Originally Posted by
anabolism
but I'm traveling with my partner, who is on an award ticket and has no status. So there seems to be no way to get him a seat in advance.
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Try calling Executive Club. I was in the same situation recently. My partner is travelling on the paid ticket (with assigned seats) and I am on the awards ticket. I called them and kindly asked them to assign seats for me next to his seats. They did it!