Do airlines choose seats for you?

You will likely get assigned a seat during check-in (though you should still skip it if the airline tries to tack on a fee) or, at the very least, at the gate. Again: You don't have to select a seat in order to get a seat. You just might get stuck with a suboptimal one if you choose to skip it.



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With Basic Economy, you'll automatically be assigned a seat before boarding, and you won't be able to change your seat once it's assigned. Advance seat assignments may be available for purchase during booking and up until check-in opens.

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If you were not able to make an advance seat assignment, keep an eye on the seat map as these seats will begin to open up once check-in begins and then once the gate opens for the flight.

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British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will allow you to select a seat free of charge. Easyjet, Emirates, Norwegian, Jet2 and Ryanair say you'll be allocated a suitable seat free of charge.

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Just say “no.” Within 24 hours of your departure, the airline will assign you a seat. Pro tip: If you want to avoid paying for a seat assignment, arrive at the airport early. That way, you'll have the pick of the unassigned seats.

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Most airlines assign booked seats before your flight; see Planning your flight. A few airlines do not assign seats (e.g., Southwest), but do assign you a boarding group based on how early you confirm your flight on-line within 24 hours of the flight.

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The airlines will hold back some seats for assignment so that the gate agent have some leeway to put family traveling together, passengers with special needs, etc.

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If there are not enough passengers who are willing to give up their seats voluntarily, an airline may deny you a seat on an aircraft based on criteria that it establishes, such as the passenger's check-in time, the fare paid by the passenger, or the passenger's frequent flyer status.

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Your seat will not be assigned until after you check in to your flight. If your seat number does not appear on your boarding pass, your seat will be assigned at the gate before you board.

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Flight attendants have the authority to move people around and the flight attendant can ask someone, she says, emphasizing that seat trades should always be equal. But Whitmore says there are two scenarios where it is “never” OK to ask for a switch.

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Yep, they sure do. At the airline I retired from, and every other major airline I've ridden on, the lead flight attendant receives a printout of every name of every passenger on the aircraft along with their assigned seat.

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More seats tend to fill the closer to the departure date. As more tickets sell for any given flight, the demand increases creating a jump in ticket prices. Sometimes for less popular destinations or if there is an unusually large amount of cancelations, prices may drop for flights in order to fill the seats.

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Originally Answered: Can you sit in first class if seats are empty and ask nicely? Short answer: no. The airlines don't want to encourage passengers to buy cheap seats and then pester the flight attendants for an upgrade. They want First Class seats going only to the people who pay full price for them.

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Southwest Airlines' unique unallocated seat assignments, or open seating, have been a part of the airline since its beginnings in the 1970s.

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Emphatically, no. You will likely get assigned a seat during check-in (though you should still skip it if the airline tries to tack on a fee) or, at the very least, at the gate. Again: You don't have to select a seat in order to get a seat. You just might get stuck with a suboptimal one if you choose to skip it.

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Emphatically, no. You will likely get assigned a seat during check-in (though you should still skip it if the airline tries to tack on a fee) or, at the very least, at the gate. Again: You don't have to select a seat in order to get a seat. You just might get stuck with a suboptimal one if you choose to skip it.

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Let's break down what this actually means: On most airline basic economy tickets, you won't be able to select your seat ahead of time. Instead, you'll be assigned one at check-in or the gate. So you're not any more likely than any other passenger to get bumped from the flight.

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