i and my fiance' are going for our wedding out of country. We booked our tickets 3 months in advance. We were not assigned the seats as they were supposed to be assigned at check in. I go to check the status of my flight and guess what we have been assigned seats but not together in separate rows. The flight is 14 hrs long, so i called continental and requested them to move us to seats together. I got 3 very rude agents who were just not willing to help, i asked to speak to a supervisor and was told they cannot transfer me as speaking to a supervisor won't help. I paid 2500$ for the two tickets and i am a frequent flier so i was really disappointed in their customer service and their willingness to help out with this matter. I really hope someone at continental sees it and understands that people who book flights together would really like to be seated together specially for long flights. I understand that their policy states seating together is not guaranteed but isn't it obvious. I have spoken to other agents at other airlines but i must say i have never gotten such rude customer service reps. Being a big airline like continental they really need to train their agents to be nice to someone in distress and handle the matter with patience.

Welcome to FT, roopam_g!

Can you access your reservation online?

If so, you may be able to move your seats using the "View/Change Seats" option.

Good luck!

Firstly Thanks for the welcome.

Yes i can access the reservation online but cannot make changes to the seats, i was told to contact continental 24 hrs before the flight which i did and they didn't help so now since its within 24 hrs i am stuck with our crappy seats which totally sucks!

That is most unfortunate. Depending on where your seats are located, you may be able to switch when you board. After all, it never hurts to ask (politely).

Best of luck, have a good flight.

Thanks johdhj, good to know at least someone understands

I wonder if someone at continental really listens to the way their reps communicate with customers. I was shocked at my experience. One of the worst.

Out of curiousity, how often do you fly, and with which airline?

My experience with CO is largely in line with my experience with the other major intercontinental carriers: 90% of my interactions with the staff have been very pleasant and the resolutions to my problems were always satisfactory... the other 10% is when I come to FT to complain

In spite of your current troubles, I hope it won't turn you away permanently. Hopefully, the flight experience will more than make up for it.

Disclaimer: I do not work for CO nor am I affiliated in any way with them... other than being a FF with status.

To be honest i am a frequent flier with united but since it is an international flight i had to fly out using continental. My experience with united has been great so far. Their customer service is polite and their GA are usually very courteous and willing to accommodate. I understand that mistakes do happen but i am shocked that i got the rude treatment from all 3 agents i spoke to and their non willingness to help with this situation.

BTW thanks for the disclaimer to be honest i am more pissed about the cold shoulder than the seat assignment part!

Is this part of a mixed airline itinerary booked on UA.bomb or somewhere else? I'm having similar trouble with a NWA.com booked AF segment, so wonder if it could be something similar?

OP, since its already within 24 hrs of departure, did you log on to co.com to see yourself if there are available seats (all blocked seats and elite seats are opened up at T24)? If there aren't any two-seat currently open, how would CO agent even try to re-seat you together (without other passenger's permission since others have preselected their seats)?

Its likely one of the fellow passengers would be open to switch seat with you - just ask nicely and don't assume they owe you something. Well, if both of your current seat assignments are in the middle, then it might not be fair for you (or CO agents) to ask someone to trade from a window or isle in order to seat you two together (assuming its a 777 with 3-3-3 seat layout).

Nevertheless, don't let seat assignments ruin your otherwise pleasant trip. Fly safely and enjoy your new life journey.

[edit to add]: Assuming OP is not familiar with how co.com works -- if you do see two-seat open together online, you'll probably need check-in online in order to select new seat since its within T24.

At the very least, go online and make sure you have at least one non-middle seat. Both would be better. If you start with two middle seats, you have very little bargaining power. If on the other hand you have a window or aisle, it's likely you'll be able to find someone that would gladly switch for their middle, allowing you two to sit together.

How sad!

If all else fails, when boarding, speak to a FA, and ask if anything can be done. This worked for me when a similar problem happened on UA.

Good luck.