Originally Posted by djohannw
So this must be a UK-based problem
Not exclusively!
In spite of 19 empty seats in C on an JNB-AMS flight last month, both the check-in and lounge agents proved unwilling or incapable of blocking an adjacent seat for me. I played it safe and opted for 77A, even though 77B was already occupied. After take-off I moved to 74JK, but it beats my why this could not have been arranged earlier.
johan