msm2000uk

QR dont block seats, and while BA do, a OW Emerald can release the seat - so it's not uncommon to be seated next to another BA Gold cardholder.

M

scottishpoet

ba only block the seat a t-72, so almost anyone could chose and maybe even pay to sit in the seat beside an elite until that time

fender5787

As crappy as it is to be on an old 77W and have someone pop up next to you as departure gets closer, if you wanted a guarantee of no one sitting next to you, you should’ve booked a 350/380/787 or qsuites flight. Folks on ft are a self selected group that knows how to travel and popping open the qr app and picking a seat after booking seems 2nd nature for us. But for a lot of folks, especially older folks, they’ll book the ticket and let the system put them wherever it does and not really care (or not know how to pick a seat). My parents fly like this, and only at check-in do they attempt to pick seats and usually it’s just a request for a window or aisle. So point is, yeah it may suck for you, but frankly you have no one to blame but yourself if you’re that upset.

Agent69

So why try?

etiene

I'm not going to continue the pile-on. I thought QR did block seats, but maybe that's just in Y?

Can go one worse though: I had the same on DOH-AKL - not only did some chap sit next to me [I don't recall now if he'd chosen it ahead of time], but he stayed there despite the middle pair in row 4 being wide open. In the end I slept there, but went back to 3K when I was awake and might want to look out of the window.

Bottom line: apparently people don't put as much thought into optimal passenger spacing as others...

ricktoronto

1. Someone booked the same flight
2. They chose that seat
3. They sat in it.

PresRDC

I fully understand the OP's frustration here. If there is an empty seat, I want it to be the one next to me. I imagine most people traveling solo feel the same way.

That said, this really is something best dealt with on the plane. In my experience, the person sitting next to you, upon realizing there are empty pairs of seats, will likely move. If not, you can always move.

If I'm not mistaken, the window seats in Row 4 have a missing window, so if the OP were to move back - and likes to look out the window - it wouldn't work out well.

What I would not do is change seats now in anticipation of having an empty seat. Far too many variables at play that could squander your plans for an empty seat. Maybe there will be operational upgrades from a full Y cabin; maybe there will be last minute buyers; maybe folks haven't assigned seats yet; maybe there will be lots of staff traveling. You just never know.

thinkingallowed

You have flown QR J before or at least read some of this forum?

How on earth does booking a ticket with QR on a particular type of aircraft guarantee anything?

For the third time in a row I'm having one of my flights changed to a 2-2-2 layout and even though there are flights within half an hour before and after that have empty seats on QR just sent me a snotty email telling me that I should have read the small print. They did condescendingly tell me who to contact if I was too stupid to be able to operate the manage my booking link on the website.

realgaga

They never blocked a seat next to me in Y.

fender5787

Yes I do read this forum, and I presume you do as well, correct? And as a reader of this forum one should also know that if one originally books a flight in a qsuite and the flight is switched to a non-qsuite config, one has a right to change his or her flight to another one that does actually have qsuites free of charge.

thinkingallowed

You did not advise only booking a Qsuites flight though, you were recommending avoiding the problem through choice of aircraft which in my experience doesn't work.

fender5787

Sorry, but my assumption is if one knows enough about what equipment their flight is going to be on, one would also know QR policy regarding qsuites and knowing if one is “downgraded,” one can switch to a different itinerary. Regardless though, even if one books a qsuite flight and is switched out to an older 77W and has to deal with the horror of having to sit next to someone, I still will honestly say too damn bad and it’s your own fault for booking QR if having to sit next to someone is that big of a deal. if you want a 100% guarantee that you’ll not be sitting next to someone, there are a myriad of carriers that don’t do plane swaps and have J configs that don’t make you to deal with other human beings. In the end, sitting in the pointy end of the plane, regardless of having to sit next to someone or not, is awesome and much better than being in steerage. And yeah, we do pay a lot for that extra privilege of sitting up front, but that doesn’t mean we can just whine about non-guaranteed stuff not going our way. Sh*t happens but you’ll still have a flat bed, (hopefilly) good food and booze, and who knows, perhaps you’ll make a new friend

thinkingallowed

You recommended avoiding the problem by choice of aircraft (or Qsuites) and booking flights by choice of aircraft does not work due to constant equipment swaps.
Avoiding the problem by booking only Qsuites would work but that isn't what you said.

fender5787

I don’t know what you mean dude; like as I said if you book a qsuite flight and it’s swapped to a non-qsuite 77w you can switch it. But equipment with reverse herringbone don’t have 2-2-2 equivalents. All 788s and 380s are reverse herringbone, 359’s are reverse herringbone or qsuite, so no chances of having to sit next to someone. I’ve never seen an instance where equipment swaps lead to an 788,380, or 359 going to a 77W, and frankly the reports I’ve read of them happening are so rare, that it would be idiotic and imprudent to not consider those instances outliers. So my point still stands; if one wanted to, one could easily create an itinerary where one would be nearly guaranteed that one wouldn’t have to sit next to someone else.

giorginho

Do they now actually, guaranteed, re-book you on a Q-Suites flight for free if the one you booked gets equipment change?
I remember reading quite a few comments and watching a few videos on youtube, where people were complaining that they too just got the "check the fine print" response when they made the request...
So... Did Nonstop Dan get them to change that fine print? :P