Reservation seat assignment change
 

Can Cathay Pacific change a reserved seat?

I bought 5 tickets going from LAX to HKG. I reserved one row with an extra seat at the end. Now, the seat is taken/reserved. Another family member has decided to come with us. We could like to seat together on the long trip. Is it possible to request the seat next to us? Can Cathay Pacific change someone else seat reservation?

-Thanks.

yes, yes and most definetly yes. Unless you purchased a Biz or 1'st class seat, they often will change the seating assignment on you. You're best bet is to have both res #'s and call CX to reserve and hold the seat's for you. Often exit row seats and preferred seats are opened for their elite!!!

I think the OP is asking whether or not Cathay would bump someone else off their assigned seat in order to make room for one more passenger travelling with the OP.

In the OP situation, I would try to find another row where you can sit together. If your flight is more than a few days out, it should not be a big problem.

Cathay probably will refuse to bump off the other passenger from their seat unless you are a DM or the flight is overbooked and the other person has some elite status, if you ask at check in to solve your problem, they may decide to bump that person to Business instead of asking them to move to another Economy seat.

Finally, if you have a comparable aisle/window seat to offer, you could nicely ask the person in that seat to swap to help accommodate your family. As long as you're offering a similar seat (aisle for aisle in same cabin section, for example), many people would agree to your request.

CX will not change someone's seat assignment, unless when CX is ready to upgrade the passenger. If you are not sure if the seat is taken or reserved, you can call them. If it is reserved (not taken), perhaps CX can release the seat or take a request.

This thread is interesting because I talked to a pax that had a similar experience. He was sitting at the aisle seat of the middle front row (typically the infant row), and as we were chatting because the plane was delayed he told me he was reassigned to a windows seat, and he needed to fought hard to get his seat back. That shocked me when I thought CX would never reassigned an assigned seat.

However, during the flight I noticed the two people sitting next to him have to be DM because they got greeted and served first. (and as lowly GO I got nothing this time.) So based on this thread, I'm wondering if those 2 DMs pull their "unpublished benefits" and told CX to block out the seat, and that caused CX to reassigned that guy. Kudos to that guy to fought and got the seat back.

CX did bump me many years ago.
I had a confirmed seat assignment in J cabin.
But, HK Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa and his colleague bumped me to another J seat.

CX explained because of computer system glitch they could not provide the original seat for me !
However, I realised a story behind on board.

I stand corrected. CX can bump a passenger . It can even happen at the gate or on board as needed. This is in particular the case for bassinet seats. The agent should have warned the passenger (regardless of status) when he got the seat assignment. This is one of the reasons I never request for those seats.

Oh I see. CX bumped you instead of bumping them.

I can understand if there were infants or children, but there were two adults next to him, which makes me wonder are they DM or maybe even DM+ and asked the row to be cleared.

Thanks for everybody input. We called Cathay Pacific and they said that they can't reassign/change other people seat.
However, the website stated that they can change assignment seat anytime. We don't have DM or other frequent travel status. The flight is pretty booked. We are in the row 30's. The only available seats are in the 60's (last couple of rows in the back of the airplane)

Cathay Pacific said that we will have to wait until 48 hours to see if the seat is available.

I flew on Cathay Pacific last December. They changed my aisle seat for a middle seat. :( It was terrible. We had a long discussion at the check-in counter. A supervisor was called but in the end their response was the flight was fully booked.
They told me that I should check in 48 hours early instead of checking in 3 hours before the flight. It was a learned lesson.

This is nonsense. They should only release your seat assignment if you don't show 60 minutes before the flight. This is their own policy.

I would definitely have kicked up a major fuss if I checked in on time and they decided to dump me in a middle seat.

I don't know that is the case. I know they will do it for bassinet seats and extra legroom seats, and perhaps for very special situations (e.g., I lost my seat before when they changed equipment). I suppose that may be their disclaimer. Do you have the link to that page?

There is also a section of some aircraft designated as "priority" seating where they say they might move if you elderly or disabled passengers need that space. However, that's clearly indicated on the website when you select the seat, so I don't see an issue with that.

Frankly, I prefer to choose those seats because as a GO, if the flight is full and they need my specific priority seat for some other pax, I'm more likely to get bumped up to J.

It's regular aisle seat in the 50's. I don't see anything about it. In fact, I went back and check "who" took my seat. The seat was occupied by someone else.

I don't have the link. But it's on the same page below the seat selection. Here is the quote -

"We will always endeavour to retain your seat selection. However, for operational reasons, we may occasionally have to re-assign seats without prior notice."

Sounds like a disclaimer. I hope your family can all sit together in the end.