LO 044

Hello,

I am flying LHR-YEG in August on flight AC 899. Judging by the seat selection process, it looks like it is layout 2 of the 767. It will be me, my wife, my 9 month old daughter and 2 year old daughter. We are assigned seats 19D, 19E and 19F. Because of the complicated routing, i booked through the AC call center and the agent mentioned that these seats are not "preferred" seats and there is no extra cost to reserve them. When i look at seatguru http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Air...7-300ER_v2.php and aircanada.com http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/fl...7-300erxm.html, the seats are shown to be preferred seats. On seatexpert.com http://seatexpert.com/seatmap/10/Air...rsion_2_-_EX)/, the seats get mixed reviews stating that the armrest are immovable.

Can anyone shed some light on the 19D, E and F seats on this aircraft? I used to think that bulkhead seats were ideal for kids but looking online there are many mixed reviews.

1. Why are these seats not preferred when booking? Are they worse than typical bulkhead seats?

2. Are the armrests in fact immovable? If so, these seats will probably be of no use trying to lie my infant sideways to sleep.

3. Layouts 1, 3 and 4 of AC's 767's are branded XM whereas Layout is branded EX. What's the difference?

Any help would be greatly appreciated including anyone with experience sitting in bulkhead seats with kids.

Thanks.

vernonc

Its been a few years since I traveled with infants. It is my understanding that you were assigned these 'preferred' seats because you have a infant and these seats are where you can attach a bassinet to the bulkhead. Yes you lose seat width because you cannot move the arm rests and you have to stow your bags during takeoff and landing. The benefit is that the infant will be in the bassinet and the remaining three of you will be seated together plus you have legroom. This is likely the best option for you unless you prefer to carry your infant for the entire flight.
Hopefully other FTs experts will also weigh in with their suggestions.

mromalley

Preferred seats in AC talk means the seats that people without the appropriate status level must pay for. So an Elite75 would not have to pay to reserve that seat but a member of the general public without AC status would.

Non-preferred seats - no charge

There is also a travelling with children section that might have some info for you.

LO 044

Actually the AC reservation agent told me that the bassinet is only good up to a certain weight (15 lbs) i believe which wouldn't work for my infant. On top of that, she at first offered me seats 21D, E and F. When i asked about the bulkhead row, she mentioned that there was no premium charged for it and she could book it for me regardless if i had children with me or not. The only thing she mentioned was that it is a bulkhead seat but not considered preferred in any way and there is no extra fee to book those seats. That is what surprised me and then i ended up questioning how much of an advantage / disadvantage it was for me to choose those seats.

ACYYZ/SD

1. I'm surprised, I thought they were preferred. Infant/bassinet seating is on request only unless those specific seats which are provisioned for bassinets are actually confirmed. This has always been the case. They can only be used by infants under 25 pounds AND provided they are not able to sit upright on their own.

2. These seats have fixed armrests, and tray tables are extracted upwards and outwards attached to the seat (immovable) - as indicated on the website.

3. Disregard Layout 4. During August there is only 1 aircraft in this configuration flying between Toronto & Dublin. You will more than likely be on Layout 1 or 2, or remotely Layout 3 (primarily flies to Tel Aviv & Shanghai), but regardless, 19DEF remains the bulkhead/bassinet row.

Remember that Baby Meals (BBML) & Child Meals (CHML) can be requested, and diaper disposal bags are available.