Seat selection / blocking
 

Hi all,

I'm travelling DUB > DXB return in a week or so, and I've chosen the lighter load flights, timings suit me better.

I have preselected my seats for a few weeks, and the seats selected still make the load look quite light - I know this can change quickly.

My question - on both my legs, with a fairly empty cabin, someone has selected the seat right beside me - on outbound the aisle seat beside my window seat even though other 2 window seat pairings remain free, and on the return flight were no window pairs free so I selected the only seat to be taken in the middle 3 seats in the whole cabin and someone selected the middle middle seat right beside me, even though every other seat remains empty??

As a gold do Emirates auto block seats beside me? Or do I have some crazy fans who want to sit beside me that I've never met??

It just seems too random for Emirates not to be doing this on purpose, but I've never seen it as an auto benefit of Skywards. I usually like to sweet talk at check in or the lounge to make this happen!

Any thoughts?

There is no automatic seat blocking - you may have a travel agent automatically allocating something randomly, or someone who is crazy and wants a middle seat.

Advise you to move your seat assignment now and then sweet talk at the check-in (lounge is better: lounge staff are actual EK staff, whereas check-in are sometimes contracted out, even though they wear the uniform) to move to any spare seats around.

Thanks,

I didn't think it happened, but any person would be crazy to pick those seats with all the other choice still available!

Will move my seats and then remember where the crazy person is sitting so I can eyeball them!

Sit at an entrance to a busy EK lounge for a few hours if you want to know just how crazy air travel (F/J, airline status) can make people :D

Missed the oldest bird by a day
 

Hey guys,

A6-EDA seems to be tonight's ride from AKL-BNE-DXB. Come on EK planners, send me a new bird in a couple of hours as EK 434.

Chauffeur service just confirmed my pick-up at 5:30pm tomorrow. Am as excited as a little child in a candy store. Funny how I seem to get more excited about overseas trips the older I get :p

Cheers from Brisbane,

pswissoz

Ek435 on the 30th is A6-EEK, delivery August 13.

I see no evidence of seat blocking...recently flew DXB-SIN on EK354 in Y....A380. Economy was only half full. I pre-selected aisle seat on an empty row. On boarding I found that the other two seats had been allocated . Almost all the other rows in this part of the cabin were single or double occupied. Plenty or room on the flight. This has happened on the last three occasions that I have travelled on this flight...so no block booking by Emirates for FF's.

EK blocks seats in all cabins - usually for UMers, etc. I prefer 1A on the 380 which is ALWAYS blocked along with 2A on the route I take monthly (DXB-LAX). However, 1 & 2 K are not blocked. Its very easy to have a blocked seat unblocked and assigned with just a phone call...However, the agent will tell you that EK reserves the right to move you if they need those seats for UM'ers. Ive never seen 2 UMs in F on that route in 24 flights so its a safe bet that if you want a blocked sat, call and ask for it to be unblocked (at least in F and probably J)

Yes it works in J too. I just call and request the blocked seats.
Interestingly enough though I was on a DXB-IAH flight in F once and believe it or not there were 2 UM's (or at least really young kids traveling alone) in F in 1A&2A.

I'm intrigued what the difference is between a UM and a really young child travelling alone...

By that I meant that they weren't really looked after like UMs usually are. Nobody met them upon landing to escort them through immigration, etc. they were probably around 12/13 years old. Perhaps they were traveling alone without using the UM service and maybe they were a bit older, but they were in seats 1A/2A so I wasn't sure.

What seats are usualy blocked in F on a 77W?

I'm in 1K in a few weeks, and there are no other seats taken or blocked at the moment. I was surprised as I have previously noticed the "regular" blocks you mention across all classes.

There are seats "blocked" like for people with a wheelchair or UM's, but they are not really blocked as others said you can call EK to book them (or TA). However there are seats which are really blocked (like row 6 on the 77W, or exit seats in Economy). None in First. Normally only possible at check-in to book (or if you have a very good friend within EK :D).

I'm just back from my trip, on both occasions the person who had selected to seat next to my original didn't seem to want to be there anyway - the guy sitting in the middle seat on the 777 business class moved before takeoff.

The check in team did block the seat beside me on one flight though so I had a spare seat beside me.

So it just appears to have been some stupid unthought-through seat selection from them to begin with.