Originally Posted by
eternaltransit
jackiedada's suggestion of a free ExpertFlyer subscription can give you a good idea of available seat maps.
Also, if you are purchasing a ticket with the US as part of the itinerary, you have a 24-hour cool-off period in which you can cancel your booking with no penalty (DoT regulations) - you can buy your ticket, check the seat map and then cancel if you can't find seats together.
Anecdotally, if your fare is cheap, there will be seats available to sit together as loads are low. If you are buying an expensive fare, it's more likely the flight is more full, but if you are buying an expensive fare, it suggests that your requirement to travel is more pressing than the seating together requirement...! Also, more expensive fares have lower (if any) cancellation penalties.
Very good information. Just what I was looking for. Is the seat map, in Expertflyer, a real time map giving what seats are still available on a specific flight, or is it similar to SeatGuru that gives you a static seat map of a particular aircraft? The fare that I will purchase is the lowest economy fare available on the Emirates website. Also, do they really fill up an A380 from New York to Dubai?