Seat Change after OLCI
 

My bad luck with CO continues. Just after being downgraded on a Y-up fare last week, I'm now dealing with a seat reassignment after OLCI. Last night, I did OLCI for today’s flight EWR-SNA (I’m holding yet another Y fare), selected an aisle seat 9D, but closed because I didn’t have a printer. My seat was confirmed – it was showing in both View Reservations and OLCI. This morning when I tried printing the boarding pass in the office, I found I had been miraculously reassigned to row 22. Can anyone shed some light on this? Again, this has never happened before so I’m just wondering what on earth is going on. :confused:

Did you go through all the way to the point in the process where the screen that you would normally print shows up on the screen? Otherwise you didn't complete the check-in process and your seat assignment wasn't actually changed.

E-mail yourself the boarding passes and reprint at the airport.

I didn't go all the way there, but my seat should still be secure and always has been in the past. Like I said, it was showing 9D when I went to "View Reservations" so to be moved to a completely random row like 22 is clearly the action of an agent (or the computer).

Even if I don't have access to a Fax or printer, I always go all the way to the print BP screen.

Then later on when I have a printer or Fax, I go through the process again, it does not change my seq number or anything to go through the checkin a second time. But I'm always sure to complete the process.

I guess it worked out for me again. I'd been monitoring the seat map and 9D suddenly became available. I now have a printed boarding pass with 9D on it. Yet another puzzling experience with CO.

well, this one isn't that puzzling. it seems as if you didn't go to the final step which would have locked in your seat. ;)

On my notebook I print the boarding pass to a PDF or MDI (MS Document Imaging) file. This way I can print it if it's possible and needed, and I have a copy of all of my old boarding passes.

Even without the PDF Distiller/Writer or the MS thingy, most (all) Windows printer drivers can "Print to file". Just check that box, give it some name, and later you can copy it to your printer.

I also usually reprint the BP at the kiosk, though I think this may be a bad idea. If you do, CO knows that you did, and the kiosk version is the only real one. Therefore if you need the BP later for some reason (miles maybe), you might not be able to get away with sending in a printout of the OLCI BP.

I don't think we are giving the OP enough credit here in telling him to go through the whole process. He has done it successfully before; something different happened this time.

I have had it happen even when I have printed out a boarding pass- sometimes seat assignments change. Perhaps a FAM was placed in economy (it was an aisle seat), perhaps a buddy of the check in agent wanted the seat, and perhaps someone was mistakenly decided to try to be "helpful" and get a group in seats together.

It seems more likely that something changed after check-in than that the OP did not complete all the steps. Rather, they did not complete all the steps (just re-read it), but something else was the culprit and the same result would have ensued even with a printed BP.

You definitely do not have to complete the entire process. I have changed my seat assignment many times by only partially completing OLCI and then canceling out. It has always stuck. Like the previous poster stated, this is something else entirely.

Hi Jaffar, this was very interesting to us, so we pulled the transaction history on your reservation. You did everything correct on your end (it doesn't matter if you don't go all the way to the boarding pass process). Here's what happened...

When you checked in at continental.com, your seat change to 9D did take. In the middle of the night, however, it appears that your travel agency made a seat request on your behalf, which overrode your initial seat assignment and put you in 22D. Given the time of day (4am-ish), our theory is that your travel agency has some type of automation to do this. Specifically, some travel agency systems will automatically assign seats for customers that don’t appear to have seats assigned, and unfortunately seat assignments made via any type of check-in don't show on the travel agency side. Fortunately you noticed this, and you were able to get your original seat back.

I love getting to the real answer, even if my conspiracy theory was proven wrong.

Thanks for digging in to it, CO Insider!

Thank you CO Insider for the explanation. I'm glad this was the fault of my travel agent (who will be hearing from me) and not that of CO. I now have a lot more confidence with the OLCI process going forward.

How does this work? After T-24h the standard seat change procedure no longer works ("Airport Control" or whatever). Supposedly the only way to get seats changed/assigned (unless the elite line reps fibbed) is to check in.