The App.....

Used the app to check in for Little Red and at no point could I choose my seat. Is this right? I got 1A on Fri and now 1B, tbh I prefer somewhere less busy.....

The app is shockingly poor.

Yup.. never use the app.
Even poorer than the website... and that's saying something!

You know you can request your seat 60 days in advance, online?

If you do that you'll avoid row 1 as that doesn't open up until the day before the flight.

The website offers no chance to change the seat. Do I lose the chance to choose at t-24 if I don't pay for seat selection?

Seat requests on Little Red will remain free - it's only long haul economy where they're introducing a charge.

You should be able to request a seat on the website - and change it as many times as you like - via Manage My Booking anytime from 60 days before the flight up to T-24.

Once OLCI opens you can still request & change your seat immediately after you've checked in, but any further changes will have to wait until the airport. It's not usually an issue though - LR flights usually have space (often entire rows).

You cannot make a seat request if you use the app though?! Seriously? Ok my bad I didn't select before check in but basic 21st century customer expectation is, offer me the choice of what's not allocated, not just dump me into a centre seat.

The app is not remotely fit for purpose, I have used BA, EZY, KLM and AF in the last six months and the VS app, for a major long haul carrier is frankly a joke. The website offers no seat change selection after the app dumped me in 2B and checked me in. There was no option to review any seat in the process.

I'm sure I've selected seats using the app before, and it certainly says you can.

It may have changed of course but IIRC you do it after you've completed check-in but before issuing your boarding pass.

From memory it says something like "congratulations you are now checked in, what do you want to do now?" and gives you several options for issuing your boarding pass but - and quite easy to miss - also the option to select your seat. If you issue your boarding pass it's too late.

[mitchja]

Also worth mentioning that row 1 only opens up about 48hrs before your flight departure time as well on all VLR flights. The front row is blocked from the time of booking upto around t-48hrs.

The options are SMS, Print off, email etc. choosing your seat is not, though quite reasonably ought to be, one of them.