nwflyboy

I'm flying on an award ticket (book through Northwest WorldPerks) from SEA - AMS in a few weeks. The 2nd leg of the flight (IAH - AMS) is a KLM 747 ("74M" - which I believe is a mixed passenger-cargo configuration?). I was assigned seats without much chance to provide input.

I haven't flown on KLM for years. I'm used to being able to choose seats online on other carriers, but I don't see any way to access this online (in fact, I can't seem to access KLM's website at all - once it figures out I'm from the US, it kicks me over to Northwest's website - and although you can indeed see available seats and choose seats there for Northwest flights, there's no way to see/do that for KLM flights there).

So, is it not possible to go online and see what seats are available for a KLM flight? If not, how does one choose seats?

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

frankvb

AFAIK it is impossible to choose seats online with KLM. The only way to choose award seats is to call the FB helpdesk and ask them. Normal KLM reservations seems to have been instructed not to help with award bookings.

Just noticed you booked using NWA miles which changes my assumptions... Did you try calling the NWA WorldPerks helpdesk to assign seats?

simonsmith

This does seem be the case and can be a real nuisance. My other half and I are both Platinum and will sometimes pay for a seat in C and use miles for the other. On trying to book seats I have to first ring KLM Intenet to book the paid seat and then FB to book the award. Last time I had a sensible chap at KLM who booked both ; so its perfectly possible for them to do but they often refuse.

Jerene

As the other posters have said the only way to make KLM do it is to call. Unless you are travelling on an expensive ticket you cannot reserve seats until OLCI opens up.

I've usually managed to get round this by using nwa.com. They will never let me reserve seats on KLM cityhopper (AMS-TRD) but I have usually been lucky with the transatlantic part. So I would always try that first.

BUT - even if you have managed to reserve a good seat with KLM you should check when OLCI opens up, because you might find yourself shifted about. That precise thing happened to me on my last flight JFK-AMS. I was not able to do OLCI and found myself moved to the back of the plane.

Luckily I was moved to a C aisle seat with two open spaces to the next passenger in F. When the guy behind me told me not to recline my seat I just moved and spread myself across two seats. All in all that was a lucky flight, in spite of all.

Jerene

nwflyboy

Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like my best bet is to call NW Worldperks and see if I get lucky with a cooperative agent (although in my experience they generally seem fairly uncooperative with regard to the details of award travel on partner airlines - the agent I spoke with last time told me KLM "doesn't assign seats" which seemed like a pretty incredible statement).

What are the guidelines for OLCI for a KLM flight? How early does that open up? Once it does, can you see which seats are open/occupied and pick/change seats then?

To add one more twist, I'm flying from SEA - AMS on that award ticket. The first leg (SEA - IAH) is a Continental flight. We have a 2 hour layover at IAH before the KLM flight departs.

When's the earliest I can access the OLCI for the KLM leg, and hopefully score good seats?

Thanks again for the help!!

PhilC

I have no problems calling NW to get seat assignments for KL flights when booked as a DL award, so I don't see any reason why they wouldn't do the same for a NW award.

nwflyboy

Thanks, I'll try calling NW.

Can anyone explain the parameters of OLCI on KLM? How early do they open that up, and how much control do you have over seats when you do OLCI?

We've got a long flight on a 747M (IAH - AMS), and since I assume the plane will be completely packed, we would really like to ensure we don't get stuck with bad seats.

Thanks.

Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

On US flights OLCI usually opens 24 hours before flight time. However, any seats you have successfully reserved through NW or KL earlier and seats on a self-made boarding pass are not neccesarily the seats KLM will eventually seat you in when you arrive for the flight. My last OLCI resulted in my forward cabin aisle seat BP being torn and replaced with a mid-cabin middle seat when I checked my luggage. KLM's response: "seat reservations are only a request not a guarantee and we are not required to fulfill your request."

Enjoy your flight.

nwflyboy

Ugh - well that's EXACTLY what I'm looking to avoid - to me, that's a nightmare.

So I'm looking for advice for a strategy to ensure (or give the best chance of) getting the seats we want, and avoid getting a center/non-reclining/etc. seat.

So about 24 hours before the flight, OLCI opens up....is that 24 hours before that particular leg of the trip, or 24 hours before I get on the previous leg (which is on Continental metal....all of which is on a Northwest WorldPerks award ticket...little bit complicated, eh?)?

I've never seen KLM's OLCI...does it show a graphical representation of occupied/available seats, or some other depiction?

In your description above (where you lost a "good" seat and got stuck in a "bad" one), do you have any clue as to what caused that? You mentioned you checked a bag...would that make any difference? Or is it completely random, a mystery that has no rhyme or reason? FWIW, we will check-in online (and hopefully get seats we like) as soon as that's available, and we will not be checking bags.

Any tips/suggestions/strategies to get the seats we want and minimize the chance they'll stick us in bad seats later?

I will - as long as I don't get stuck in that mid-cabin middle seat (or other highly undesirable place).

I have to admit, I'm a bit shocked at the way this sounds so far...

jetfan

Relax, it really is not as bad as some of the posters paint the picture here.
Yes, incidents do happen and that is inconvenient.
But it is absolutely not the case that all seat requests are ignored or that all seats obtained via OLCI are given away to someone else as a rule of thumb.
Some posters tend to focus only on the instances that go wrong unfortunately.

For US stations handling is done by NWA, so you need to go to nwa.com for OLCI.
This facility opens up 24 hours before departure (30 hours for non-US flights on klm.com).
Once you check-in for your AMS-bound flight, you can usually also check-in for connecting flights even though connecting flights are >24 before departure.

Getting a "good" seat like exit row, bulkhead etc depends on
1) your time
2) if the station pre-assigns these seats before check-in opens
3) load

Some stations will pre-assign all the Elite passengers to decent seats.
KLM allows pre-seating via Reservations/travel agents up to 80% of the capacity in Y-clss. But only for intercontinental stretches. For intra-Europe stretches you can only obtain seats upon check-in.

See seatguru for very good advice too.
Have a good trip!

Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

Yes, things also do go right on KLM. The question is how to increase your chances of them going right.

I have never had an unpleasant surprise in seating on CO or NW; what I reserved with ease weeks or months ahead on their quality websites was either honored or upgraded to a higher class. Reserving a non-bizclass seat on KLM however is usually not possible and often arranged strictly for the operational ease of KLM itself not for the convenience or benefit of the paying customer.

There is a difference in philosophy. KLM sees itself as in charge of the seating whereas other companies give the consumer the choice. If you are able to score attractive seats through nwa.com or in OLCI you risk these being unilaterally taken from you and given to friends or staff of KLM or to passengers who make a request at physical check in. These are the facts.

Unfortunately, there is no way to really conveniently guarantee an attractive economy class seat ahead of time on KLM.

OLCI should open up 24 hours before the first flight of your itinerary.
If this is way ahead of your KLM international flight, you may have a very good choice of seats but risk that KLM will do a mass re-assignment of seats before the operational prep window for that flight. If it is just before the flight, you may have a poorer selection, but a better chance of keeping your seat. If you choose a bulkhead or "first row of cabin" seat your chances of losing it may be increased if there are many families with babies or small children on that particular flight. If business class is full and you have a forward cabin aisle seat or a green seatguru seat and there are family of crew or non-rev passengers flying, your chances of losing your seat are also increased.

jetfan

Well you must have been a very unlucky traveller indeed.

You can reserve Economy Class seats via your agent or telephone reservations. But only for intercontinental stretches.

Operational preparation is usually done before the OLCI time window opens.
Mass re-assignment does occur if there is an aircraft type change.

I travel quite a bit too, (at least 15 intercontinental returns per year and 25 intra-europe returns)
My intercontinental stretches are usually in business class, no issues there.
Intra-europe stretches always in Economy (unless I am able to combine an intercontinental stretch with an intra-europe stretch, which some C-clss fares allow).
And have never had the problems to the extent that you describe.
Not on KLM, not on AirFrance, not on BA or LH.

JBLUA320

As a SkyTeam elite, I always call up a real KLM office to get exit row seating. I did this in KBP recently for an AMS-JFK flight, and got my 9B & 9C through OLCI with no problems. Going from JFK-AMS I never called a real KL employee, and NW couldn't get me the exit row.
Can the US FB Help Desk handle seating questions?
-A

Klm is Dead - Long Live KLM

I may be unlucky, but as this other thread shows, apparently there are others even more unlucky than I am. I thought losing your seat was limited to economy, but apparently it is a problem in business too.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587135

Perhaps, rather than a question of luck, it is evidence of a real lproblem (seen through the paying passenger's eyes, not the employees') with KL operations?

jetfan

True.
But not a problem I have personally encountered (there have been other issues though, on KLM and other airlines alike).
Maybe I am just a very lucky traveller, let's keep it at that and hope your experiences improve too.
I do find that when I'm relaxed, things tend to go right and when I'm stressed, things tend to go wrong.
Now that in itself is an interesting lesson.