Does anyone have experience flying Alaska alliance partner, Qantas, recently? In the past, I thought I've gotten free seat selection when booking a fare on Qantas. Maybe not, it's been a while, but I thought I did. When I go in to choose a seat, it does ask me to pay. For a regular Economy seat, seems like that's all they have even though seatguru says they have premium economy, I don't see those seats on Qantas' seat map. If it's showing me a seat price, then I assume I have to pay to select a seat? And all economy seats seem the same - no better seats in the front - not sure if anyone knows for sure.

Another random question... I begin my flight on a short AA flight to LAX for the Qantas flight. I think it's a smaller regional jet, so may be one of those where you can drop your bags airside as you board - not sure. If I choose to carry on my roller-bag on the first AA leg (and plan on checking it for the Qantas segment), can I check that same bag when I get to LAX with no problem, even though I started my journey in another city? Because it's a short flight, I rather not check it just to minimize the chance of a lost bag into LAX.

Thanks.