Coach Choice Logic? When do they put it in place?
 

Question for the crowd:

I just booked a DTW-AMS roundtrip and happened to get the 747 both ways...it was the best connection timing...not my first choice.

Anyway, I went to select seats and on the Sept. 7th outbound flight they had a number of the prime seats held as Coach Choice seats. Not all of the prime seats, mind you...only a scattering. For example, 35 A was occupied, 35 B empty but not a Coach Choice seat. On the opposite side, 35 H, J were both designated Coach Choice. In the middle of 35, two seats were occupied, and two were designated Coach Choice.

• This is not a continuing flight, so how were these seats selected prior to the 24 hour window?
• Why were some labelled coach choice, and others not?

On the September 11th (yes, my will is in order) return, there were NO Coach Choice designations...every seat was available.

• What is the logic that decides which flights get Coach Choice holds on the seats?

Anybody know?

"This is not a continuing flight, so how were these seats selected prior to the 24 hour window?"

You can call the elite line and depending on who you get you can get moved into a choice seat. or hang up and call back. :)

"On the September 11th (yes, my will is in order) return, there were NO Coach Choice designations...every seat was available.

What is the logic that decides which flights get Coach Choice holds on the seats? "

My guess is because its an international flight on Sept 11. That there is a reluctance to fly on that date by many people, so they opened the whole plane.

I am sure they have some computer program that figures out which seats they should have based on previous load conditions over the past three-five years.

Thanks, Frazier.

It's been seemingly random. It wasn't just these two...there were some earlier this summer, too. Maybe it's the start-of-week and end-of-week flights...programmers, sheesh.

I did call the Platinum line, but got the "24-hour" spiel...so I settled for 35C instead of 35J. Not worth another call for that.