak I have had two incidents of agents giving award tickets bad seat assignments:

1.) Held ticket for parents on PHL-SXM. Miles from DM but put in Mom's UA 2P # and it gave her exit row 757. Dad was window somewhere in the back. Had to leave town - she called to ticket and the agent refused to let her keep her exit row seats and struck her MP # saying it wasn't alloewd. Removed his seat assignments and stuck them in 3 middles and one aisle on one segement. Non-preferred seat map on Orbitz showed many windows and aisles - so why on earth would he assign seperate middles???? I called back and had her MP # re-added. He put me on hold and called the Seat People and got an exit row back for Dad too. In 9A and 9B.

2.) Re-ticketed DBC voucher today. He gave me 7C in both directions. Got the confirmation and saw that my US DM # had been dropped (I'm sure this was a mistake) and they were CRJ's. (7C is one in front of the exit row and htus nonreclineable) I had asked for exit row and he said he couldn't assign them - the lack of DM Preferred # shows why. Nevertheless, the seat map showed non-preferred windows/aisle that reclined in front of 7C. So why 7C???? Called back, had DM # readded and got seat assignments.

So anyone else run into instances of agents trying to give out bad seat assignments on award tickets?

JAXPax

I've only had an agent give me an intentionally bad seat assignment once... and that was a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh when my Watertown flight/turn got cancelled and my group had to be trip in vained back to Jacksonville. The Special Services agent blew a fuse when he saw it was a $2 fare and told us three Preferreds we were going back to Jacksonville in coach, were going to like sitting in coach, and gave us middle seats in the last two rows of the planes (A321 and A320). Gate agent upgraded us on the first flight, two ended up in coach on the second flight (in an aisle and center in the last row) as we ran to catch that flight after the first was late and couldn't get seats changed before they cleared standbys.

trvlr64

On an upcoming trip my aunt, uncle & cousin have been stuck in 12B, 13B, 14B on the PIT to LAX flight on their award ticket. I called the CP desk and they said there were no available seats to change them to.

The wonderful ladies at the US Club said the CP desk fibbed and moved them all to an emergency exit row for both flights.

My cousin and uncle are both over 6'4" and would not have been comfortable stuck in middle seats during these flights.

Looking

I don't think the agent fibbed. Please remember the exit row seats and preferred seats wouldn't be open to assign to them if your not traveling with them or if they're not preferred themselves. Very possible the only seats left to assign were scattered center seats.


I will also add that I've seen undesirable seats assigned before the better seats if the customer wasn't oh, so friendly.

Looking

sts603

While I can't say I overheard my parents conversation - my Mom is one of those always sweet kind of people. As for my conversation on incident #2 - it was rather pleasant.

Looking

I'm sorry STS603, I wasn't implying your Mom wasn't being friendly. It sounds like the agent just didn't have a clue what he/she was doing there.

The majority of people left working the phones at US, and I'm not counting the outsourced agents, that's a different story, are not vindictive but you always have your bad apples.

Looking

sts603

Didn't think you were.....no worries.

Agree - most people are great - and a few bad apples - I just thought I would post this since it's happened twice in a week.

deelmakur

I was a ticket agent (passenger service specialist) in the Air Force Reserve. At Maguire, we had many charter flights to Europe, including one to what was then called Thule (Greenland). Any crap, and your bag just might get a tag for that place. As a result, (1) I learned great respect for the people who get "hands on" your actual trip, (2) they're probably still looking for those bags, and (3) reports out of Greenland speak about Eskimos living near the airport with unusual looking curtains and sofas in their Igloos, which could have been made from articles of clothing. Researchers have traced the artifacts to New Jersey, although there is no evidence of any migration.

travelnutz

I've had a bad experience with USAir seating. I originally had requested an aisle seat in the middle section with the seat next to mine empty. It was not until I boarded the plane that my seat had been changed to an aisle seat next to another pax on the left hand side of the plane. I have never encountered this kind of situation before USAir. I just wonder if only USAir agents do this on a regular basis.

elpi

Not an USAir, but on AA agent try tag my baggage to Africa because I did not want to speak spanish to her !

fly747first

Typical US Airways reservation agent, extremely unfriendly to say at least.

longing4piedmont

My guess is that my next flight on US Air (if there is one), I will find myself in the middle seat in the back row with a note in the record that who ever moves me will face dismissal.

theways

99% of the time the agent has Sabre automatically assign a seat. Sabre assigns in the order of Rear Window, Rear Aisle, Forward Window, Forward Aisle, Rear Middle, Forward Middle. Windows and Aisles in the first 5 or 6 rows of a typical aircraft (319/733) - and exit rows are blocked until the day of departure. It is actually kind of a pain to manually pull up a seat map, determine which seats are the worst and then assign them. Res agents book hundreds of these reservations every day. And most of them have been working there for eons. Do you really think they care enough to intentionally go around assigning "bad seats." Those premium seats become available on day of departure and you probably assume that the "evil" Res agent was lying. Stop being so paranoid.

trvlr64

Oh please! I called the Chairman's Preferred desk personally for my relatives. I was told there were NO OTHER seats available to change them to. Amazingly the very next day at the USAirways Club I was able to get them all the emergency exit row.

Res agents might not always be able to get you a seat you wish for but they can change seats with a few simple key strokes. My EX used to train USAIRWAYS reservations agents. I know what they can and can't do.

The major difference as to why I got my relatives seats changed was because the ladies in the US Club all know me from my weekly visits. The person on the phone at the Chairman's desk only knows me by my US1 #.

I know how to work the system too.

PineyBob

If you ever visited the pig sty known as Greentree and saw (as I did) the deplorable space and antiquated equipment they have to work with you'd thank your luck stars you aren't riding in the darn cargo bay.

Or perhaps stroll through the halls of CCY and observe the numbers of workstations still running Windows '95! The "New" ones all use Windows '98!

Then just to keep things interesting listen to their individual stories about the way their local managers treat them. Which was another thing I witnessed first hand.

While you're pondering the above consider that the facilities and equipment in the third world banana republic their jobs are being outsourced to will be better than the facility they worked in most of their lives.

I thank God above for each day my only worry is whether my upgrade clears or whether I get a crummy seat.

Some of the Greentree workers come july 29th will wonder whether they will have the money for heat come winter. It's all a matter of perspective.