I was just on the phone with a CO.com rep, and he was a jack a*s. I wanted to undo my "check-in" so I could change my seat assignment. He was giving convoluted directions, and as soon as I interrupted and expressed frustration because his directions were unclear, he said snidely, "Sir, I know you're a professional at what you do, so why don't YOU let me do what I do?"

Afterward, he kept giving unclear directions. He said that I was supposed to click on a "seat" on the page. It wasn't until I asked him over and over again WHAT seat that he finally said, "YOUR CURRENT SEAT ASSIGNMENT!" By this point, I'm seething, and I say, "Look, you said, 'click on a seat' and NOT a specific seat.' Am I mistaken with you just said? Because you just said, 'Click on a seat.'" At this point, I hear a click. He hung up on me. ...?!

Of course, there's no way to speak to a supervisor about this. Though I may not be well-versed with the uber-special Continental.com webpage, I can at least recognize that someone is being condescending and a total jerk: This reminds me of going to the "Genius Bar" at the Apple Store and being told that I'm stupid. It's clear that the "GENIUS" who wears a shirt that says "GENIUS" on is higher than all of us mortals.

Not to say anything about the support issue right or wrong----However, just as an FYI to you, you do not have to uncheck in to change your seat---just to back to on line check in and select the seat you want and re-print boarding passes.

Sorry to hear that you had a frustrating experience.

If you want to change your seat assignment and it's less than 24 hours before your flight (which I'm assuming is the case since you said you've already checked in), you can only do this from the check-in page, not your reservation page. To change your seat after you've already checked in:

(1) Start the check in process again

(2) The check-in website will say that you've already checked in, but it will display your itinerary in a box in the middle of the screen.

(3) Your current seat assignment(s) is (are) listed in blue, underlined font next to the flight(s). It's blue and underlined because it's a link. Click on the seat assignment you want to change.

(4) You will be taken to a new screen with a seat map. Click on the seat you want, and then click "Submit" (or "Continue"... I can't remember the exact details...)

(5) After you've submitted your new seat assignment, you'll be taken back to the "original" screen with your itinerary in a box in the middle, along with flight info and your (new) seat assignment(s).


A few other tips:
*If you don't get the assistance you want from any customer service representative, hang up, take a deep breath, and call again. There are some bad apples, but most representatives are quite helpful.
*If you have a bad experience, fire off an e-mail to customer care with all the info. The powers that be can't do anything about it if we don't tell them.
*If you have a good experience, fire off an e-mail about that as well. Even better, here's what I do if I've had great service on the phone: I tell the representative that they've been very helpful and I'd like to be transferred to a supervisor to share the good news. Positive reinforcement can't hurt!

Really?? I thought that you couldn't change seats within 24 hours of a flight.

pc

Definitely. I have had many flights where I have changed seats 7-8 times after the original OLCI as better ones became available. I can guarantee that it works.

It's the same process that you'd go through to reprint a boarding pass after checking in online. You just can't change on the reservations page <24hrs out.

Great tip. Thanks! ^

pc

man you need to calm down..its a seat assignment not worth getting red in the face and having a heart attack..if they arent being helpfull..hangup and call back and get someone who is..dont let yourself get so upset by little things..

you forgot about the @:-) at the end of your post

Here's perhaps an easier way:

Toward the center of the CO.com home page is a box with two tabs:"Print Boarding Pass" (active by default) and "Check Flight Status".

Enter your confirmation number in the designated spot in the "Print Boarding Pass" tab, and hit GO. You should see your seat number(s) as blue hyperlinks on the next page. Simply click on the seat number, and presto, change away to your heart's content.

Disclaimer: This is from memory, as I don't have an upcoming flight. If I've missed any details, I'm sure someone will pounce.

Many thanks for the help and guidance, FTers .

I usually fly NW and I'm not sure that we can "uncheck-in" ourselves via the website--so, I thought the same about the CO.com site. Clearly CO.com is much better than NWA.com in this respect.

A little bit of background: When I first called a CO CSR on the phone, she said that only tech support could undo my "check-in." I know I can always just hang up the phone, breathe, and then call again, but it's just annoying to know that a jerk can get away with no consequences whatsoever. Sure, maybe karma will get him down the road (or perhaps this whole debacle was karma for something I did), but it just sucks, especially when you're already the last person to the leave the office on a Tuesday afternoon .

Anyways, I appreciate all the info!

FYI you can do the exact same process on NW. Just go to the flight check in screen and it will give you the option to change your seats in the same place as you would reprint a boarding pass. I think, though I'm not sure, you can do the same thing on the Manage My Reservations page.

I change seats once checked in all the time

This most recent trip, on a ERJ, kept deciding between 12b and 12a... not sure why... but finally just took 12a to have the seat to myself, even if 12b really does give a little more room

Yep, no need to un-check in on CO, DL, or NW to change your seat after doing OLCI. Just go back into OLCI, select a new seat, and print a new boarding pass.

What you CAN'T do it buy a new ticket and choose a seat pre-check-in, but once you go to the airport or do OLCI you can change your seat as much as you like. If your airline or route doesn't have OLCI then, yes you can't change your seat within 24 hours until you get to the airport.

- HF