<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dwh:
Do CO or NW or KL actually wait till the last minute to assign non-elite people to the elite sections--or does it not really make a difference as far as empty seats, whether one is sitting in the premium coach area?
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Domestically, I think the elite seating area has more empty seats until the day of the flight. Then, when assigning seats at the airport, they are often assigned front to back. Thus, the elite area tends to fill up leaving the empties at the back. CO seems to make no effort whatsoever to keep empties in the elite area. I've noticed the same kind of thing internationally, but most of my travel is domestic.