Choosing Seat with Flight Finder

[tlund]

We are thinking about using Flight Finder to book our flights for our cruise in May of next year.  The reason is it does not have to paid in full until final payment for the cruise.  The other reason is it is refundable until final payment so we have flexibility in case something better comes along.  My question is:  If we book an Economy (not Basic Economy where you typically cannot pick your seat) fare through Flight Finder, can we choose our seats right away (since seat choice is available under Economy fare) or will we be restricted to pick until we actually make final payment.  We don't want to wait until 3 months before sailing to pick whatever seats are left, which may be only those that incur an additional fee.  If that's the case, we will book directly with the airline now and just pay for it.  

 

Thanks in advance for the advice of experienced travelers on this site.

[RTShaker]

The airlines will typically not allow seat selection until payment has been made.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, tlund said:

We are thinking about using Flight Finder to book our flights for our cruise in May of next year.  The reason is it does not have to paid in full until final payment for the cruise.  The other reason is it is refundable until final payment so we have flexibility in case something better comes along.  My question is:  If we book an Economy (not Basic Economy where you typically cannot pick your seat) fare through Flight Finder, can we choose our seats right away (since seat choice is available under Economy fare) or will we be restricted to pick until we actually make final payment.  We don't want to wait until 3 months before sailing to pick whatever seats are left, which may be only those that incur an additional fee.  If that's the case, we will book directly with the airline now and just pay for it.  

 

Thanks in advance for the advice of experienced travelers on this site.

 

I presume you are talking about Flights by Celebrity when you say flight finder. 

 

I think it depends on the Airlines.   I have been able to pick seats on United.   I usually just go to United and enter the United Ticket Locator and add to my account and pick the seats I want.  

 

I have booked with them before and found that there are advantages and disadvantages.   

 

1.   You will not be able to talk to the airline direct about anything about the reservation.  They will refer you back to Flights by Celbrity

 

2.   Positive - like you say you do not have to pay until final payment and no cancellation fee until final payment.     Afterward check under each fare for the cancellation penalty.   Most of the fares they now sell after the covid melt down are fully refundable fares.

 

3.   Special fares may have limitation.     I missed a flight once and the fare I had was on AA only and they could not transfer to another airline.   Unfortunately AA had no availability for 2 days SFO to Rome.  Evidently the ticket didn't have interline privileges.

 

4.  Some airlines like you asked restrict choosing seats in advance.   Best to call and speak with an agent and if available they can book the seat for you at time of booking.   They will also be available to advise if you are able to choose seat yourself for your Airline/fare code.

 

[39august]

I have always been able to choose seats on Delta thru' Flights by Celebrity before final payment. Once on United as well.

[jwlane]

1 hour ago, tlund said:

not Basic Economy where you typically cannot pick your seat

By our experience Flights By Celebrity doesn't offer this as a choice.  Our flights have always included 1 checked bag and seat choice before final payment (thru FBC or the airline).

[tlund]

Thanks.  Seems like it may be hit or miss as to whether you can pick seats.  We are looking at United and are frequent flyers so hopefully we'll be able to pick once the booking shows up in our account.

 

Just FYI, we went ahead and booked.  During the process, we picked seats.  Then, after the booking was confirmed and the record locator was provided, it posted a notice that they were unable to confirm the requested seats and that we'd have to contact the airline.

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, tlund said:

Thanks.  Seems like it may be hit or miss as to whether you can pick seats.  We are looking at United and are frequent flyers so hopefully we'll be able to pick once the booking shows up in our account.

 

Just FYI, we went ahead and booked.  During the process, we picked seats.  Then, after the booking was confirmed and the record locator was provided, it posted a notice that they were unable to confirm the requested seats and that we'd have to contact the airline.

Now, log into your United account, enter the airline record located provider, pull up your flight, and pick your seats.  Has also worked for me on United and AA.

[bayoubabe516]

We are going to Alaska in May.  We were able to pick our seats on Delta right away but not west jet.  The airline dept is terrible.. I called multiple times and no one could tell me this.. they kept saying to call west jet.  Finally a rep at west jet explained that they can’t see the ticket until it’s paid for.

[jelayne]

We don’t use FBC very often but when we do we have not been able to book seats on American until reservation was ticketed, after final payment.  FBC said they could book the seats but not seats designated as preferred seats. 

[wrk2cruise]

That's what I've found most times on United, Delta, American is that if you book Premium Economy they can book those seats for you at the time of booking and for any Economy segments they can at least book you regular economy seats.

 

Once the reservation is ticketed I've been able to move to the preferred seats in economy for no extra charge.  Although on a recent United flight they were able to assign exit row for me.

 

On American PE they couldn't assign the bulkhead seats even though available but could assign any other row.  It seems to just depend.

[Jim_Iain]

United should work for you.    I am a 2 Million Mile Flyer and get Gold Status for life.   It even allows me as a perk to book in Premium Economy when booking the cheapest fares.   It pulls information from reservation.   Make sure you have your Mileage Plus Number entered before selection of seats.

[wailim]

You can contact the airline directly. 

 

[Oceangoer2]

4 hours ago, wailim said:

You can contact the airline directly. 

 

Air Canada won't allow seat selection through FB even using record locator....I paid FB the amount in advance and he was able to ticket which allowed me to choose our seats and still have the benefit (change to flight) of FB.

[tlund]

To report back, we booked on Flights by Celebrity and in the process picked seats.   At the end of the reservation, it popped up that they could not confirm seats but gave record locators.  I logged into my United account, brought up the record locator numbers and added them to my trips.  When I did, the seats I picked through Celebrity showed up there so I didn't have to pick seats again.  We booked Business/First Class (treated ourselves) so not sure if that made a difference in being allowed to pick the seats.  The price through Celebrity was about $50 cheaper per person than booking on United directly and we have until February to pay it off since that will be the final payment time for the cruise.

[mahasamatman]

On 10/25/2023 at 10:16 AM, Jim_Iain said:

I am a 2 Million Mile Flyer and get Gold Status for life. It even allows me as a perk to book in Premium Economy when booking the cheapest fares.

 

First of all, 2MM gives you Platinum for life, not Gold. Second, you get Economy Plus, which is completely different from Premium Economy.

[Jim_Iain]

1 minute ago, mahasamatman said:

 

First of all, 2MM gives you Platinum for life, not Gold. Second, you get Economy Plus, which is completely different from Premium Economy.

Your right... I never really look.   I hate to say it I rarely fly United anymore.   Their prices are much higher.   All my miles go to Chase Sapphire and if I were to book United it is usually cheaper to buy via Chase than the same flights on United.

 

In 40 years I've never flown coach on an International flight so I will bow to your knowledge of what the segregation is behind the curtain.

[terrydtx]

On 10/24/2023 at 6:57 PM, tlund said:

Thanks.  Seems like it may be hit or miss as to whether you can pick seats.  We are looking at United and are frequent flyers so hopefully we'll be able to pick once the booking shows up in our account.

 

Just FYI, we went ahead and booked.  During the process, we picked seats.  Then, after the booking was confirmed and the record locator was provided, it posted a notice that they were unable to confirm the requested seats and that we'd have to contact the airline.

We have always had good luck picking seats with FBC at the time we book by calling FBC and having them requesting seats.  We have extensive experience using FBC including our flights to Europe last month and our flights to Australia in January.  You can also go on some airlines websites and request or change seats once you have the airline record locator number when you booked. Some airlines will not let you change seats until the tickets are paid and ticketed, but you can still call FBC and they will change seats for you.

 

The following is our experience on airlines and using their websites to change seats:

 

Airlines you can change seats before payment on their websites.

Delta

United

KLM

ITA

Air France

 

Airlines you can't request and change seats on their websites until final payment and ticketed

American Airlines

Alaska Airlines

British Airways

Air New Zealand

Qantas

 

 

[Oceangoer2]

11 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We have always had good luck picking seats with FBC at the time we book by calling FBC and having them requesting seats.  We have extensive experience using FBC including our flights to Europe last month and our flights to Australia in January.  You can also go on some airlines websites and request or change seats once you have the airline record locator number when you booked. Some airlines will not let you change seats until the tickets are paid and ticketed, but you can still call FBC and they will change seats for you.

 

The following is our experience on airlines and using their websites to change seats:

 

Airlines you can change seats before payment on their websites.

Delta

United

KLM

ITA

Air France

 

Airlines you can't request and change seats on their websites until final payment and ticketed

American Airlines

Alaska Airlines

British Airways

Air New Zealand

Qantas

 

 

Add Air Canada to the list of 'no seat selection until fare is ticketed/paid'....for our Canadian posters info.  Thanks for the breakdown.

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Add Air Canada to the list of 'no seat selection until fare is ticketed/paid'....for our Canadian posters info.  Thanks for the breakdown.

Good to know, we have never booked with Air Canada.

 

With our recent experience with Air New Zealand, even with a record locator number we couldn't find or even see our flights on their website until we made final payment and were ticketed. FBC was able to request and change seats for us however by calling them. 

 

I use a very helpful website to see what seats are booked and available on any airline on any flight, ExpertFlyer.com - Empowering the Frequent Flyer

Edited October 27, 2023 by terrydtx

[RTShaker]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Add Air Canada to the list of 'no seat selection until fare is ticketed/paid'....for our Canadian posters info.  Thanks for the breakdown.

Same for Westjet.