nallison

Hi all, I have a couple of flights coming up, short haul MAD - LHR and Long haul MAD - MEX and wondered if there is any system to how seats are allocated by the computer if you don't pay for one, or if it's completely random?

I suppose specifically I was wondering:

- does it fill from back to front or front to back as check in progresses or neither?
- does checking in early have any impact, are you more likely to be seated in a particular area, or could you still be in a middle seat at the back?
- will they put solo travellers in window/aisle seats as long as these are available?

I'm interested not just to know the outcomes of not paying for a seat, but I was also wondering if I do pay for a seat, where I might be more likely to get an empty seat next to me. Normally this works best at the back, but if the system fills from the back then obviously actually the front may be better.

I'd be interested in your experiences, thanks.

nallison

Bump Anyone with an idea how automatic seat assignment actually works?

Yllanes

It's too difficult to make blanket statements, since it depends on many factors. The first rows are usually reserved for elites (who may even get blocked seats next to them) and everything will change depending on the route, aircraft, etc. I just don't think there is any strategy to maximise the chances of getting a good random seat without status. More than that, the people who have experience flying IB also naturally have status and hence get free seat selection, so it's difficult to get good statistics on this. You can take a look at the very detailed thread on the so-called Theoretical Seating in the BAEC forum (IB's system is not quite the same, but it shows how complicated things are).

Similarly, I don't think you have very good chances of getting an empty seat next to you without status if you pay for seat selection. Flights are usually pretty full and when they aren't they may block seats just for elites. Hence, there are usually more empty seats near the front, but these may not be possible to buy in advance.

So, in your shoes I would only pay for an emergency exit or bulkhead seat if available and otherwise probably check in early and hope for the best.

nallison

Thanks for the response, very helpful it does indeed seem very complicated and subject to many factors to make solid recommendations.

Just one follow up question then, if you check in as soon as it opens, where do allocations start, is it back to front, and do they allocate aisles and windows before placing people in middle seats? Thanks!

BA6501

Yllanes, do you know how IB's "theoretical seating" equivalent works? As an Emerald I don't get much benefit from blocked seating on IB...

Yllanes

I don't, other than by my own anecdotal evidence. Most of my long-haul Y trips have been with an empty seat next to me and I've seen the seat next to me blocked on Expert Flyer up to an hour or so before departure. Not so much on short haul, especially since the routes I usually flew have a lot of IB+ elites (MAD-FCO flights around the weekend and a surprising amount on MAD-LCG).

Now, part of it is not really theoretical seating and just people's choices. I usually pick the D or H bulkead seats (10D and 10H on the pre-Y+ A333, for instance). Someone with status that chooses a seat after me will pick a window or aisle seat on a regular row rather than a middle seat on the bulkhead and someone without status will be seated a little farther back, so there's a pretty good chance that 10E and 10G will be empty (plus, the bassinets are on 10AC and 10JL, so that isn't a problem either). But several other times when I've booked flights at very short notice and just picked the window seat closest to the front of the cabin because the bulkhead seats were full I've flown with the aisle seat empty.

Beyond that, once a woman that had an aisle seat apparently tried to move to the empty middle bulkhead seat next to me, because it had more legroom and was "convinced" that her original seat was better by a flight attendant. I found out because the flight attendant told me about it and said that they make an effort to leave an empty seat next to elites if they can (but this could have been just an overzealous crew member).

So I don't know how it works, but I've had too much luck so far for it to be completely random (and I'm only Sapphire).

craigthemif

My general theory (with only short haul flights to test my theory) is that automatic seat assignment algorithms are designed to:
1) do their best for customers with elite status
2) do their worst for non-status customers, so that they are inclined to pay for a better seat assignment now or in the future

Seats are generally allocated back to front, although weight distribution requirements means that this isn't a hard rule.

If one of the back rows has an empty middle seat and the flight is going to be reasonably busy, somebody without status will be allocated to it and I don't think that time of check-in ultimately makes much difference.

The only surefire way to get an aisle or a window is to pay for it. (treat it as a small insurance premium against a truly horrible seat)

To increase your chances of an empty middle seat, then you should pay for a seat with an already allocated single traveler in it, as close to the front as you can. Therefore you know that nobody is going to come along and pay for the middle seat, and this middle seat might be informally blocked if the other passenger is elite. But when the flight is full that seat is going to be taken anyhow, and hopefully not by one-half of a couple who will then be begging for you to change seats.

nallison

Thanks, exactly what I needed! Sounds like it's probably worth paying up then, and as the exit row is only a few quid more may as well go for that. Thanks again for your help.