Originally Posted by
yvr76
How do other programs handle non-preferred seats for Elite members? With Aeroplan, unless you're SE you can't even do standard seat selection without a Flex fare. It would be nice to get basic seat selection on a Standard fare for E35k or E50K+.
Depends on the airline. But AC has, for many many years, always wanted you to pay for things like this.
Originally Posted by
YOWgary
Nah. It's unreasonable to expect that prime seats be left available just in case someone wants to book Y at the last minute.
I definitely disagree.
It's one thing to
sell them. It's another to give them away, preventing last-minute high-fare purchasers from being able to get one.
I've flown fares that earn the SQD for 50K in one PNR. I've flown dozens (hundreds?) of Latitude fares.
I definitely have higher expectations for "good seats" than someone barely squeaking into 50K should.
Originally Posted by
YOWgary
Completely agree, a policy like UA's allowing bottom-tier elites free access to Preferred seats at check-in is fine when the aircraft is equipped with enough of those seats to accommodate it.
...then again, as a person who exceeds both 6 feet and 200 pounds, I've got more than that reason to wish AC would come to its senses and add rows of non-bulkhead Preferred seats to widebodies to match its competitors.
And my attitude about the benefit would probably be different if every 20% of all Y seats on all types were preferred seats.
I'm not too concerned about a 7M8. I don't really like the preferred section of the 223 (it's small and it's too far back).
But all the widebodies are useless. I've bought CO/LT fares many weeks in advance and been unable to select a single preferred seat. And those were situations where my status wasn't even necessary to get one. I was "paying" for it.