Rules for accessing Premium Seats?
May 19, 2007, 9:23 am
#16
Join Date: Dec 2006
Programs: SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, UA, AA, DL, BA, CX
Posts: 491
I am confused and I think Northwest is too! Tomorrow I am flying to New Orleans with 5 non-elite friends. I tried to help them by telling them to do online checkin today within 24 hours of departure so they could select the still vacant exit row seats and/or some of the many vacant premium seats. I tried walking them thru the process over the phone but it would not work. I called the elite line and they confirmed that yes, within 24 hours of departure, they should be able to select those seats - even for a non-elite.
We tried again and it would not work. I call back, asking to be transferred on the internet support desk due to difficulties with the online checkin process. However, the online support service rep contradicted what the elite line told me. They said that the only seats these non-elite flyers could get during the checkin process are the Choice seats for $15. They told me it's been that way for a long time.
Is that your understanding?
We tried again and it would not work. I call back, asking to be transferred on the internet support desk due to difficulties with the online checkin process. However, the online support service rep contradicted what the elite line told me. They said that the only seats these non-elite flyers could get during the checkin process are the Choice seats for $15. They told me it's been that way for a long time.
Is that your understanding?
May 19, 2007, 9:27 am
#17
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Programs: NW Platinum
Posts: 9
Exit Row Availability Can Depend on Aircraft
I've been told from NW GA that exit rows are not always available more than 24 hours in advance, even for plats, because aircraft configurations are different and some runs use multiple configs. For example, a run that uses 757's may use their 757-200 or 757-300 series which have very different exit row configurations. ANC-MSP-BOS is one example where the specific config changes so often that they no longer allow advance choice of exit seating.
May 19, 2007, 10:05 am
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: LAX/BOS/HKG/AMS/SFO...hmm, I need a life.
Programs: United1K, AA ExPlAAt, DL MM/Gold, Hilton Diamond, Avis First
Posts: 13,316
I've explained this quite a few times on this board, but here goes again.
NWA.com has two entirely separate seat selection systems.
One runs on the res.nwa.com server farm and is the system you see when you initially book a ticket or if you view your seats through MyInfo after booking your ticket online. This system does NOT allow you to select exit rows or handicapped seats no matter what your status is. It does, however, sometimes allow you to select regular (non-P/non-exit) seats on long-haul KL metal flights (or intraeuropean KL metal flights booked in Europe Select class), which you can't do on the other system.
The other system runs on the www.nwa.com server farm and is what you see when you look up your itinerary from the home page or go to Manage My Reservations. This system DOES allow you to select non-$ exit row seats if you are elite or booked in the same PNR as an elite. In the past it allowed elites to select handicapped seats, too (this is usually not the case any more). You cannot view seatmaps for KL metal flights, however.
The OLCI system is based on the www.nwa.com system, but has different rules about who can select which seats when.
NWA.com has two entirely separate seat selection systems.
One runs on the res.nwa.com server farm and is the system you see when you initially book a ticket or if you view your seats through MyInfo after booking your ticket online. This system does NOT allow you to select exit rows or handicapped seats no matter what your status is. It does, however, sometimes allow you to select regular (non-P/non-exit) seats on long-haul KL metal flights (or intraeuropean KL metal flights booked in Europe Select class), which you can't do on the other system.
The other system runs on the www.nwa.com server farm and is what you see when you look up your itinerary from the home page or go to Manage My Reservations. This system DOES allow you to select non-$ exit row seats if you are elite or booked in the same PNR as an elite. In the past it allowed elites to select handicapped seats, too (this is usually not the case any more). You cannot view seatmaps for KL metal flights, however.
The OLCI system is based on the www.nwa.com system, but has different rules about who can select which seats when.
May 19, 2007, 11:24 am
#19
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: Delta, Hyatt-Plat, Priority Club-Plat, Hilton-Gold
Posts: 1,271
I've been told from NW GA that exit rows are not always available more than 24 hours in advance, even for plats, because aircraft configurations are different and some runs use multiple configs. For example, a run that uses 757's may use their 757-200 or 757-300 series which have very different exit row configurations. ANC-MSP-BOS is one example where the specific config changes so often that they no longer allow advance choice of exit seating.
May 23, 2007, 8:24 am
#20
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: msp
Programs: DL Plat, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 798
i'm flying this weekend for the first time as without elite status in 5 1/2 years. **sigh** 
(at least i'm only about 7500 miles from re-gaining status - January/February had a lot of travel!)
traveling on award ticket, traveling with a GE (paid ticket), but not on same PNR, so that won't help me. flight is very full and currently i have NO seat assignment at all and am not able to select a seat because the only ones remaining are P, E, or $$. i can't use miles to upgrade because i'm on a WP ticket already.
my question is - at what point will they release the P seats for non-elites? it has been so long since i've been stuck waaaay in the back of the bus!
(at least i'm only about 7500 miles from re-gaining status - January/February had a lot of travel!) traveling on award ticket, traveling with a GE (paid ticket), but not on same PNR, so that won't help me. flight is very full and currently i have NO seat assignment at all and am not able to select a seat because the only ones remaining are P, E, or $$. i can't use miles to upgrade because i'm on a WP ticket already.
my question is - at what point will they release the P seats for non-elites? it has been so long since i've been stuck waaaay in the back of the bus!
May 23, 2007, 8:34 am
#21
Join Date: Mar 2004
Programs: DL PM, DL MM, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, SPG
Posts: 804
Non-elite = no P seats at check in
I just returned from my trip with my 5 non-elite friends. The elite line agents told me my friends could access the P seats when doing online checkin, but it would not work. The NWA internet support rep said they could not.
We tried to do so both going & coming. They could not access P seats when doing online check in. They could only make those changes at the airport kiosk, but by then some of the better seats were taken.
Maybe this is an issue for NW Scoop to confirm? Did this change when Coach Choice came about?
We tried to do so both going & coming. They could not access P seats when doing online check in. They could only make those changes at the airport kiosk, but by then some of the better seats were taken.
Maybe this is an issue for NW Scoop to confirm? Did this change when Coach Choice came about?
May 23, 2007, 9:19 am
#22
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: msp
Programs: DL Plat, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 798
oh no!!!!!! hello, 34B?
this is what happens once you get spoiled by P seats I guess!
this is what happens once you get spoiled by P seats I guess!
May 23, 2007, 2:44 pm
#23
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 8,498
There was speculation a while back that P seats are only made available at OLCI if the flight is likely to go out full. That way on less-full flights the back of the plane fills up and elites are more likely to have an open seat next to them. Whether this is actually policy or just wishful thinking on the part of elites, I don't know. But my non-elite sister had a flight today and I could not get her P or E seats at OLCI on flights that had at least a few "regular" seats still available.
May 26, 2007, 8:02 pm
#24
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 16
I am a non-elite and for most flights I just keep checking the seat selection before I actually do OLCI. Almost every flight, there are P seats available to select, but not always at the 24 hour mark. My last flight from SNA-MSP, I had a variety of P seats to select from about 3-4 hours before the flight, but they weren't much better than what I had. I was in 10D. I could have selected Exit row seats, too, but they were middle ones and I still prefer an aisle seat.
Aug 21, 2007, 10:45 pm
#25
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: BOS
Posts: 3,534
Do I have this correct that as a CO Silver I can access Premium seats using Manage Reservations but I do not have access to Coach Choice for free until 24 hours (but neither does anyone else) before the flight. Also as a Silver I am not eligible for Exit row booking but as soon as my status updates to Gold I should be able to access the Exit row seats?
Aug 22, 2007, 5:09 am
#26
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Wesseling, NRW, Germany
Programs: UA *S , MR LT Titanium, HH Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,940
There was speculation a while back that P seats are only made available at OLCI if the flight is likely to go out full. That way on less-full flights the back of the plane fills up and elites are more likely to have an open seat next to them. Whether this is actually policy or just wishful thinking on the part of elites, I don't know. But my non-elite sister had a flight today and I could not get her P or E seats at OLCI on flights that had at least a few "regular" seats still available.
No idea if this is according to the rules, but it was indeed a nice move!!! And it shows stuff like that CAN be done if you aks the right person nicely...
Greetings - Dirk
Aug 22, 2007, 5:56 am
#27
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,884
Do I have this correct that as a CO Silver I can access Premium seats using Manage Reservations but I do not have access to Coach Choice for free until 24 hours (but neither does anyone else) before the flight. Also as a Silver I am not eligible for Exit row booking but as soon as my status updates to Gold I should be able to access the Exit row seats?
As a silver, you should also have access to any non-CoachChoice exit row seats that are available at the time of booking. Usually, though, you have to do this after the immediate booking, just by going back through the Manage My Reservations portion of nwa.com. For some reason, they don't let you select exit row seats during the actual booking process.
Sep 1, 2007, 7:31 am
#28
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: DTW
Programs: Dirt Status w/ All
Posts: 5,040
Has anyone figured out if the OLCI system will ever allow non-elites to access P seats? I'm flying DTW-MSP-LAS tomorrow with a friend. Thankfully my upgrade cleared at OLCI. The premium cabin is wide open on both flights, so I was trying to move her seat up, but the system won't let me. It is worth checking back later today or in the morning, or just change it at an airport kiosk.