Seat Selection on Virgin Codeshares?
 

I know that to receive OnePass mileage, one must book the 44xx flight number, not the VS number. I also am aware that CO "buys" 10 seats in Upper and 50 seats in Economy on most of the VS codeshare flights. My question is: can you seat-select before the flight? Economy would be bearable in an aisle seat, but the thought of being shoehorned in a middle seat on LAX-LHR is almost unthinkable ...


P.S. Just to be safe let me ask another question: Am I correct that, as long as you are booked in CO inventory (44xx) the miles count for ELITE STATUS ?? Thanks!

I fly the CO 44xx flight on Virgin earlier this year and was able to get assigned seats when I booked the flights. It was with a friend and CO was able to get us seats together.

Yes, the miles do count towards elite status.

Non-NonREV:
I run into my need for an aisle seat whenever I book NW internationally. Before I give them my credit card number, I ask them to check availability of an aisle seat. They have always been happy to check (and this is NW http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif ). I'm sure Virgin, if you book with them, or CO would also be happy to check before finalizing the sale.

My understanding is that CO books entire rows, and those are the only seats available. I can't confirm it, but when we flew the 44xx flights earlier this year, the people across the aisle from us (on the A340) and the 3rd person in our window bloc (on the 747) were all on CO tix. FWIW.

I flew the codeshare last year from SFO. While I believe it IS true that certain rows are reserved for CO ticketholders to reserve seats in advance, it is also possible upon check-in to change. I did.

One other thing if you're deciding between CO-operated and VS-operated - if you fly CO out of LGW, and there's a delay in the flight, CO has a Pres.Club at LGW. At LHR, you're stuck.

We spent the most enjoyable 8 hour delay I've ever had (OK, I've only had 3 other 8 hour delays in my life) at the LGW PC in 1998. It was the opening day of the World Cup, and the 3pm DC-10 to EWR got cancelled by mx. My BF seat was a reward ticket. PC brought in a buffet lunch for the matches, followed by a cold dinner buffet at around 7pm. Of course, the $950 voucher helped...