EI seat selection on Avios ticket

Old Dec 14, 2019, 10:54 am
  #1  
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EI seat selection on Avios ticket

Does anybody know if free seat selection is included with Avios reward tickets? Or if the selection is restricted to row 14+?

Bonus points if you know why:
  • Avios rewards are ticketed as 125- and cannot be managed on the EI app
  • The correct checked baggage allowance is never encoded on mobile boarding passes created on the EI app!
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Old Dec 14, 2019, 12:09 pm
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1: Seat selection is included - just call EI reservations (or AerClub). You may have to HUCA.

2: 125 is BA ticket stock, the originators of Avios

3: Dunno but EI IT is not know for winning medals!
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Old Dec 14, 2019, 1:09 pm
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On short haul rows 8 onwards, except exit rows 10/12/13/24 are free to Avios tickets, on TATL its the rear economy cabin only

Ticket is not sold by EI. However the website should allow read only access to view the details. Only tickets sold via Aer Lingus.com can be modified online

The baggage allowance is on the ticket and visible to check in staff
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Old Dec 14, 2019, 1:40 pm
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Thanks. My experience below...

Originally Posted by ROKNA
On short haul rows 8 onwards, except exit rows 10/12/13/24 are free to Avios tickets
EI Reservation Centre saying row 14, and charging for anything ahead of that.

Originally Posted by ROKNA
The baggage allowance is on the ticket and visible to check in staff
Yes, but it's not encoded on the mobile boarding pass if you want to use the self-service bag drop at LHR T2.
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Old Dec 15, 2019, 2:52 am
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My last experience on short haul avios ticket was that I was offered any available seat, however initially she suggested that there is a charge for seat selection but when I challenged that I thought it was free she put me on hold to check and when she came back it was open house. I'm not sure if this was just the agent being nice or because I first entered my FF number to show my concierge status in the hope that it would get me some seat picking perks but anyway it worked. They also sat my partner next to me who has no status and was on a separate avios booking.
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Old Dec 17, 2019, 5:39 am
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Originally Posted by anydroid
EI Reservation Centre saying row 14, and charging for anything ahead of that.
Yes, bad choice of word. When the poster you replied to said "free";I think they meant freely selectable, rather than selectable without paying the mandatory charge for these seats.

But if that poster actually meant that these seats should be free of charge for Avios tickets holders, then please let me know! I just checked in for my flight home for Xmas using an Avios ticket purchased via AerClub and I was not offered these seats free of charge!
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Old Dec 17, 2019, 8:09 am
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Originally Posted by irishguy28
Yes, bad choice of word. When the poster you replied to said "free";I think they meant freely selectable, rather than selectable without paying the mandatory charge for these seats.

But if that poster actually meant that these seats should be free of charge for Avios tickets holders, then please let me know! I just checked in for my flight home for Xmas using an Avios ticket purchased via AerClub and I was not offered these seats free of charge!
Did you add your aerclub number to the booking when you called? Far as I understand it won't be added automatically at the time of booking. So when you go to reserve seats the agent is not seeing your status and thus may not be more flexible with waving seat reservation fees. I could be wrong about your aerclub account number not being added automatically...
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Old Dec 17, 2019, 10:01 am
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Originally Posted by mccartje
Did you add your aerclub number to the booking when you called? Far as I understand it won't be added automatically at the time of booking. So when you go to reserve seats the agent is not seeing your status and thus may not be more flexible with waving seat reservation fees. I could be wrong about your aerclub account number not being added automatically...
I have no status with EI...only with BA (which sometimes helps as regards Priority Boarding and/or BA lounge access, but not consistently...)

From the above, I didn't realise that any status levels were being assumed - there was no mention of status, and the OP is only Silver (though maybe that was status enough for all other answers to "bake" that status into their replies!)

Specifically, the statement "On short haul rows 8 onwards, except exit rows 10/12/13/24 are free to Avios tickets" makes no mention of status, nor even now can I see it implied that any status is assumed.
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Old Dec 17, 2019, 10:22 am
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Originally Posted by anydroid
Bonus points if you know why:
  • Avios rewards are ticketed as 125- and cannot be managed on the EI app
As others have noted, Aer Club tickets are issued by Avios Group Ltd. The EI website/app cannot handle third-party bookings, which is what effectively "Aer Club" award bookings are - they are no different than any other third party/travel agent tickets.

Originally Posted by anydroid
  • The correct checked baggage allowance is never encoded on mobile boarding passes created on the EI app!
I wish I had an answer for that. Or why Avios bookings, despite coming with a luggage allowance, never* actually work out that way when you deal with EI.

(*On the flight I checked in for today, I didn't need to include a checked bag, so can't verify it's changed. Last time, during the summer, the EI website and kiosk wanted to charge me for a bag, despite my eticket showing a baggage allowance. It took the agent at the check-in desk a lot of typing on the computer to override the baggage fee)
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Old Dec 17, 2019, 12:37 pm
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The benefit of having the 20KG bag somewhat diminished when it means you have to queue at one of the increasingly rare staffed check-in desks in DUB.

As for seats - even standard ones - being free of charge on Avios bookings, does it actually state this anywhere or is it just a received wisdom that gets passed around?

Last edited by DiegoTristan; Dec 17, 2019 at 1:11 pm
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Old Dec 17, 2019, 4:18 pm
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I was able to do mine over chat - easy, quick, and appeared confirmed on my reservation on my AerClub within 2 minutes of completing the transaction.
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Old Dec 18, 2019, 1:21 am
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Originally Posted by jmj10
I was able to do mine over chat -.
Aer Lingus have chat?
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Old Jan 5, 2020, 9:44 am
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Originally Posted by Dambus
Aer Lingus have chat?
You should get a little chat icon on the bottom right of your screen when you go to AerLingus.com.
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Old Jan 17, 2020, 12:23 pm
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I've been a long time lurker here but this is my first posting. I have an Aerclub avios booking (DUB - LYS) and after reading this thread I called (or I thought I called) Aerclub to try and select seats. When I eventually got through and gave over my booking details I was told that seat selection would cost €13.99 per seat. I said this was wrong, the booking was the equivalent of a Plus booking and that a checked bag and seat selection was included. I was put on hold and 5 minutes later she came back and said no as the ticket no began with 125 it was a third party booking and that I would have to pay or contact my supplier. I pointed out that Aerclub was my supplier and that I had rung the Aerclub contact no and had been put through to her. She insisted that no she worked for EI and not Aerclub and that I would have to pay or contact Aerclub. She wouldn't budge and after some too and froing I decided it wasn't worth my elevated blood pressure. So some advice please. Is it written down anywhere that seat selection is included in Aerclub avios bookings? Any tips on what to say when I call back and try again? Thanks in advance.
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Old Jan 17, 2020, 2:24 pm
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Avios bookings should be treated as traditional full fare economy, bag+seat allocation.

What is really annoying is BA have the power (and it is BA behind Avios) to plate on 053 but they don't
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