Originally Posted by
irishguy28
Free seating is NOT an alliance perk in Skyteam.
The individual airlines may offer free seating on all ticket types to their own (top-tier) status members, but even this is not guaranteed. While FB Platinums can pick any seat for free at any time, for Gold/Silvers this only kicks in within certain timelimits prior to departure, and in many cases will only give a discount on the preferred seats - not all seats are free.
Unlike Star Alliance, SkyTeam does have a seat selection benefit at the alliance level ("preferred seating"), already at the Elite level but this only includes standard seats. You may still need to pay for premium options such an exit row, extra legroom etc. But if the goal is to have a window seat or simply sit together, this is provided with good consistency across the alliance.