saltspring

I booked an Air Canada flight from Tokyo to Vancouver and the return leg as well. I booked through a travel agent. She said that there were no seats available to assign us next to each other. Checking on the Air Canada website, under the latitude fare, there are lots available near the front. I booked under a flex fare. My son is 5 years old and I'm worried about him having to sit next to a stranger. While I know I could ask once I get onboard, I'm wondering the chances of the check-in agent getting us 2 seats next to one another. I understand that some seats are always held back until check-in opens. The aircraft both ways on this flight is a 767, so the seats are 2 - 3 - 2 in economy. Does anyone have any insights on this?

alc

you can call in and ask and see the phone agent will do for you. I had get my wife and daughter was 4yr at the time, both without status at the time, assigned 18 A and 18C in the past without being charged for it.

Goodluck.

winnipegrev

Generally the seats at the front are only for AC top tier passengers and latitude fares until check in opens. But give it a call and try. Failing that check in right at T-24 and odds are greatly in your favour you can find 2 together.

garethlewis

You can generally be seated next to each other once you are checking in at the airport, ensure your TA has cross referenced your booking so you don't have separate PNRs (your TA will know what that means).

Failing that once you are on the aircraft you should be able to put to another customer your need to be sat with your child and swap seats.

canolakid

I have not and would never roll the dice on de facto 'rush' seating with a small child or even engage in long haul seat swapping while a plane is boarding.

While I recognize there is a cost, why not just buy the preferred seats and ensure you are in control of your and your child's long flight experience?

ridefar

+1. This.

If you need it, buy it.

ain't got time to take a fast train

With 2 young ones of my own and lots of TATL air travel with them, I wholeheartedly agree. Save some stress and uncertainty by spending a few extra dollars. Works well for us.

garethlewis

to be fair I don't have kids and haven't traveled with children

TemboOne

There is another thread concerning seat swapping and such requests are seemingly not welcome and most often refused.

Really it is well worth the expense to purchase preferred seats.

But why on earth would you make a reservation for a small child without having preassigned seats available??

You did not give us the actual date and that makes it a little more difficult for us to give more helpful suggestions.

Unless you have some way of accessing your reservation through "Manage My Booking" on ac.com I would strongly suggest that you phone in and have seats allocated for both ways!

Stranger

Depends whether the OP cares enough about the issue/risks to justify the cost...

My reading was that when trying to get seats assigned, there were no longer seats left that were together. Sounds like a booking that was made relatively close to departure.

furballs

+2 . Unfortunately you can't count on the kindness of strangers these days (if indeed you ever could). If you are in an aisle and your child is middle, and you are otherwise close together, you might find someone, but especially if you are both middle, or some distance apart, you may be out of luck.

canadiancow

If you're cross referencing anything, it means there ARE separate PNRs. If there's only one PNR, there's nothing to cross reference.

tracon

Seat selection should be free.
To the OP, show up at the airport. The airline won't let the child sit alone.

Stranger

And if indeed they are on different files, even cross-referenced, there is nothing to be done until the gate. Except if some seats open, that is. So, might be a good idea to frequently check the seating map.

Merging the two files would entail canceling and rebooking. Which they won't do for free usually at least after 24 hours. (TAs apparently have only up to midnight on the same day instead of 24 hours.)

saltspring

My Tokyo - Vancouver Air Canada flight is for tomorrow (August 18th). My parents in Canada handled the booking and just relayed to me what their travel agent told them. They didn't mention any recommendation to pay for preferred seats to guarantee 2 together. I hope things go well tomorrow.