Originally Posted by Onestep

Hello, resurrecting an old thread, but does anyone know if ET does a seat block for Star Gold travellers in Economy (not ShebaMiles card holder). I’ve got a trip booked in Y and have selected seats but can’t see that ET has blocked the seat next to me.

I’ve also paid for preferred seats (front row of economy). Does anyone know if ET is likely to block the accompanying seat (assuming loads aren’t full which doesn’t appear to be so based on ticket pricing).

I know there is the option to bid for the accompanying seat to be left empty however the minimum bid value is quite high (in my view).

Originally Posted by B747-437B

Yes and yes.

Originally Posted by sushimaru

ET doesn't automatically block the neighbor seat at the time of booking. Typically it takes place 3 days prior to departure when the flight is confirmed it's not fully booked.

Bear in mind though, someone can always take your neighbor seat so it's advisable to recheck again closer to the departure date as I've shifted my seat many times (usually settled in the back) to avoid someone taking over my neighbor seat in advance.

As a *G and *S (not sure about now but previously they blocked the seat for Star Silver too!) I've only had one out of 13 Ethiopian flights in economy which didn't have the seat block materialize due to full cabin.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by B747-437B

Correct. It is DCS level blocking so it happens when OLCI is opened for that segment (approx. 72 hrs prior to departure).