I had an interesting conversation with reservations this morning. First some back story for frame work.

I'm a regular commuter from Portland to San Jose and always book my flights far enough in advance to insure I get an isle seat, typically 8D. My profile also indicates my preference for an isle seat. The PDX - SJC route has a large number of elite flyers on it, so upgrades to first class are the exception, even for 75K flyers.

Well, this morning when I checked in for my flight tomorrow, I had been moved from my typical 8D to 10F, a window seat. Reservations indicated that they had received a bulletin about an "IT" issue with seat assignments being moved and all they could do is record the issue and advise IT of the occurrence. According to the reservations agent, this anomaly is only occurring the day before a flight or the day of the flight and is not being done by a gate agent or reservations agent, but by IT.

So, my question or observation is that Alaska is apparently developing programs to automatically adjust seat assignments without agent involvement or oversight. Which is troubling given how finicky elite flyers (myself included) can be over seat assignments.

Obviously, Alaska protects itself with the "seat assignments may change" disclaimer and for good reason. There are legitimate situations where moving seat assignments around is necessary and desired, i.e. accommodating families and special needs passengers etc.

Giving IT the ability to override seat selections, and even agent participation, does not seem in line with Alaska commitment to customer service.