Originally Posted by
Eastbay1K
The TA GDS seatmap should not show any availability for preferred seats if there isn't a qualifying MP #, and when TA performs a direct seat request (i.e., 9S/S1/7C depending on GDS) and it comes back as reserved, it is as good as holding the seat on AS.com. A TA can perform a general seat request with a couple of other methods, and one would confirm immediately, and one would not.
I wish it always worked that way but, unfortunately, it does not. A lot of travel agencies like Expedia, Cheaptickets, Cheapoair, etc do not show accurate seat maps to the customer. These are the types of agencies with which you will find seat problems. People log off once they get their confirmation from the agency and don't look back until check in when they discover the "change" in seats.