Consistency of *G seat allocation/blocking
 

Just wanted to know what your experience of seat allocation/blocking for *G has been recently. I have generally been pretty happy but recently had a very poor experience on a bmi flight back from AMS.

Had some trouble with OLCI which gave me a seat but crashed on BP production. So roll up to check in, get my BP and off I go. Get on the plane to find that I am crammed into a window seat with someone beside me. Fair enough I think, the flight must be full.

It was not. Two whole rows empty just behind me and loads, I mean LOADS of empty middle seats up and down the a/c. Either I was on a flight with another 20-30 *G's or something went badly wrong.

Anyone doing a better or worse?

I take it you just took one of the empty rows?

Seat blocking has worked for me every single time. I haven't sat directly next to anyone on a bmi flight in literally hundreds of sectors - certainly not since the end of 2005.

I have noticed recently that the system has been altering seat availability for trim (yes, the loads have been that light!) which has produced some strange results. The other day I was offered only the middle seat in an exit row. I was expecting a horrid, crammed flight. Turns out there were fewer than 50 pax - I had the entire row to myself and there were people scattered about the cabin. Why it blocked the window and aisle in my row I shall never know.

Whenever I've OLCI'd, it has always shown the seat next to me as occupied. The first time I did this, I indignantly moved my seat! The map then refreshed and my original seat plus the one next to it were now empty and my newly selected seat plus the one next to it were both occupied. Although I'm heading towards being a bona fide 'Passenger Of Size' one day I'm sure, I'm not quite there yet :mad: ;) But then it dawned on me this is the seat blocking in action. It's never failed me yet (though admittedly, not a huge sample size) ^ This is how it's done at OLCI time.

I have never benefited from seat blocking on BD. Ever. The handful of domestic flights I have taken of late have been so empty it wasn't an issue. On long haul I take the window seat and the aisle seat is never blocked as I understand seat blocking only refers to middle seats.

I've not had the aisle seat blocked on Transatlantic flights. Quite a shame when you see others have a free seat next to them.

Still, on one flight I still managed to jump over the chap in the aisle when I needed the loo and he was asleep (with his head on the tray table) - much to the bemusement of the other pax. I could never be sure if he realised.

Have posted it before, but no harm in adding again. Preferential seating, let alone seat blocking, is not a pan *A benefit; this has been confirmed to me by *A customer services. Many member carriers offer priority seating to their own scheme elites, but this tends to prefer the latter over other *A Golds.

i am waiting with some interest to see how this pans out with lufthansa next week. Mrs Antichef and i are off on business and flying 3 separate legs to larnaca. the booking was taken for business class all the way for the two of us, but when i got to seat allocation for the second leg from FRA - Athens, it showed the whole business cabin reserved except for one seat.

i put Mrs A in there (she is BD blue), and wait to see what they do with me at check in. i assume some SEN has the seat blocked by the system, and they will move us two in together. called luft CS in germany but they could not change it.

Any experience from the experts here? did i do it the right way round (other than for gallantry and brownie points which are definite winners!!;) )

Perhaps they are already oversold in C and will move the curtain back a bit on the day of the flight depending on how many pax show.

I have had blocking on all my LH flights except one which was completely full down the back so whilst not a published benefit, it certainly happens.

Interesting.

On the same subject, I notice United don't block midle seats for *G any more. Worked every time I flew them up until late last year (around the time they got rid of E+ access) but all UA flights taken since have not had the middle seat blocked :(