Originally Posted by
Theirin
I'm still not sure I agree. Yes, theoretically in a situation where the flight is sold out and VS have pre-selected all seats on the flight you wouldn't be able to select any seat at all. But I think most people understand that when you buy a Light fare or any fare which doesn't allow seat selection until check it, the risk is that you won't get what you want.
If you look at the sales page for Economy Light, I think they are pretty transparent about the situation. VS do clearly state that your seat will be automatically assigned at check in and that you may not be able to select the seats you want. If it is accurate that seats are assigned at check-in, the above scenario would only occur if you were the last person to check in in the cabin.
The quoted portion above from the Virgin site illustrates my point - they state that on Light Fares, seats will be "allocated at check in."
As a reasonably experienced traveler, you can then perform the calculus based on that statement - which basically results in the conclusion that if you jump on OLCI at the 24 hour mark, there will be a decent number of unreserved seats. On the other hand, the chances of getting a seat that you would like at OLCI time is reduced in they allocate seats in advance of OLCI.
The practice on my flight - of automatically allocating seats in advance of OLCI time instead of at OLCI time - is contrary to the stated policy. They are certainly free to adopt whatever policy they wish - but, having publicly stated a policy, they should adhere to that policy.