faciar

We have booked a trip through Orbitz to PRG, connecting through JFK and FRA. The first two legs of our journey have Delta flight numbers and the last flight from FRA is on Czech Airlines. We have no seat assignments for the Czech flight. The entire itinerary is booked on a Delta ticket but when I called the agent said they couldn't assign seats on Czech Airlines. Apparently we have to go to the gate and get boarding passes and seats when we arrive at FRA (luggage will be checked through). Since we only have a 55 minute connection I am somewhat concerned. Should I be? Has anyone done this before? Thank you....

BaskGal

When in doubt, call the airline directly. Czech Airlines 1800 223 2365. See what they say. DL may not be capable of issuing boarding cards on the day of the flight, but you may be able to assign seats through them directly.

Can't hurt.

Dovster

Agreed. This has worked for me with both AF and AZ.

gary_nj

Most European airlines do not pre-assign seats on intra-Europe trips. So, if you connect through Paris or Amsterdam or just about anyplace, you can typically get advance seat assignments for the transatlantic portion of the journey, but not for the shorter hop within Europe.

Now, usually alliance partners can give you boarding passes for the entire journey at your first point of checkin. I have not flown a DL flight that connected to an OK flight, so I don't know how the process works. I would just not be too concerned because even though you are not getting an advance seat assignment on FRA-PRG, there is some comfort in knowing that nobody else is getting one either.

gary_nj

Dovster, will they pre-assign the segment within Europe? I didn't think they did... I always thought that I could get an advance assignment (for example) on JFK-CDG, but the onward leg from CDG-FCO (for instance) was not assigned until I checked in for the first flight.

lofly

facir, my wife and I have have done the same thing. Flown Delta to FRA and made connection with CheczAir and flown on to PRG with no problems.

Much better than the train ride.

themicah

I'm pretty sure OK (like KL and many other European carriers) will not pre-assign seats for intraeuropean flights in coach.

I flew OK JFK-PRG-BUD a few months ago, though, and was able to get my PRG-BUD seats assigned at JFK. But if your TATL leg isn't on OK, they may not be able to help you.

All of that said, OK is a great airline. Their transatlantic planes are a bit old and shabby, but their service is very pleasant, and they still serve meals on most intraeuropean flights--even the short hops.

Dovster

I don't know if flights from Europe to Israel are considered "within Europe" (although both AZ and AF consider Israel as part of Europe for award ticket purposes).

AF has allowed me to select my seats TLV-Europe and return at the time of booking. AZ will allow it only 24 hours in advance (and sometimes you have to argue with them to get this).

Oddly, when I have flown on El Al as part of a Delta itinerary (TLV-MXP on El Al and MXP-ATL on Delta) El Al only allowed me to reserve my seat when I gave them my El Al Matmid number -- but then treated me as an Elite based on my Delta status.

DukieDrew

I flew OK HAM-PRG and PRG-FRA and couldn't get seat assignments until showing up at the airport. FWIW, the planes weren't very full, so I had no problem getting a nice seat.

Dovster

I have never flown OK but I want to give a triple ^^^ to that statement based on my son's experience.

He was on a TLV-PRG-JFK itinerary on 9/11. They had just passed England when the WTC was hit.

The pilot announced that there were "weather problems" along the U.S. East Coast which was forcing them to go back to PRG but upon arrival all the passengers were given printed pages explaining what had happened.

As U.S. airspace was closed for several days, my son was stuck in Prague -- but OK paid for hotels for every passenger whose flights had not originated in PRG.

Moreover, they were notified, on a daily basis, if they would be allowed to fly out that day.

If you read through some of the stories about what passengers on other airlines faced you will find nothing like that. Not only were hotels not paid for, but in many cases they couldn't even find any and were forced to camp out at the airport.

gary_nj

Thanks! I hadn't realized this.

And thanks for sharing the good words about OK treating their customers well. I have not flown them in several years but that gives me a very positive feeling about OK.

MikeMpls

WifeMpls & I flew AMS-PRG-LJU & back last October. They are a quality airline. ^

We didn't try to get preassigned seats but had no trouble getting the boarding passes at the KLM transfer desk in AMS.

With only a 55-minute connection time in FRA I'd suggest you keep trying to get as much info as you can in advance. The Czech Republic's entry into the Schengen agreement was deferred, probably for a couple years, so they are still treated as an international destination from most European countries.

VelvetKennedy

I flew to Prague from JFK on Czech Airlines through the Delta partnership using points. Delta was not able to assign our seats, but I called Czech Airlines, and they were able to with no problem at all. Delta also put us on a Czech Airlines flight between Prague and Amsterdam, and again, we got seats assigned by calling Czech Airlines. I didn't have any problem getting seats assigned at all, except for the added step of having to call.

My impression of Czech Airlines is that some of the planes are a little old and some of the equipment, like the movies, might not work, but they totally make up for it 110% through excellent service, a great attitude, wonderfully tasty food, and by keeping the alcohol flowing freely. Definitely recommend them for the customer service alone. They impressed me from the human side of things.

Potay

I'm flying intra-Europe from AMS-PRG.

I called CSA directly, and asked to have my seats pre-assigned, but was told that it was not possible. I'm booked on a KLM codeshare operated by Czech. It seems curious that people were able to get seats assigned 3 years ago, but not now...

The agent told me that seat assignments aren't available in coach. Is this anyone else' experience??

Hannibal Lecter

didn't take that long, just a few months:
The Czech Republic joined the Schengen Agreement on 21st December 2007

http://www.theschengenoffice.com/exp...ngen_visa.html