Originally Posted by
Keter
OK I see. The seats are still pre-assigned in terms of the system allocation - does not mean this assignment is visible to a passenger but i guess it still restricts the options a passenger can select from (due to seats pre-assigned to others). Looks like this is done at T-48.
No, the seats are not pre-allocated by the system if the passenger doesn't choose any seat. TK does not have such algorithm as well as unless someone checks-in online and proceeds with it, no seat would be attached to a passenger.
Some seats would be automatically blocked due to operational reasons or a passenger might have previously paid for those seats.
In your case, it's very likely that Premium Economy seats were either pre-purchased by other customers ( as a datapoint Elite & Elite Plus members can't get those for free online ) or was blocked due to operational reasons such as weight-fuel balancing, VIP passengers, etc...