Choice Air - Can we choose our seats?

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

When booking on the Choice Air site, it does not give me an option to choose our seats. When I called customer service, they said that once the reservation was made, I would be able to go to the airline's website and input our reservation information and choose our seats there. I expressed concern that a lot of the airlines today have a restrictive economy level where you can't choose your own seats. He said that all the fares that Choice Air sells include choosing your seat. After reading some posts here, I am concerned that may not be the case. I don't want to book the lowest fare on Choice Air and then not be able to choose our seats. Should I be worried about this?

[Luvcrusn]

We have always contacted the airline directly after booking with Choice Air and selected our seats without problem. You will just need your Record Locator number. Also, if you have TSA Precheck or Global Entry make sure you add your Know Traveler Number to your ticket.

[Gonzo70]

Whether you can choose seats has nothing to do with who you buy a ticket through, but with the rules of the airline and the fare rules of one’s tickets. One’s status with the airline can also come into play.

[keesar]

When booking on the Choice Air site, it does not give me an option to choose our seats. When I called customer service, they said that once the reservation was made, I would be able to go to the airline's website and input our reservation information and choose our seats there. I expressed concern that a lot of the airlines today have a restrictive economy level where you can't choose your own seats. He said that all the fares that Choice Air sells include choosing your seat. After reading some posts here, I am concerned that may not be the case. I don't want to book the lowest fare on Choice Air and then not be able to choose our seats. Should I be worried about this?

 

You may have reason to worry. On Choice Air, the lowest price seen for a particular flight may not include you picking your own seats. You are subject to the airlines rules for that seat class which may not be noted when you make the reservation. Let me explain. On our recent flight, there were two fares for the same flight if you scrolled down. The lowest one did not allow us to choose our own seats but the more expensive one did so. We paid more in order to immediately book our seats rather than waiting until the day before or at the gate to have them assigned.

[jelayne]

We never book Choice Air online, we find the flight we want call and book the flight we want, get the airline booking reference number and about 30 minutes afterwards we go the the airline website and select our seats.

[Northern Aurora]

We never book Choice Air online, we find the flight we want call and book the flight we want, get the airline booking reference number and about 30 minutes afterwards we go the the airline website and select our seats.

 

 

This is exactly what we also do. We generally book business class and have not had any issues with selecting our seats.

[waterbug123]

He said that all the fares that Choice Air sells include choosing your seat.

 

I call BS on that. People have posted the opposite experience. Sometimes it seems they had basic economy tickets that don't allow seat selection, sometimes they were on intra-european connecting flights which again, often don't allow advance seat selection for any economy seats, etc.

[Luvcrusn]

We never book Choice Air online, we find the flight we want call and book the flight we want, get the airline booking reference number and about 30 minutes afterwards we go the the airline website and select our seats.

Agreed! That's exactly what we do. We find calling choice air alleviates any chance of confusion. We get the flights and fare type without confusion and then we go to the airline website and select our seats.

[Mr. Click]

A lot can depend on the airline. We booked with Choice Air for a trip from Newark to Amsterdam with the return from Barcelona to Newark. It said American Airlines but the outbound flight was a code share operated by BA. When I made the booking I was able to choose seats for all of the flights but when I went to the two airlines web sites...well American had the seats wrong but I was able to correct it and when I went to the BA site I found out they wanted another $125 per seat to get pre-assgined seats,even in biz class. I was not happy, I complained to Choice Air and they said "oh well"... now this was two years ago and I did book via their web site. If the situation comes up again that I need to use them I will certainly call to make the booking and ask questions about seats and baggage allowances so there are no more surprises. Since your tickets were for biz and it was an overnight flight to LHR with a short hop on the AMS I took the chance and waited to book my seats when we checked it and saved the $250. It meant not sitting together going over the Atlantic and we were together in the last row of biz for the 60 minutes from London to Amsterdam..

 

So, check the airlines rules. More and more are now charging for advanced seat assignments.

[jelayne]

A lot can depend on the airline. We booked with Choice Air for a trip from Newark to Amsterdam with the return from Barcelona to Newark. It said American Airlines but the outbound flight was a code share operated by BA. When I made the booking I was able to choose seats for all of the flights but when I went to the two airlines web sites...well American had the seats wrong but I was able to correct it and when I went to the BA site I found out they wanted another $125 per seat to get pre-assgined seats,even in biz class. I was not happy, I complained to Choice Air and they said "oh well"... now this was two years ago and I did book via their web site. If the situation comes up again that I need to use them I will certainly call to make the booking and ask questions about seats and baggage allowances so there are no more surprises. Since your tickets were for biz and it was an overnight flight to LHR with a short hop on the AMS I took the chance and waited to book my seats when we checked it and saved the $250. It meant not sitting together going over the Atlantic and we were together in the last row of biz for the 60 minutes from London to Amsterdam..

 

So, check the airlines rules. More and more are now charging for advanced seat assignments.

 

We have booked Business Class flights with the airline directly (AA) and 1 leg was on BA, for that leg we could not select our seats with-out paying extra.

[Bo1953]

A lot can depend on the airline. We booked with Choice Air for a trip from Newark to Amsterdam with the return from Barcelona to Newark. It said American Airlines but the outbound flight was a code share operated by BA. When I made the booking I was able to choose seats for all of the flights but when I went to the two airlines web sites...well American had the seats wrong but I was able to correct it and when I went to the BA site I found out they wanted another $125 per seat to get pre-assgined seats,even in biz class. I was not happy, I complained to Choice Air and they said "oh well"... now this was two years ago and I did book via their web site. If the situation comes up again that I need to use them I will certainly call to make the booking and ask questions about seats and baggage allowances so there are no more surprises. Since your tickets were for biz and it was an overnight flight to LHR with a short hop on the AMS I took the chance and waited to book my seats when we checked it and saved the $250. It meant not sitting together going over the Atlantic and we were together in the last row of biz for the 60 minutes from London to Amsterdam..

 

So, check the airlines rules. More and more are now charging for advanced seat assignments.

 

On sites specific to air travel, BA has the highest 'complaints' about seat selection charges for most tickets except those who pay 'full' fare or in the top tiers of the fare structure.

 

bon voyage

[NemoCrownie]

We were told the same thing about seat selection (on a domestic flight) and we absolutely were able to select our seat on Delta after entering the locator number. We were very pleased.

 

 

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[Mr. Click]

We have booked Business Class flights with the airline directly (AA) and 1 leg was on BA, for that leg we could not select our seats with-out paying extra.

I understand that part, what I did not like was Choice Air asking me to pick my seats and not mentioning I would have to pay extra for those seats....Think about that old Holiday Inn ad campaign, the best surprise is no surprise.....Has we been booked in coach I would have been forced to pay the extra fee because seat location makes a bigger difference in the back.

[cltnccruisers]

Sometime in the next few months we'll be booking airfare for a Sept, 2019 trip and will be using Choice Air for the first time. Am I understanding correctly that we will not be able to select seats at all with CA and that selecting the cheapest fare may result in not being able to select seats at all depending on airline pricing rules? Will I be able to arrange transfers to/from the ship with CA or is that a separate transaction? I assume that any options I pull up with CA will allow plenty of timefor such transfers - or is that a risky assumption?

[Mr. Click]

Seat selection rules vary by airline and by fare class. It is not a Choice Air decision/policy. That is why it is best to call and talk to a human being and ask questions about things like seat assignments.

[cltnccruisers]

Seat selection rules vary by airline and by fare class. It is not a Choice Air decision/policy. That is why it is best to call and talk to a human being and ask questions about things like seat assignments.

 

We'll be on Infinity Oct 28 - Nov 1. I wonder if it would make sense to stop by Future Cruises and chat with them.

[Silkroad]

We have always contacted the airline directly after booking with Choice Air and selected our seats without problem. You will just need your Record Locator number. Also, if you have TSA Precheck or Global Entry make sure you add your Know Traveler Number to your ticket.

Agree. This is what I do, but I also log into my chosen airline(s) site(s) to check seat availability immediately before calling Choice Air. While speaking with the Choice Air rep, I always confirm, several times, that I’m not booking basic fares (which means no carry on bag allowed on United), that I can reserve seats, and checked bag fees, if any. Once I’ve booked flights, I log into my airline account(s) within 30 minutes to purchase any upgrades (such as Economy Plus on United) and select our seats.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Silkroad

[Mr. Click]

We'll be on Infinity Oct 28 - Nov 1. I wonder if it would make sense to stop by Future Cruises and chat with them.

 

It would not hurt to ask them but what it really comes down to is asking when you are ready to book. Choice Air's web site shows the cost of the ticket but it does not show the fare class and it does not show airline restrictions. Different fare classes can have different rules on different airlines. I learned the hard way with BA. It was not a big deal but it was pretty annoying.

[Silkroad]

Sometime in the next few months we'll be booking airfare for a Sept, 2019 trip and will be using Choice Air for the first time. Am I understanding correctly that we will not be able to select seats at all with CA and that selecting the cheapest fare may result in not being able to select seats at all depending on airline pricing rules? Will I be able to arrange transfers to/from the ship with CA or is that a separate transaction? I assume that any options I pull up with CA will allow plenty of timefor such transfers - or is that a risky assumption?

FYI, I’ve answered some of your questions in my previous post. I recently booked with CA, and the rep said they didn’t deal with seat selection, but I could do so on the airline site (or call the airline). My CA booking had assigned seats for both flights, but I assume they were system generated. I’ve had no trouble (either time I’ve used CA) going directly to the airline site to choose different seats. I absolutely would not book CA through the site. Always call. BTW you cannot always trust the fares you pull up on the CA site. Upon calling, the fares I was quoted were half the price of the fares I saw on their site, for the exact same flights and seat category! That made me very happy:D

I have not arranged transfers via CA, but I believe it is still possible to do so. When I considered booking a transfer through them (several years ago) I did not find that particular rep very knowledgeable about the amount of time necessary for a transfer to FCO, so I did not book with them. When possible, I have found it more pleasant (and sometimes less costly) to book private transfers with small groups from my roll calls.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Silkroad

[cltnccruisers]

It would not hurt to ask them but what it really comes down to is asking when you are ready to book. Choice Air's web site shows the cost of the ticket but it does not show the fare class and it does not show airline restrictions. Different fare classes can have different rules on different airlines. I learned the hard way with BA. It was not a big deal but it was pretty annoying.

 

Playing around on Tripadvisor a bit. Seeing Premium Economy at about 3X the Economy class rates. The main benefit for PE seems the be more legroom and a wider seat for my big butt. Something to consider for transatlantic flights.

[Naughty&Nautical]

Future cruises on the ship will be of no assistance with choice air. Unless something has changed Choice air does not give the option to book basic economy with no seat assignment. . It should specify "economy" "business" or "first" If for some reason you see "basic economy" then you will not be able to select your seat.

[cltnccruisers]

Helpful as always, Silkroad - gracias.

[Silkroad]

Helpful as always, Silkroad - gracias.

De nada. I’ve encountered so many knowledgeable, helpful and kind people here (on CC), and I’m pleased to pass it on when I can:cool:

[Mr. Click]

Playing around on Tripadvisor a bit. Seeing Premium Economy at about 3X the Economy class rates. The main benefit for PE seems the be more legroom and a wider seat for my big butt. Something to consider for transatlantic flights.

Premium Economy can be very nice. Bigger seat, better food, more leg room etc but do not confuse Premium Economy with United's Economy Plus. That one only gets about 3 extra inches of leg room and nothing more. Again, it will vary from carrier to carrier so before you put your money down, check and see exactly what you are getting in each case. The trip I had the problem with BA was $2200 per person RT in biz so the price was great even if meant making a connection each way.

[keesar]

Future cruises on the ship will be of no assistance with choice air. Unless something has changed Choice air does not give the option to book basic economy with no seat assignment. . It should specify "economy" "business" or "first" If for some reason you see "basic economy" then you will not be able to select your seat.

On our booking, there were two types of "economy" with price differences between the two. It ended up that the less expensive was "Basic Economy" and the other was "Main Cabin Economy". We chose Main Cabin Economy as we were able to pick our seats.