ATN Seating

We have assigned seats on ATN out of LAX to/from Tahiti but I understand that seats are not guaranteed. What does this mean? Do they board by #'s or is it just a free for all at the gate? Any suggestions? And how strict are they with carry-ons? When others get on w/more bags than allowed most airlines look the other way & I hate that. Thanks for your response.

No different as any other airline, until you have that boarding pass in your hand your assignment isn't guaranteed. ACtually I've had a time when the seat assignment had 2 boarding passes issued, you just never know for sure until your butt is in the seat.

They are pretty stricked with the bags, they won't let you get away with more than 1 large carry on. Yes a camera case, purse, computer case on top of 1 large bag is no big deal but you won't see anyone taking on 2 full size carry-on bags.

They board by row number. Once you are getting on the plane with a boarding pass that has your seat number on it, you will get to sit in that seat. It's no different than boarding a United or American flight.

The language you see about not having guaranteed seats is just standard airline boiler plate. If they need to shuffle people around for some reason (broken seats; plane replaced with one that has a different seating configuration; etc), then they are telling you they can move you. It's very unlikely and not something you need to worry about.

On our way out they weighed all bags, including carry ons. On the way home they weighed check bags and "eyed" the carry on.

I didn't think it was possible to get seat assignments on TN until you check in. Were you able to get your seat assignments before checking in?

Thx

Yes, I have them. I am on a private small group charter so maybe that's the reason.

I have seat assignments for June 2013. Call them and they will assign seats. Look at www.seatguru.com first.

ATN will give you a seat assignment as long as PG Cruises had uploaded info to ATN. Call ATN ;)

We were assigned seats for our recent trip, even though our PG rep told us ATN may not assign them because we were only about a month and a half from our departure date. When our cruise docs came in, the flight info page listed our seat numbers.

For our outbound flight, we were assigned seats 41K & L and received boarding passes for those seats when we checked in. For the return flight, we were assigned seats 18D & E (center section), but the woman checking us in offered to move us to 36A & B (window seats), which we gladly accepted.

Thankfully, boarding is not a free-for-all - though you may have to squeeze past the people crowding the gate area. They start by boarding first and business class, and people who need extra assistance. Then they board by row, starting at the back of the plane. (There are no "zones"; they start with rows 40 and up, then work their way forward.) At LAX, we had to take a shuttle bus to the plane - so it's possible a couple of row groups may get mixed together on the bus. But all in all, the boarding process seemed very efficient - no standing around in the aisle waiting for people at the front of the plane to take their seats.

As for carry-ons, I didn't see anyone boarding with more than two bags. (Since it's an international flight with no charges for checked luggage, you're less likely to see people trying to haul all of their baggage into the cabin.) Either way, the good news is that there is plenty of bin space on ATN - since they have a 2-4-2 seating configuration, every pair of seats has bin space directly above.

Hope this alleviates some of your worries about the flight!

ATN now offers the first checked bag free and charges for the second(see their website).

That seems to be more and more common all the time.

This year we abandoned our old, sturdy, but HEAVY bags for some really light, huge and fairly sturdy TravelPro bags that save us almost 10lbs each. That way we can stuff more into one bag without going over the weight limit!

Icelandair actually weighs carry-ons. I had a hard time getting my camera backpack below the limit (I wasn't going to check that!).

I find the lighter ones need changing every couple of years or so. They just throw the bags at airports etc. However, they do keep the weight down. I havent learnt to travel light yet.

I find the lighter ones need changing every couple of years or so. They just throw the bags at airports etc. However, they do keep the weight down. I havent learnt to travel light yet.

You and me both, Emdee! I got a huge Ricardo Beverly Hills suitcase for our recent trip; it weighs only 10 pounds. I hit the weight limit before it was full!

ATN does allow one extra bag per person, in addition to the first bag, if you have diving equipment. We told them it was dive equipment (it was) and they allowed it without asking for proof of dive certification nor did they look in the bag.

IMHO if you have an extra bag, expecially if it has at least a mask and snorkel in it, tell them it is dive equipment. Worst case is they open the bag and charge you.

ATN will give you a seat assignment as long as PG Cruises had uploaded info to ATN. Call ATN ;)

Got decent seats for our June 2013 flights - thanks for the tip!

MotuIsalander, Air New Zealand weighed my carryon and it was 2lbs over and she took it from me even though I had already flown from T.O. with no problems.

Each air line has their hang ups. Not sure about Air Pacific as that is who P&G use to get us to Fiji.

I would like to take an extra suitcase but I dont know if the ferry will give me a hassle.

So am limiting myself.

Emdee, when we took the ferry to Moorea their luggage process is quite informal. They have a pretty large metal container, probably about 5 feet square and about six feet high that passengers place their luggage in. We saw bike, coolers, paint, virtually anything, being placed in these containers. They were on the pier and they load them by forklift into the ship. I did not see any limitations on luggage.

Thanks Flightmedic. Its just that the quote kept saying only 1 large suitcase and 1 carry on per person.

If I need the room I will take an extra bag. It was really going to be something for the crew but since I will be in Moorea before I cannot take chocolates which I took the last time so I have to think about something else to take that will keep in the heat!

Informal is indeed to word of the day when it comes to the Moorea ferry. Its a great ride and take as much luggage as you want.

I have seat assignments for June 2013. Call them and they will assign seats. Look at www.seatguru.com first.

Got decent seats for our June 2013 flights - thanks for the tip!

So the seat assigned at the 120 day mark (IIRC) is really not true - it is much earlier than that? Does that mean when the flights for August 2013 come out I'll be able to call ATN and check seats?

Will I also be able to call PG at that time and do my air deviation on the flight home or is the 120 day thing I was thinking about only related to the deviation?

I want to book my flights to LAX as soon as possible - using miles.

If You have the miles consider award travel to Tahiti. Same number of miles (using American miles) from anywhere in the US. For business you need to book exactly on the day when seats become available. ATN appears to release only 6 coach and 2 business seats per flight. For us getting award seats into LAX from JFK was easy.

We did our trip using AA miles in business. No problem booking 330 days out.

I was able to book business with Delta miles - 2 seats no problem about 8 months before my flights.