Just thought I'd share my random KLM moment from yesterday...

I have booked to fly KLM business class from LHR to MNL via AMS at the end of the month. I did this on KLM's website.
I then called up KLM and asked if I could book seats for myself and my travelling partner. No problem, what would I like? So I said which seats I wanted and it was all sorted. I noted that the last flight was on a 739 from AMS to LHR on the return, so asked for an AC pair in row 1-6. No problem - assigned 2AC.

That was several weeks ago. Called up last night to ask about something on the booking, and as I had them on the phone I asked them to confirm my seat numbers, as with KLM I don't take anything for granted. Everything as before, except my AMS to LHR leg had no assigned seats. Can you assign them please? No sir, we don't allow intra European advanced seat requests. Ok... bye. That doesn't sound right, so I check the website, and it says - Advanced seat res. for Europe Select. So I call them back, and got a different person, who apologised for the previous useless person, and said - no problem - 4EF. No, I want my AC seat back please? No can do - all the A seats are occupied. I had just checked on Expedia.com and done a fake booking - you can check seat availability - it showed 1 seat taken 4A. All others were free. No sir, you can only have a DEF seat. If I book it on expedia, I can book 2A, 3A, 5A, 6A - but KLM thinks they're taken. So I take 4EF and check back on Expedia - my 4EF seats are now shown as unavailable - so expedia must be working ok.

Any ideas? Or just KLM being random?

Im not that fussed - its a short flight - but just thought I'd share and see if anyone out there has any ideas how KLM figures this out. Cheers.

AFAIK - expedia often does not show actual seat availability os KLM may be correct in this case.

The seat I already reserved for meyself was shown as unoccupied at Expedia and Orbitz. So, I guess KLM may have been right.

thanks - I kinda guessed that the KLM data would be more accurate as well - anyone know how accurate that expedia data is?

Also, still confused as to why they kept my other 3 seat requests and cancelled my AMS - LHR request. Just one of those random KLM things?

I think that's it. The same thing has happened to me several times. Last week I and my companion were dumped out of pre-selected 1HJ seats on a long-haul at the last moment (OLCI the night before gave us boarding passes for those seats; at the airport we got "oops! you have a new seat!) and put in opposite corners of the cabin. Nobody could tell me why or who would be accountable.

When this happens, I immediately suspect that the seats in question have been allocated (totally at random and by pure chance, of course), to the the captain's daughter's neighbors, his wife's hairdresser, any of the usual two dozen non-revs, or some other pax upgraded from a rock-bottom M fare by their KL pals.

Given half a chance, I will take a good look at the person seated in "my" seat, which is usually enough to confirm my suspicions.

Johan

The woman in my seat was obviously an upgrade: she spoke very little English and no Dutch so she didn't communicate much with the FAs, but she seemed surprised about where she was, and clearly had never been in J before. Lots of confusion over the seat controls, tray table, etc. Why the hell they didn't put her ... in 4B is beyond me.

Sounds like you're speaking from experience Johan!

I'll be sure to check and report back which sly devils are in my 2A!!

- see if they bear any resemblance to the KLM plane cleaners wife's best friends dog walker.

Tim.

Yeah, almost half a century's worth as far as KL is concerned. Can't remember that problems of this nature ever occurred in the Good Old Days, though.

Johan

There is definitely something odd about A and C seats in ES now. They are certainly never available in advance from Manchester in my experience even 3months out.