Originally Posted by johan rebel

Yeah, but currently you run the risk of finding yourself in the company of the clueless and ignorant who have never heard of OLCI (or can't figure it out if they have) that pitch up only just in time at the check-in desks and are given the last EC seats because there's nothing else left. If you are really lucky, a couple or so will get middle seats in different rows, which of course doesn't stop them from keeping up a conversation for most of the flight. On a flight to IST I was in the last J row, and a couple in seats EF right behind me behaved like excited preschoolers on an outing to the petting zoo. Their loud and incessant conversation was on an appropriately infantile level. Their ignorance had to be heard to be believed, and boy did I hear it. One of the highlights came when we had about an hour to go. After discussing the remaining flying time, they agreed that we would probably land in five hours or so! I have this feeling that most Gold and Silver neighbors might just be less loud, and less inclined to make fools of themselves. Not as entertaining, but not as obnoxious either.

I assiduously check my bookings, including seatmaps, at STD-72. Almost without fail the cabin configuration has been finalized by then.

Johan