Air France Changed My Seat Assignment

This can happen with any airline. The seat selector doesn't guarantee anything. In some circumstances like parents traveling with children, the airline is required to seat the kids next to at least one parent, so in this case they are required to move people around. Other circumstances include equipment changes, accommodating air marshals/frequent fliers.

That makes sense, but I don't understand why they would seat us in different rows (in one case 3 rows apart), when there are many pairs available together still. The flight to CDG had at least 10 window row pairs and a lot of middle rows completely empty still.

Do you fly frequently? Do you use US airlines? Any one of them should have inured you such things. There are a lot of flyers and a lot of juggling to do-- and since when do YOU matter to an airline?

Yep, I fly frequently and I usually fly US airlines (one year I flew enough Alaska to be an MVP). I can't think of a time in the last four or five years, when most of my flying has been done, that I selected my seats at booking and they weren't the ones I had on the day of the flight.
I've only flown a couple of times on non-US airlines (Air Canada and British Air) and my reserved seats were the ones I had day of flight also.
Maybe I should have realized that I should check when there were so many seats available at booking - more than half of each plane. But since the fares had dropped drastically, my initial thought was they had lots of seats to fill.
None of us matter to an airline as long as their seats continue to be (over)filled.

Steve, I beg to differ!
Your comment "None of us matter to an airline as long as their seats continue to be (over) filled." is not only cynical but inaccurate.

If an Airline doesn't preform satisfactorily over the long haul, those seats won't continue to be (over) filled.
Airlines appreciate feedback positive or negative. Learning to complain constructively benefits us all. (Not to mention profit sharing...)

I completely agree with Michael's explanation. Couldn't have said it better myself!

Agree on seats. Seats can be changed for the following valid reasons, among others:

1. Aircraft change (least common, but if there is a different configuration on the new aircraft it will happen).
2. Elite customer wants your seat (think someone who flies 25k and above miles on that airline a year).
3. Family and unaccompanied minors.
4. Just darn near anything.

What having a seat does generally guarantee you is that you will not be bumped. Usually, airlines will bump those who booked too late to make a seat reservation first.

I recently had my seats changed on a domestic flight without explanation, too. But I wouldn't worry too much about the center seating on your way back. That's actually my preferred place to be -- less turbulance, and if there are open seats at boarding, they are generally in the middle. You might get a row to yourselves!

I NEVER KNEW there was "less turbulence" in the middle section! I'll HAVE to pass that one along to the front end! LOL! (Only teasing!)

FA,
I don't think you get the point. I was replying to Paul n Sara's question of, "and since when do YOU matter to an airline?"
Essentially you helped make my point - when it hits them in the bottom line.
I started to give lots of examples of when I didn't matter, but decided to scale it back since this post wasn't about complaining about airlines - which I've done constructively when it was necessary to contact them.The point is to give a heads-up to others that they should remain active with their reservations. Don't think it's a done deal when the credit card gets charged
The reasons that Michael and David give seem right on to me to. But I'm stretching to see how they would apply in this instance since upon 'fixing' my problem online, there were many pairs that they could have put us in had any one, or even all of these situations been the case. The surprise wasn't in being moved; but being split up in a plane when it didn't appear necessary.

I've had my seat assignments changed fairly often recently with Delta Airlines. As they get closer to the travel date, they determine which type of aircraft is necessary for the flight. They want to avoid a half empty flight and so they will switch to a smaller plane. I check on a weekly basis now to ensure that my seats are still intact.

Steve, what I don't understand in your case is that it's clear you both are traveling together so to split you up doesn't make sense. I know there is a way to "link" passengers together - to avoid this. I am linked to my travel buddy - even though we made our reservations separately, so the airline has managed to keep us seated beside each other with all these changes.

It's great that you can flight direct non-stop from West Coast to Paris!

I can understand surprise in being split up when it didn't seem necessary. While it may not appear necessary to anyone on the outside, on the inside they must have had a reason. And only they would know what it would be. I won't go into all the possible scenarios, but believe me, there are many reasons.
With few exceptions, you are pretty much reserved a seat in the class you reserved. Seat selections are considered to be preferences and requests, subject to change as required. Seat allocations are not guaranteed.
While it can be disappointing to be separated from your traveling companions, sometimes it is necessary.
Sometimes the Flight Crew can ask someone to trade to
bring you closer together. Sometimes it just isn't possible. We do our best with what we are given at the time. Sometimes even checking or rechecking your reservation won't guarantee adjacent seating. Unfortunately, it's always subject to change.
This is often an issue on board. And always a challenge!

Gela,
Now that you mention it, I do remember an Alaska flight from Seattle to Reagan Nat'l changing plane. I kept the same seat number, but I went from an exit row to the row in front of the exit row (worst row ever). So I had to call and have them change me back into an exit row.
The point about us being linked is a good one. I've seen some check boxes during the booking process for things such as "family traveling together" and such. Maybe there was one of these and I missed it. We are booked under different last names, as her passport is under her maiden name and with the passport times lately we didn't want to make a change out of fear we wouldn't get it back in time. Plus it expires in the next year or so and she can change the name then. But still it seems like we should be linked.
Of course now I'll have to keep watching it as time goes by.

Nancy wrote: "I recently had my seats changed on a domestic flight without explanation, too. But I wouldn't worry too much about the center seating on your way back. That's actually my preferred place to be -- less turbulance, and if there are open seats at boarding, they are generally in the middle. You might get a row to yourselves!"

Hmmm... I'm trying to figure out why there would be "less" turbulence in the middle sections. Knowing Aircraft structures I can not think of a reason this would be true. If fact, I would think the window seats would have less, if anything...

Sorry for the thread hijack. Now back to the regularly scheduled programing...

Sometimes it can be difficult to link passengers with different last names who are traveling together. Especially when a maiden name is given or sometimes even hyphenated names can present a problem. Most reservation systems I've used (as a Travel Consultant) do have links to merge folios. So if you're making your own reservations, save yourself disappointment, crosscheck and confirm!
Perhaps this is why you were seperated? I could easily see that happening.

We went to Spain on Iberia earlier this summer using them for all flights both international and domestic. On EVERY leg of the journey they had separated myself, husband, and 4 year old even though we had booked 5 months in advance and had copies of reservations having us all together. Of course, the flight crew and other passengers were accomodating to allow at least 1 of us to sit with our daughter.

Steve, you have my sympathies. Air France is not the only airline that does that. It happened to me in a DELTA flight from New York JFK to ATHENS Greece. I purchased my airline tickets nine months before the flight date. There were hundreds of seats for me to choose from in that big airplane. I chose a seat located near the front of the airplane. On the day of the flight, when I checked in at the airport and was given my boarding pass, it was for a seat at row 44, at the rear of the airplane. The airlines people know that row 44 is one of the worse places for a seat in an airplane, because the tail section of the airplane has more vertical movement and lateral movement than any other place in the airplane. And I am susceptible to motion sickness. I guessed the airline moved me away from the seat that I selected, to enable a family to be seated together. But why did they send me to row 44 ? I paid for my ticket nine months in advance. I thought I would get a decent seat.

I'VE BEEN BUMPED MANY TIMES. ONLY IT'S TO MY ADVANTAGE. I TRAVEL ALONE (SINGLE). HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND ONE SEAT? AS TO FIND TWO,THREE,OR FOUR SEATS TOGETHER. ONCE IN FIST CLASS I HAD A WINDOW SEAT. THE PERSON NEXT TO ME WANTED TO SIT NEXT TO HIS WIFE INSTEAD OF BEING SEPEREATED BY THE AISLE. I WAS ASKED TO MOVE TO ANOTHER SEAT IN FIRST CLASS AND WAS GIVEN A VOUCHER FOR ANOTHER FIRST CLASS TICKET ANYWHERE. I TOOK IT. THE SEAT I HAD GOTTEN WAS NEXT TO A SWEET LITTLE LADY. EVERYTHING WENT WELL UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO EAT. SHE TOOK OUT HER HEARING AIDS AND SAT THEM ON HER TRAY. SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID "I CAN'T STAND TO HEAR MYSELF EAT." KIND OF RUINS YOUR MEAL. HAPPY FLYING!