everywhere

I don't follow the logic - how could the "traditional" seat selection method cost Qantas less ?

Yada Yada

That's a very good point. There are lots more aisle seats on a wide-bodied aircraft. I've been unaware of how the QF seat allocation works, and you make very good points about why it should stay as it is.

While I agree that US airline operations are generally the pits, I'd never agree that the USA has any kind of edge over Australia in terms of gun laws. Good grief - there are more guns than people in places like Texas. What's good about that?

- Peter

BD1959

The beauty of QF is that it is VERY good at balancing it's changing requirements by shifting its fleet at short notice.

One of the reasons the QF did not suffer as much as some post 9/11 was (apart from - or even making good of - the AN collapse) it was able to shift excess international capacity to domestic services as Aussies voted to stay at home rather than travel overseas. It was that sort of flexibility that allows - say - SYD/PER to be operated with 744 when demand needs.

Rather than this flexibility deminishing over time, I see it increasing, given the lessons that QF has learned.

BD

Dave Noble

I must have been reading a different set of posts; it seemed to me that the current method is actually popular among those with high status on QF

Just becase it is common in the USA does NOT mean that it is the "traditional" method; there is a large area of the world away from the LOTFAP.

Dave

AAaLot

Did you know Switzerland has even more guns per capital than the USA?

Basically it comes to the same theme that I think I have been pushing in seat selection: if you trust the system(s) then let IT assign seats for you and have IT keep the guns aways from you....if you do not trust the system(s) let ME assign my owns seats and let ME decide if I want a gun. Just to make sure I am talking about two separate things here: 1) trust of airline ssystems and 2) trust of government systems. I don't want to get on any special list Nevertheless, the idea of who is in charge of what is the same.

deeruck

I agree with Dave. I don't know what you intended when you asked the question AAaLot, but I haven't seen any support for a change in the allocation system in any of the posts here.

The system stays the way it is purely because it's good. It works well.

It seems to be an annual event that someone comes here and says "Your seat allocation system is different from ours, change it!" I, for one, am glad it has not changed. ^

AAaLot

It seems FFs are happy on the flights were Qantas ALLOWS seat selection and FFs are happy on flights were Qantas does NOT allows seat selection leading me to beleive that if all the flights went one way or another the FFs would not care.

I would still rather control my own destiny and pick my own seats, but I can accept some would rather leave it to someone else.

Globaliser

Even if it leads to you getting worse seats than you would in the current QF shorthaul system? As my recent personal anecdote illustrates, a system where you get to choose your own seat does have a downside.

I am now encountering this downside fairly regularly on BA longhaul, but that's the way that they now choose to run things - in part from giving in to pressure from those who must, must, must choose their own seats at the time of booking.

If you're happy with this downside from the AA method, then so be it - we can see where our different balances of priorities lie.

Kiwi Flyer

Nooooo

Pre-selecting seats (to a limit) for international is fine, and no pre-selection for domestic is fine. But pre-select for all flights is NOT fine for me (and I suspect most other QF regulars) and no pre-selection for international is also not fine (I dont feel as strongly about this one given I have some late bookings which would benefit if no pre-selection).

moa999

For someone who travels pretty much solely on domestic short-hauls on flexible tickets and regularly change my flights / arrives at airport early and gets on earlier flight etc, it doesn't really matter - its a short flight anyway

(although having the auto allocation at least guarantees me a pref if I take the scheduled flight - given my regular changes I wouldn't bother pre-allocating if QF offered it)

serfty

The two systems exist and Oz FTer's have learnt to use them to thir best advantage. (Of course it helps if you are elite.)

My posts in this thread have been to give advice on how to maximise one's chances of getting one's preferred seating.

It does not always work; even when preallocating seats for International flights. These are merely seating requests and I am normally advised by the agent that QF do not gaurantee you will get that seat.

And QF do change aircraft on international routes, often at short notice. See this thread: Dang It! QF have switched Configs on me!

As I posted before, if you have a large party, the most important thing, is to get to the airport early and check in early.

shillard

Places that have more guns than people have less gun crime than we do.

More guns = less crime. This can be demonstrated across the USA, New Zealand, Israel, Switzerland, Finland, etc.

The inverse is equally true - demonstrated across the USA (in areas with restrictive gun laws), the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Jamaica, etc.

You do the math yourself and you will reach the same conclusion - the Director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics, Dr Don Weatherburn, recently admitted as much when he wrote in the Socialist Morning Herald (SMH):

"While I supported the 1996 Gun Laws.....they have made no difference to the rates of firearm-related crime in NSW".

But this is getting decidely off-topic, and despite it being one of my favourite hobby-horses, has no real place here. You posed the question, I answered - any further discussion should take place offline (email address is at the bottom of every post....).


Glad you understand the difficult position that SGs often find themselves in when on 737s. The "Forward aisle" preference is the most popular amongst elites - I very rarely fine a WP in the window seat next to me, but almost always in the aisle seat across from me.

Lis

Okay, okay, okay. All fair enough.

I like the preallocation system but have noticed lately (now, could this be post May-25 when it became a bit easier to get status??) that I am slowly being seated later in the plane.

Most of my flights are SYD-MEL, and I think I normally do pretty well with the seating (normally I'm only a few rows behind the Plat's.)

I would actually prefer seating based on fare paid. But that's just my preference. Those of you who are Plat, maybe it should be based on total spend for the last 12 months.

Anyway. Digressing. The point I had wanted to make is that the system is great until it fails. I travelled AKL-SYD with a friend in September and despite two calls in advance to the QFF centre to ensure our PNRs were connected (to ensure we were seated together), there was a system stuff-up.

So we should have been seated together, and the placement should be based on my preferences as the high status QFFer. What ended up happening was that we were placed at opposite ends of the plane, and to be seated together could only be placed in the middle seats of the middle of WHY.

Now, I did make a bit of noise about this and QF couldn't care less. What ended up happening on the flight was that they ran out of meals by the time they reached me.

So. 90% of the time I spend money on K or Y tickets and I would prefer to choose where I sit, even if I am a SG, because the system (albeit fair to those of higher status) is not always perfect, even if you follow all the rules.

AUS_MD

AAaLot Please advise the dates of your next AKL-QF-LAX. I do not want to be seated within whining distance of you when I fly in December.

Get over it.

Aus_MD

AAaLot

Welcome to flytalk!

No reason to get personal.

Even if people disagree, I did mean everything I said on this post as am sure others also have.

I am of the firm camp of having pre-assigned seats. It seems most everyone on this board is not...I find this curious, but I am sure they fly Qantas more than I do.

I don't think posters post for for the sake of whining, but for the sake of improving or testing differences between airlines, philosophies, etc.

p.s. We are flying Air NZ in a few minutes on a domestic coach non-status flight. Even in this worst case scenario I am sure we will be okay. I still would have like to have had pre-assigned seats