Aircraft and Seating question

Hi again all

I'm due to fly of VS5 to MIA on 4th May 2012.

The seating map showed a B744 but a month or so ago it was changed to an A346 which is when we were bumped off our requested seats. Before we had noticed, all the 'good' seats had been taken. We're a party of 5 so have just plonked ourselves in the only 5 seats together that are vacant, which is row 61 in economy where the 4 seats in the middle goes into 3 as the aircraft gets narrower. All the seat reviews I've read mention about the IFE not aligning with the seat in front so I'm keen to move us at the earliest opportunity!

Firstly - the current aircraft according to the 'Which Aircraft' tool on this site shows constant B744's being used on this route so I'm guessing this will change soon to the A346 for the summer months? If not, I'm thinking they might change our aircraft back to the B744 so keep checking the MMB for any changes.

Also, I've done a load check of EF which shows the seating map as full except for 2/3 individual seats however the load check does say Y has 9+ seats still free. FlightStats backs this up. I'm guessing, that VS will open up more seats in due course, probably at T-24. Is my trail of thoughts right?

Thanks in advance.

on the A340-600 the front section of economy is held back until OLCI so keep checking and check in as soon as possible

I'm guessing, that VS will open up more seats in due course, probably at T-24. Is my trail of thoughts right?

Thanks in advance.

Yes. VS only allow 60% of seats to be pre-requested and then generally open the remaining at OLCI. Though there is some experience of this happening a couple of hours before OLCI opens so might be worth checking a couple of times in the run up to OLCI.

Last summer, the ac on the Miami route swapped between 744 and 346. No real pattern. My outward July 2012 flight changed about 3 weeks ago.
Do OLCI immediately it opend 24 hours ahead of your light. More seats should become available at that time. God luck.

Sorry to drag an old-ish topic back up.

We're due to fly next week and our flight is still an A346. All the flights up to today according to the 'Which Aircraft' tool still show a B747 operating this route.

Does anyone know when it's going to swap over to the A346? I just hope they don't make it the A343 for IFE purposes.

It looks like it switches to the 346 on 2 May.

It looks like it switches to the 346 on 2 May.

Ok thanks. Out of interest is this info found on the Internet or more like secret squirrel type stuff?

No squirrels were harmed.

There are lots of ways to find it out. FlightStats will give you the information for free -- and load checks too. You don't even need to log in any more, it seems.

I actually used KVS, which I find very quick and easy. Others prefer ExpertFlyer. You have to pay for these two.

PS Out of curiosity I cross-checked the answer on the VS website too.

Back to OP original question, I would definitely not wanting to sit in the middle 3 seats of row 61 on the A346. As said that the IFEs are not aligned to the seats in front but these seats also have fixed armrests for the storage of tray tables. This implication seriously affects the useable width of the seats.

Back to OP original question, I would definitely not wanting to sit in the middle 3 seats of row 61 on the A346. As said that the IFEs are not aligned to the seats in front but these seats also have fixed armrests for the storage of tray tables. This implication seriously affects the useable width of the seats.

Thanks AT for the advice I'll have a look at those sites. I usually use flightstats to look for info but didn't think about checking every flight right up until the day we fly!

I'm checking MMB daily to see if new seats appear otherwise I'll be on OLCI hoping for seq1 - 5 and better seats! We're travelling with someone who's a stupid 6ft 8in tall so he won't want to be anymore cramped than he will already be in Y!

As CHill710 said upthread, they release the front rows (<41) on the 346 at OLCI so if you are quick you may be able to relocate to a much better area. If I were you, I would check a few times before OLCI opens in case this is done early -- e.g. at T-36, T-28, T-26 etc.

If this doesn't work out, though, I wouldn't worry too much as you can always ask at the airport and you may get lucky with a bulkhead row.

As CHill710 said upthread, they release the front rows (<41) on the 346 at OLCI so if you are quick you may be able to relocate to a much better area. If I were you, I would check a few times before OLCI opens in case this is done early -- e.g. at T-36, T-28, T-26 etc.

If this doesn't work out, though, I wouldn't worry too much as you can always ask at the airport and you may get lucky with a bulkhead row.

Thanks for the advice. I'll be doing our very best to change seats, either at OLCI or before, or at the airport as suggested.