Questions and Answers

I recently booked an international “round-trip” through United, where I have some status. The outbound flight is LAX – FRA – PRG and the carrier is Lufthansa. The return is TLV – EWR – LAX flown by United.

When I booked the flight, I was able to book my seats for the return portion on United w/o any problem. United then told me to contact Lufthansa to book the outbound seats with them directly. No problem, I thought since I have done this before. When I contacted Lufthansa, they said that they charge a fee to reserve a seat in advance; however, since I booked the ticket with United (one of their Star Alliance partners), this option was not available. The only way to reserve my seat was to contact Lufthansa 24 hours before the scheduled flight.

I am picturing a 10 hour flight stuck in a middle seat. What did I do wrong? Any thoughts on what can be done to reserve my seat now?

[USER=968]@TravelMark[/USER] What class of service are you booked in? Did you try to do the assignment yourself online?

I am booked in a T class coach ticket. I am unable to assign a seat online.

[USER=968]@TravelMark[/USER] That information seems pretty accurate ([URL]http://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/Seat-reservation[/URL]). Fortunately the price to reserve one is relatively reasonable if you want to do that. You could also try checking in exactly 24hrs in advance when it is free for everyone…

I wish I could pay the fee to book now. That is not even a possibility. I was at LAX this am and went to the Lufthansa ticket counter. I offered to pay the seat fee and they said NO. Since it was a United booking, I don’t even have that option.