KLM Seat Assignment

Have you tried using their app? I've selected seats there quite easily, and then changed them a few times as well with no problem.

Is it that you can't select seats at all, or that you can't select seats without paying the seat reservation fee? Did you pay for seat selection on BA?

I just got the app, thanks for the suggestion. Couldn’t select seats via the app, the website or by speaking to a customer service representative. Not until 24 hours before the flight. What is this, Southwest?

We can’t select seats at all. There’s no option on KLM for seat selection for an additional fee. We just have to wait and trust that there will be seats available I guess. On KLM’s website one of the perks listed for business class was “no extra charge for seat selection.” Last year on BA we were able to choose seats at the time of purchase, at no extra cost.

From what I can see online, as of last year, if you are traveling Business Standard there is no free seat selection before check in on KLM/Air France. If you are traveling Business Flex, it is free. It’s unfortunate that you haven’t been able to have customer service explain it all to you.

I also saw on Flyertalk that KLM holds seats for select status customers and they will gray those out and if that’s all that’s left you have to wait til 24 hours before for them to open up…sorry!

British Airways also charges for seat selection prior to 24 hours unless you have some sort of status in a one world loyalty program.

I know this is standard policy for the airlines(not just KLM), but it's pretty pathetic that the airlines nickel and dime customers who have already paid a lot for their seats.

Right, we fly BA regularly, but don’t pay extra to reserve a specific seat more than 24 hours before the flight. Really? $58 to reserve a middle seat in the middle section at the back of the plane? We wait until 24 hours before the flight to pick our seats, with no additional charge.

But KLM Business Class, much more expensive than coach, doesn’t come with a seat confirmation at the time of booking? That’s surprising, especially if they have confirmed a specific seat for your return flight, but not the initial flight of your trip. That’s inconsistent, at the very least.

Hey, I presume you’ll be in the Business section, no matter which seat in that section.

Our return flight is on KLM.

I know this is standard policy for the airlines(not just KLM), but
it's pretty pathetic that the airlines nickel and dime customers who
have already paid a lot for their seats.

I agree. They shouldnt nickel and dime the customers. They should just roll the seat cost into the cost of the ticket when they sell the ticket. The preception will be so much better that way.

You purchased the ticket via KLM, but is the actual flight a Delta flight? If you have Delta Skymiles status, you should be able to book it through the KLM app (I always am able to). The only time I have had your current issue is purchasing a flight through a code share partner. Other than that, I agree that forcing a business class customer money to book a seat is crazy. Good luck.

bogartzone, are you a Flying Blue member? Sometimes that makes a difference (see below). Regardless, I did look up KLM's seat selection process and found this: https://www.klm.com/information/legal/extra-options/seat-selection

1.1.3 ‘Business Class seat’ means a Business Class seat before check-in starts (to be reserved at a fee).

1.3 Flying Blue Elite members and SkyMiles Elite members can reserve specific extra comfortable seats and regular seats for free or at a discount.

There is more in the link so you may want to look through that, but it sounds like you need to pay an extra fee to reserve a seat early (although I don't know why they wouldn't tell you that when you called). And possibly if you are not a Flying Blue member, it might be worth it to sign up and modify your reservation to include this.

I'm somewhat peeved at having to pay BA $300 apiece to select our seats in TATL business class. OTOH, they still had by far the least expensive fares, so I can live with it.

We joined Flying Blue on the day that we bought the tickets. Having done that, and putting the KLM app on our phones will help in the long run. I’m going to make sure that we jump on at exactly 24 hours before the flight to get our outbound flight seat assignments. I’ll explore other airlines for our next trip. Before I retired, I flew to Europe on United many times without this hassle. Then again, I also flew Air France back in the day, when their food was excellent. (Insert bitter laughter.)

Good luck bogartzone! Keep us posted as to what happens.

They should just roll the seat cost into the cost of the ticket when they sell the ticket. The perception will be so much better that way.

Mr. E, I agree that the customer's perception is what counts. There was a study done about 5+ years ago using merchants who offer free shipping, and those who don't. The study found that customers would almost always go with the free shipping option, even if the total price of the item was cheaper on the site that charged for shipping.

Mardee, thats spot on. But i like it this way because those that buy seats subsudize my cheap style. If they rounded the seat cost into all the ticket prices, my ticket would cost more.

This whole seat payment situation is quite a bit better if you have any status on an airline within the alliance your airline belongs to. For example: MVP on Alaska means that I am ruby on One World. I can pick my seat location 7 days prior to the flight for free on British Airways. Those with higher status can book seat location free when they book the flights.

I am flying in just under a week. At 7 days, I signed on and was able to reserve the seat I wanted in business with no $165 fee. My friends, flying premium economy, also MVP, signed in at 7 days for the free seat reservations and found only 3 seats left in that class. Two aisle and one center seat. They opted for the 2 aisle seats leaving the center seat for the person who was left.

We are all in coach on the way back. I opted to pay for a seat reservation right when I booked because I knew I would want an extra legroom seat in coach. I wasn't willing to risk it. My friends, are waiting for the 7 day mark. It will be interesting to see what their choices are then. Those waiting until 24 hours have made the decision that they will accept any seat on the plane.

Arguably, enhancements like meals are built into the fare. Other, budget airlines sell food separately, on board. A la carte pricing makes things more complicated, but does allow for cheaper fares, more expensive fares with benefits, and even pricier fares that come with less uncertainty.

There’s always the possibility of negotiating with fellow passengers for changing seats once on the plane, however unlikely changes might actually happen. That happened on a Ryanair flight last month. And if getting to the destination is the main objective, that’s what truly matters. Paying more should get you more, though.

This whole seat payment situation is quite a bit better if you have
any status on an airline within the alliance your airline belongs to.

But that means choosing flights based upon alliance, and not on cost. Still doesnt work for me. I've gotten a little value out of my Turkish Air memebership, but only because they were the cheapest or the most convient for the price often enough to build up some miles.

I am possibly wrong in this, but my belief is nothing is free, so the additional of cost of the tickets will equal or exceed the benefits of the program. Maybe not, maybe they just have a bad business model and I suspect that there are certain customers with certain wants where it does work.

Sort of like buying the refundable or no cost change ticket. That I have calculated and I am still ahead on buying the cheap ticket given the number of times I have had to rebook. .