Because I booked my New Orleans - Cairo roundtrip through United, I have not been able to get seat assignments for the two segments of the trip that will be on partner Egypt Air equipment. Neither the United website nor the Egypt Air website - or any other way that I tried - would give me seat assignments. However, following the advice of a forum poster on tripadvisor, I downloaded the Egypt Air app onto my smart phone. The app is a bit confusing (for me) but eventually, very carefully, I was able to get seat assignments ($20 each) for the Egypt Air flight segments. I double-checked on the Egypt Air website a few hours later and the seat assignments are now also confirmed on the website. Whew! I did not want to get up at midnight in Cairo 48 hours before my flight home in order to book a seat at check-in time! (Note: passengers over the age of 60 are not allowed in exit row seats...!)
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17916 posts
I book Turkish Air a lot (about 8 flights so far this year), and from time to time there will be a leg where I cant get a seat assignment on line when booking. Each time I pick up the phone and call. The wait is usually only a few minutes and then another 5 minutes or so with an agent to get the seat. When doing a Code Share flight I always call the Ticketed carrier first. I have struck out there, United comes to mind. But then a second call to the airline that I need the seat on has always worked. But I guess an App would be faster and easier if it works.
Posted by
OP
New Orleans
1206 posts
James E, the tripadvisor poster wrote that they had tried to get seat assignments by phone with Egypt Air and that they were unable to do so. I had not yet attempted that route, so was glad to hear that - if that failed - that the app might work. Thus, I didn't even try to call. Good to know that calling could work with Turkish Air, with which I have flown a couple of times.
I see on this forum that several posters are planning trips to Egypt within the next several weeks or months, and figured that if they, like me, had code share flights United/Egypt Air, that this info might be useful. I do appreciate all that is shared on this forum which has helped me tremendously.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17916 posts
I looked at Cairo a few weeks back and the best price I found was, surprisingly, AeroMexico (?)
Posted by
Germany
1117 posts
Note: passengers over the age of 60 are not allowed in exit row
seats...!
Well, obviously not. They might take too long getting out in case of an emergency and block the way for passengers more worthy of being rescued. :-/
Sorry to sound cynical about this, but I am. We've had the same thing happen on a different airline with a fellow passenger with a disability. They insisted she sat in the window seat and not on the aisle so she wouldn't be in the way in case of a rescue situation.
We had a very young cabin attendant who had obviously just learned this lesson in her training. What they apparently forgot to tell her is to find a different wording than basically saying outright "You are worth less than the other passengers, you will be the last one to be rescued."
The irony about this was that this lady had a visual disability. In case of an emergency with the cabin lights turning dark, she would have been the only one who would have found the exit with ease.