Did Jetblue just BS me? [seat assignment ?]
 

I am here at FLL trying to catch a flight to LGB this evening. At the time I bought these tickets about 3 wks ago via Orbitz I got a message saying "seats cannot be selected, airline is assigning at check in"... so ok, no prob. I show up at checkin 3 hrs early (earliest possible when the check in window opens) and the only seats on the plane are 2 middle seats. They then tell me that no other seats except EML (extra legroom) are available and those are extra $45.

They tell me all seats are booked up and my request for a window or aisle cannot be accommodated. This is the VERY first time in 15 years of flying that I have had my request for a window/aisle not accommodated when showing up so early at the airport.

I find it extremely odd that the entire plane has chosen their seats with 3 hours left to check in. What is going on here?

Moving thread over to the Jet Blue Forum...
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

IT is very possible that the 2 middle seats are the only ones available...when you book with jet blue directly you chose your seat during the booking process.., prime seas are snathed up quickly, and most flights fly full. I guess with the Orbitz booking engine that selecting seats is not possible. Your frustration should be vented at ORbitz

If you can get them to not assign seats to you then you can hope someone else takes the two middle seats for free and you'll get an EML seat for free. Otherwise it is entirely possible to not be able to get a window/aisle seat on a plane, even a few hours prior to the flight. With the online check-in window opening 24 hours prior to the flight folks can get their desired seat well before they get to the airport. And since the aircraft has a full third of its seats as middles there are plenty of folks who are going to have to sit in those when a flight is relatively full.

actually I did try to check in online 24 hrs prior and same story, the map was showing only 2 middle seats so I decided to try at the airport.

In any case I got very lucky, a man wanted to swap the aisle with me for my middle in order to sit with his son...geez, lucky break :D but I would like to understand why I got stuck with the middle seat, was it that I booked to late or should I have done something else.

One thing unusual about this flight, there was a group of 81 bible thumpers who were together, perhaps they checked in all at the same time?

Seats are reserved when most folks buy their tickets. That's why.

There have even been quite a few times when I've purchased tickets 7+ days in advance and the only seats available are middles or EMLs.

If you want to assure yourself a window or aisle, book on JetBlue.com and do so at least 3+ weeks ahead of time.

This is part of it, but there are other reasons as well. Somewhat unique in the industry, JetBlue will assign seats for people in advance if they don't have them already. This will fill up the aisle/window seats that otherwise might remain available for customers who are actually thinking about it. I also believe that JetBlue will permit customers to select seats right up to the point that the aircraft is fully assigned (other than the ADA rows) rather than keeping some number of seats unassigned until check-in opens. This reduces the chance of getting one of those seats at OLCI.

In this case the large group was much more likely the cause.

Also, you can always call 1-800-JETBLUE, even when you book on Orbitz, to get a seat assignment right after you book.

Waiting till you're at the airport means your seat will likely stink. Just call ahead, and anyone will be happy to add a seat for you.

A bit late, but I wonder if this happens with practically any travel agency who
books JetBlue. I notice this occur with certain airlines also like LH, I think...

I frequently book jetblue on travelocity. I give my TrueBlue # when I book. They also don't allow seat selection. Then when I log into my account on jetblue.com the flight is listed and I can go in and select my seat.

(I'm not sure how long the lag is before it shows up -- I usually wait a day or two and it's always there when I check.)

Just booked a flight on travelocity. Less than two minutes later it was on my trueblue account flights page and I was able to go in and select seats.

takes only few minutes with united