endet

I am due to fly QR 933 from Manila to Doha tomorrow on Thursday and saw that more then 50% of seats in Business and Economy are blocked according to Experflyer.

I have 3K assigned and the seat next to me is definitely blocked. I changed today some hours before to 3E as I thought that someone was sitting next to me. But then the seat 3F became also unavailable. I then changed back to 3K and then instantly 3J was unavailable once again.

I currently do not have status wihtin oneworld so it is not a perk.

The below seatmaps are taken from Experflyer just some hours ago and they look interesting, especially in economy.

Anyone knows or can guess what is going on?

Matt4

72 hours prior to the flight, QR blocks as many seat as passengers bought a ticket without selecting a seat (these seats appear to be blocked on ExpertFlyer but are selectable at Online Check in), not counting the seats next to a status passenger and front rows and other special seats which were already blocked before that time (and might not be selectable at Online check in). That can give you an idea of the flight load (and chances of free upgrades for Y passengers) but not a precise idea as these special seats (front rows etc) are blocked without always corresponding to a real passenger.

But I don't know why they block the seat next to you when you move your seat selection, as you are not a status passenger. I guess it's due to the fact there are only 2 unblocked seats on the J map and they prefer to keep the 2 unblocked seats together in case they need them to relocate a couple at check in or boarding time as MNL flights are often filled up to the maximum with QR Filipino employees in the last minute.

endet

Many thanks for your explanation. This totally makes sense. Even though it is still confusing why QR is blocking the seat next to me.
But maybe I am lucky and have the window seats to my own

Smiley2

QR Airways always seem to block the seat next to us, once two seats in a row of 4. I really don't know why but it's rather good!!

remdk

Smiley2 seat blocking is an unpublished privilege for status passengers.
It is unpublished because the number of seats sold may exclude it. In other words it is only available when there is room in the cabin.

Smiley2

I am only a Burgundy holder though?

remdk

Smiley2 yes but even Burgundy has a higher status than a passenger who is not a member of PC or other OW FFP. There cannot be many passengers on your flight.

Smiley2

It was a full flight (Both legs and in both directions Edinburgh - Doha - Hanoi) which we have just returned from. Maybe it's my radiant smile! LOL!!

endet

We pretty much flew with the load as per the above seat map. Very light load in J.

I did not check during the flight the Y cabin, but the gate waiting area was full. None of the Y passengers were upgraded as the J passengers are waiting in a secluded area for boarding in Manila. And I pretty much saw the same faces in the lounge, in the boarding waiting area and on board.

Beltway2A

I'm running into this too. Departure in two days, and there's plenty of availability in the J buckets


But the seat next to me (and others) are blocked. Only the last row is open. All the unassigned seats in Y are also blocked.


We're over T-48 from departure, so I don't think anything has gone to airport control, and I currently have no elite status. Is QR just being proactive?

Dr. HFH

IME this is not unusual for QR; though I have absolutely no idea why they do this.

Matt4

According to my own experience, it seems to always work this way with QR: 72 hours prior to the flight, QR IT block as many seats as there are passengers who didn't select a seat, on top of previously blocked front row seats and blocked seats next to status passengers.

The blocked seats 72 hours prior to the flight appear blocked on Expertflyer but are usually selectable with online check-in.

Front row seats are usually not selectable with online check-in (unless they are mysteriously unblocked, which can happen but sometimes for a very short period of time : just set an alert on Expertflyer if you want a chance to grab one and expect it to ring around midnight Doha time) and blocked seats next to status passengers seems to only be selectable by other status passengers...

IAN-UK

EF's map is simply the result of its attempt to interpret data used (internally) by QR. It is the manifestation of a mismatch between systems which were not built to interact in any functional sense.

The interface between QR and its passengers retains its functionality regardless of EF practices.

ExpertFlyer Voice

ExpertFlyer's seat maps are what the airline is publishing into the global reservation systems. We are not "interpreting" the data, we are presenting it just as the airlines publish it. In this case, QR is publishing those seats as Blocked, likely because they don't want travel agencies requesting/assigning those seats.

IAN-UK

QR is publishing seats as blocked for reasons of its own. You "interpret" this seat blocking as a ploy to stymie the actions of travel agencies, but accept the blocking as presented. Fair enough - there's little else you can do: I accept that.