90 day seat map

Does anybody know if the seat map becomes available at 90 days 23 hours 59 mins or do you have to wait until it dead on 90 day 0 hours 0 mins

wouldn't what you suggest make it 91 days ?

That's what I am trying to establish. Do they open it at midnight., or dead on the departure time + 90 days etc etc. As a UC ticket holder I expect to pick my seat when I hand over my pennies for the ticket instead of having to take pot luck like this. I have business class flights booked in October with AA & BA and sets were selected at the time of booking, including the much coveted 64A on the 747 UD

http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/index.php? ... =viewtopic

Thanks Penny, looks like potluck then as different experiences for posters in other thread

The recent thread above explains all. From recent experience the seat map is published at some stage in the 24 hours before but you can't reserve seats immediately. Seems a little random when you can reserve but for me I was not able to reserve at midnight but was able to a couple of hours shy of exactly ninety days. Certainly was no great rush in UC immediately.
Actually, if you can remember to log in at 90 days you should be able to reserve a good seat no matter when you book and for now it's still free and easy to change.

Actually, if you can remember to log in at 90 days you should be able to reserve a good seat no matter when you book and for now it's still free and easy to change.[/quote]

As a business class product it should be available immediately when you book, as it used to be. As for Virgins "free seat choice" I would argue its the final ticket price that counts and even allowing for BA £80 seat selection fee (free on AA ) and four further connecting business class flights from ALC TO LHR and MIA TO PLS the one world ticket was £300 cheaper than VS. therefore areVS already pricing seat selection within their fares.

Each to their own, I guess and the ability to reserve a seat at reservation will suit some but equally lots of people can be discouraged by an unfavourable seat map unless they book 10 months ahead. With the 90 day rule I can be sure of a good seat

I just believe in fairness and if you have paid your money 300 days in advance then you should have first choice of where you wish to sit ahead if someone who has paid only 90 days in advance. Otherwise why not leave I to OLCI opens

I just believe in fairness and if you have paid your money 300 days in advance then you should have first choice of where you wish to sit ahead if someone who has paid only 90 days in advance. Otherwise why not leave I to OLCI opens

Agreed,do we know if VA is going to revert back to the old system or keep the 90 day rule

Does anybody know if the seat map becomes available at 90 days 23 hours 59 mins or do you have to wait until it dead on 90 day 0 hours 0 mins

Last Saturday 8th December, I "requested" our seats on the VS23 for 8/03/2013. I had checked whether the seat map was available the previous night but it was not. At 10.15am on the Saturday there it was - Headed 90days and 5 hours until your flight (or some wording like that ii) ).

So to answer your question, the 90 days rule is supposed to be from the flight departure time, not the day of departure.

Having used up all our VS air miles, applied the upgrade voucher and opted for a different AmExpress card, I can honestly say >> thank goodness all my other flights for 2013 are booked with airlines which DO allow you to request a seat at the time of the initial booking. VS will need to step-it-up or we shall never return

Having used up all our VS air miles, applied the upgrade voucher and opted for a different AmExpress card, I can honestly say >> thank goodness all my other flights for 2013 are booked with airlines which DO allow you to request a seat at the time of the initial booking. VS will need to step-it-up or we shall never return[/quote]

couldn't agree more. I think this is a far bigger issue than VS believe.

PaulS - yes seat allocation is a big issue to a large percentage of travellers, perhaps not to the 'lone' passenger so much and I think VS do realise this is an important issue but its just they do not care.

I think they are the only long-haul airline which does not give passengers a choice to pay to pre-book seats. The cost of flight tickets is unbelievably high now but I bet there are many folk out there who would be prepared to pay a little bit more just to secure their seating. Also what you said earlier is so true. You pay your cash upfront, sometimes nearly a year in advance, and therefore you should get first choice at the seating map.

I will add though, having travelled UC to Washington recently on the airbus 330, I would begrudge paying VS any more of my hard earned cash for what I consider to be a very substandard mode of travel on this aircraft. On both legs of the journey, many of my fellow passengers in UC were loudly expressing displeasure of the seat - when I tried to lie down I felt totally claustrophobic and asked or my 'bed' to go back into the seat position. I hated my journeys on this aircraft and it would have been even worse had I paid to prebook those awful seats !

PaulS - yes seat allocation is a big issue to a large percentage of travellers, perhaps not to the 'lone' passenger so much and I think VS do realise this is an important issue but its just they do not care.

!

Travelling predominately on my own seat allocation is very important to me. If not in UC I dread ending up not in an aisle seat and trapped by a fellow passenger who may sleep the whole flight.

I just believe in fairness and if you have paid your money 300 days in advance then you should have first choice of where you wish to sit ahead if someone who has paid only 90 days in advance. Otherwise why not leave I to OLCI opens

+1000

Surely the 90 day rule INCREASES your chance of getting the seat you want, unless you buy your ticket on the day the flight goes on sale.

Before the rule came in, people who bought theirs before you had an advantage but now, anyone who buys a ticket between T-336 and T-90 days has an equal chance of getting their desired seat, as long as they're on the ball.

It's like when you have been queuing at a till for ages and suddenly another till opens and the people who have just joined the back of the queue run to the next till and get served first. Totally unfair. v( v( v(
Not only do the early bookers provide vital cash flow they are usually loyal VS customers and like in many other thread these loyal flyers are deserting because of the fall in customer service.

[Neil]

It's like when you have been queuing at a till for ages and suddenly another till opens and the people who have just joined the back of the queue run to the next till and get served first. Totally unfair. v( v( v(

That seriously annoys you? Wow.

The 90 day rule is obviously the way VS have decided is best for them, it is information that is freely available before any one books any future flights now, so people can include it in their decision about who to book with, there is no obligation to fly VS.

Personally there a many more things I will consider ahead of what date I can request my seats, when choosing which airline to fly. In fact the easiest and less hassle I've had doing it recently was when flying VS in May and it was just available at OLCI, usually I would check back frequently to see if anything had changed, but that way there was none of that.

Different folks different strokes and all that, but as I said earlier, if you don't like the VS system and it is that important with you, book with someone else

Different folks different strokes and all that, but as I said earlier, if you don't like the VS system and it is that important with you, book with someone else

Encouraging heresy Neil v( v(

Personally I think, oh look a seat for me to sit in.. Whether I chose it at 90 days out or 360 days out (remembering of course that everyone is on the same restriction ... ), makes no difference to me.

I know full well that it is subject to change anyway and whenever travelling as a lone pax :# I have lost count of the amount of times I have been moved to accommodate a family or nervous fliers who have to be within dashing distance of a loo ?| or whatever other of a hundred different reasons they move people..

I appreciate that people travelling as a family will want to sit together and VS understand this and move mountains (or individuals with no mates) to accommodate them. You have 90 days before the flight in which to secure your seats, whether they be 5 or 25 rows from the front, what could people possibly need more time for?

Now, who is for 7a

And at the moment the 90 day window is a compromise because VS actually removed the ability to request seats until when OLCI opened as part of the seat allocation / website update process.

I don't think that it is a question of voting with your feet. I think the point people are making is that the VS product could, and should, be much better than it currently is and people want it to improve without having to leave to make that point. That's all.

[Neil]

I don't think that it is a question of voting with your feet. I think the point people are making is that the VS product could, and should, be much better than it currently is and people want it to improve without having to leave to make that point. That's all.

But unfortunately we don't have any say in how VS choose to run their business, so the only way to show dissatisfaction with their offering is not to use it.

Yes the seating is an issue for some people, others will view something else they don't like about VS as a bigger priority. I don't want to pay to select a seat, while some on here would rather VS offered that so they could choose them earlier, so I'd rather stick with the 90 day rule.

Virgin have to do what they think is best, they won't please all the people all of the time, all we can do is discuss/moan/suggest things on here and similar, it's their choice if they do anything about it.

Virgin have to do what they think is best, they won't please all the people all of the time, all we can do is discuss/moan/suggest things on here and similar, it's their choice if they do anything about it.

Neil, I agree, but perhaps they could please some of the people some of the time?

[Neil]

Virgin have to do what they think is best, they won't please all the people all of the time, all we can do is discuss/moan/suggest things on here and similar, it's their choice if they do anything about it.

Neil, I agree, but perhaps they could please some of the people some of the time?

I'm quite sure they are.

There are almost certainly thousands of people out there who couldn't care less about when they can reserve their seat, new pax who haven't known how it used to work those people are probably more than happy.

It's like me and traveling UC. I've only been doing it since 2008, I know nothing of red cushions or flowers on the bar, nio even IFBT, I still very much enjoy e UC experience, those however who have known all the previous extras are less happy however. It's all relative.

There are almost certainly thousands of people out there who couldn't care less about when they can reserve their seat.....

and equally, there are thousands who do care about advance seating allocation.

When I travel UC, I certainly couldn't care less where I sit, after all UC is not a mode of travel which is conducive for 'companionship' ii) However when I book an economy or PE seat, I'd want to know who I'm sitting next to and preferably this is my travel partner!

The seating issue is purely based on personal opinion and there is unlikely to be a universal agreement, but everyone is entitled to voice their view and no-one's opinion is the right or wrong one.