Stratoliner777

Greetings everyone, I’ve been searching the forms, and there seems to be some conflicting information on the following:

1. Does anyone know what RL seats BR blocks off until, presumably, fairly close to the departure date? Row 1 has been mentioned. Any others?

2. Assuming that BR blocks off certain RL seats (for example, row 1), would any of those seats become available for advance selection prior to the flight? If so, how long before the flight? 72 hrs? 24 hrs?

3. Would such seats, if released, be available to select via the airline website, or via calling customer service (presumably, Taipei, given that the US number is rarely answered).

4. Or is it a matter of asking at the airport during checkin?

I am asking because of a series of upcoming flights in RL where the advance seat selection on the website was very limited.

Thanks for any insights!

BR777

I'm assuming this question is for all the 777-300ER aircrafts EVA owns.

All seats in Row 1 are always HARD blocked, meaning not even the customer agents can get those seats for you even if you beg. Other blocked seats are 8A and 8K. 8A and 8K are bassinet seats. You might be able to get those seats if you call EVA. I do want to remind you though, that if you do get those seats, you may be changed other seats if there's another client with a baby needs 8A or 8K.

Other seats (non Row 1 and 8A/8K seats) are always open. If you can't select any other seats other than row 1 and 8A and 8K, it's 100% that those seats are taken by other clients. EVA doesn't have a task scheduler job in their system to open up blocked seats for advance selection before flight departure. If a seat is blocked, then it's always blocked.

You can also ask to see if you can get any seats in row 1 or 8A and 8K when you get to the airport. 8A and 8K are obtainable if they aren't taken. The row 1 seats are nearly impossible to get though, especially if you don't have status. I think the priority for getting row 1 seat is like this: off-duty pilots > high tier EVA members > flight attendants. This is what I think based on my experience. I honestly don't know how EVA assigns those seats.

The above answers are provided based on my mother's seat selection experience with EVA. She does not have any status with EVA - not even Green card.

Stratoliner777

Thank you BR777 --- super helpful! Yes, I was referring to the 77W. Thanks for your thoughts on things. I did just now come across an old thread from 2017 where it was mentioned that some seats may get released 72 hours prior to departure, but perhaps that's old practice.

Royal Laurel: Front or Second Cabin

BR777

It was an old practice yes. Before March 2019, all seats in row 1 and row 2 were blocked for advance seat selection until 72 hours before flight departure, where then EVA would have a task scheduler job to open up those row 1 and row 2 seats for EVERYONE to select. These days, all the blocked seats in business and premium economy (not sure about regular economy) are always blocked and never get released.