Moderator: please feel free to move this thread to the AA forum if you feel it is more appropriate.
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I will be booking two pax on LAX-ORD-DCA//IAD-LAX flights in econ on AA. My ticket will be purchased on www.aa.com, where I can get advanced seat selection. My spouse's ticket will be issued using 35,000 Asia Miles. Does anyone know if AA will accept an advanced seat reservation for an award booking made using Asia Miles? I just concerned that my spouse and I won't be able to sit together during the flight(s). If so, can I request this online or do I call AA, or go via Asia Miles?

I've bought tickets via www.aa.com quite often. That website, however, does not accept any frequent flyer number other than AAdvantage, so I end up having to call AA Reservations anyway. From there, since I'm oneworld sapphire through CX, once they have my MPO number, I ask them to change my seats to the ones blocked off for elite members and I usually end up getting exit rows or seats toward the front of the Y cabin. So, if you call them, I'm sure they'll accomodate your seating preferences. After all, you and your spouse are on the same PNR, right?

Thanks for the reply.

No, we are not on the same PNR. My booking will be done via www.aa.com. Her booking has been issued using Asia Miles redemption. So, we must have two separate PNRs. I'm not even sure whether AA can see the redemption booking done via Asia Miles?! Oh well, I guess I'll call them any try.

I don't want to mislead you, but I believe even though you are on different PNRs that they can probably, once you call them, tie your two PNRs together so you can be seated together, etc. That way, if you are an elite oneworld member, she can enjoy your benefits as well, and that includes preferred seating. I don't know if preferred seating is an explicitly stated benefit that guests can also enjoy, but each time I've called AA they have accomodated my preferences with anyone I have been travelling with. My son, who is CX silver (OW Ruby), traveled to SJU on AA for his spring break with 3 other non-oneworld members, and he managed to get them all seated near him on an A300 near the front of Y. So they do try.

Good advice. I'll give it a try.

Well, here's an update on my talks with MPC and AA regarding my wish to get my companion (on award ticket issued with Asia Miles, travelling on AA) an advanced seat reservation next to my paid booking with AA. MPC said that they cannot block off any specific seat, and can only request that "passenger A be next to passenger B", and it is up to AA whether to honor this request. Two weeks after MPC made this request to AA, still no reply from AA.

I also called AA about this during the last few days, and I have had conflicting information. One agent said that they can't even see the booking because it wasn't with an AA record locator. Another agent called up my companion's booking by using her name, but said that they were unable to assign her any seat because the booking was an CX award booking. A third agent (much more helpful) said that she COULD assign seats, but would need to charge me USD 15 on a U.S./Canadian credit card. Unfortunately, while I was searching for my credit card, the line got cut off, and I couldn't even remember the agent's name. A fourth call to AA found yet another different agent who also said she couldn't assign the seats.

So, what's the "right" answer, and what can I do now to assure that my companion and I are seated together. In total, we are flying three domestic sectors on AA. The flights are in mid-September, and even now, looking at AA's seatmaps for the flights, the seats are filling up fast.