Elite seat selection on AF
 

Hello, I'm about to book a trip in coach on AF. I see on SeatGuru that the selection of seats I have starts on row 18, or TEMPO fares. Is this the premium equivalent on CO, or do I need to call AF and ask for premium seats as a CO Plat? Or does CO Plat not get the same advantage on AF?

FYI, for my trip, I wanted to book on CO of course, but my itinerary (IAH-CDG-MIL-FLR-CDG-IAH) costs over 2K on CO, and only ~$740.00 on AF. What's up with that?:rolleyes:

Are you on AF metal in the EU or all the way. I know that AF will not let you select seats, unless in J, for there EU flights. If you are TATL with them then you should be able to select a seat before hand.

I have only flown them 2x so I am not sure if they have a perferred seating as CO but if they do then as ST E or E+ I think you should be able to select a seat. Never hurts to give AF a call.

FWIW, I had cruddy seats in the back of the plane for my intra-Europe flight on a reward ticket last month. At check-in I spent about 10 minutes convincing them that as a ST E+ I got lounge access. Much to my surprise at the gate we were upgraded to Tempo Challenge class. I'm not 100% sure what the upgrade included, other than seats at the front of the plane, as I don't know what the service was in the back. We did get a meal and free booze, too. And we definitely couldn't get seat assignments in advance for that segment since it was intra-Europe, in line with COFan's comment above.

My parents flew AF a few months ago on a reward ticket. I can't remember if I called and got rejected, or I was too lazy to call, but the front rows in coach were not available at time of booking. At OLCI more rows were opened up and I actually got them 2nd row in coach for one of the flights.

A little more detail here:

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....1&postcount=23

BTW, cheap AF fares only earn 50% EQM on CO. For that reason, we never buy coach tickets on AF. Instead, we use KLM (but make sure it's not V fare).

co.com always get lousy pricing when there's a partner flight in the itinerary. But you may actually get a better fare if you put the CO portion IAH-CDG on hold and then call co.com support to add the other partner flights.

TATL, AF Tempo equals CO Coach, or Y. As far as I know, there is no premium seating in Tempo. There's a seperate cabin for business, and depending on the plane, first class. That said, you should be able to call in and get any available seat in Tempo.

From France to Italy, there may also be a Temp Challenge section, which as far as I can determine is for full fare economy fares, not status.

There is a difference on the 747s. The elite section is on the upper deck and includes power ports and extra legroom. If you call (and actually get through), you should be able to pre-reserve those seats. Otherwise, there ain't much difference.

For intra-EU flights, it is basically coach seating throughout, so it doesn't really matter.

I am flying from DXB-CDG-EWR-BOS Roundtrip. My BF upgrade cleared onthe CDG-EWR but I was wondering if there are any chances of getting an upgrade on the DXB-CDG segment.

I am CO Plat and on BF with CO so I should get lounge access in DXB, CDG, EWR, and BOS correct?

AF only allows pre-assigned seating on long-haul flights, in all classes of service. Pre-assigned seating for intra-European flights is available only in business class. AF Tempo Challenge is an intra-European full Y fare class that allows for the same food and drink as business class and a separate section of seating between business class and regular coach (also known as Tempo).
For seating in Tempo, OLCI starts 30 hours prior to departure for almost all flights except those itineraries going to the US where it starts at 24 hours prior to departure. The first few rows of coach usually are blocked for FB elites (or so they say), but in my experience, anyone can choose them as the OLCI system rarely really blocks them off properly.

I'm not sure of lounge access in DXB, but you should have it everywhere else. I'm assuming that you booked this on CO. If so, you are probably automatically eligible for business on the DXB-CDG segment on AF. We were when we flew EWR-CDG-IST and return. You should call CO first and make sure that they have upgraded you for that portion. Then call AF for seat assignment.