Choice Air - Can we choose our seats?

Much like another poster above, we had a code share on AA ticketed through Choice Air which ultimately was operated by BA and we had to pay to select seats. We also had to pay the luggage fees in advance. Unfortunately my DH suddleny became very sick and we had to cancel 2 days before the trip. We had trip insurance where we were reimbursed for the tickets but were never able to recover the cost of the seats from BA. Although we had proof that we paid, BA would not cooperate to refund these fees nor would they confirm for us or the trip insurer that they were not refundable.

I will never fly BA again, regardless of what type of air or sea package anyone is selling.

Premium Economy can be very nice. Bigger seat, better food, more leg room etc but do not confuse Premium Economy with United's Economy Plus. That one only gets about 3 extra inches of leg room and nothing more. Again, it will vary from carrier to carrier so before you put your money down, check and see exactly what you are getting in each case. The trip I had the problem with BA was $2200 per person RT in biz so the price was great even if meant making a connection each way.

Which airlines offer the bigger seats and better food. We would love to get bigger seats and better food. We haven't flown Premium Economy for over three years, on Delta and Air Canada, and I know the only difference was the extra legroom. The seats were exactly the same size and the food choices were the same. Coming back from Amsterdam, we were in the last row of Premium Economy. The row behind us was regular economy and was completely empty. I moved back there, lifted up the arm rest and chilled. The seats width was the same in both classes.

There's an interesting chart on Premium Economy here. https://www.seatguru.com/charts/premium_economy.php

Premium Economy can be very nice. Bigger seat, better food, more leg room etc but do not confuse Premium Economy with United's Economy Plus. That one only gets about 3 extra inches of leg room and nothing more. Again, it will vary from carrier to carrier so before you put your money down, check and see exactly what you are getting in each case. The trip I had the problem with BA was $2200 per person RT in biz so the price was great even if meant making a connection each way.

Quite right. I’ve not used BA’s product, but United’s Economy Plus definitely lacks the benefits of Virgin’s Premium Economy (which is a true, separate class, having a dedicated (short!) check in line, amongst other amenities. However, Virgin’s product has become much more costly than United’s, and one is limited to connecting at LHR for European destinations vs sometimes finding direct flights with other airlines. That said, I much prefer Virgin Premium Economy when I intend to stay in London or travel within Great Britain. Unfortunately, my travel budget has limits and, for me, extra leg room on a long flight is the only essential requirement. Everything else is negotiable.

Which airlines offer the bigger seats and better food. We would love to get bigger seats and better food. We haven't flown Premium Economy for over three years, on Delta and Air Canada, and I know the only difference was the extra legroom. The seats were exactly the same size and the food choices were the same. Coming back from Amsterdam, we were in the last row of Premium Economy. The row behind us was regular economy and was completely empty. I moved back there, lifted up the arm rest and chilled. The seats width was the same in both classes.

You get extra leg room and you are closer to the exit. The food is the same as basic economy on Delta. Seats are the same as well.

This will be our first time using Choice Air through our TA. She was able to get us great rates ($200/pp) O'Hare to London on United. We chose to upgrade to Economy Plus for the leg room. In the past, we have flown on BA and paid for Premium Economy. In both instances, the TA was able to choose our seats.

This will be our first time using Choice Air through our TA. She was able to get us great rates ($200/pp) O'Hare to London on United. We chose to upgrade to Economy Plus for the leg room. In the past, we have flown on BA and paid for Premium Economy. In both instances, the TA was able to choose our seats.

That is amazing, we paid more in fuel and federal taxes for our one way trip to LHR!

A lot can depend on the airline. We booked with Choice Air for a trip from Newark to Amsterdam with the return from Barcelona to Newark. It said American Airlines but the outbound flight was a code share operated by BA. When I made the booking I was able to choose seats for all of the flights but when I went to the two airlines web sites...well American had the seats wrong but I was able to correct it and when I went to the BA site I found out they wanted another $125 per seat to get pre-assgined seats,even in biz class. I was not happy, I complained to Choice Air and they said "oh well"... now this was two years ago and I did book via their web site. If the situation comes up again that I need to use them I will certainly call to make the booking and ask questions about seats and baggage allowances so there are no more surprises. Since your tickets were for biz and it was an overnight flight to LHR with a short hop on the AMS I took the chance and waited to book my seats when we checked it and saved the $250. It meant not sitting together going over the Atlantic and we were together in the last row of biz for the 60 minutes from London to Amsterdam..

 

So, check the airlines rules. More and more are now charging for advanced seat assignments.

I like flying BA Seattle to London. Cost for business class at the time was about $5000 to $6000 per person. BA was running a special and I got business class for about $2500 per person. Yes I had to pay to get a signed seat. Just checked today for next month $10315 for business and $11315 for 1st round trip.

I will not book American Airlines because they charge different prices for window, middle and aisle seats. I was on a AA flight in my seat, someone asked me if I would move to the center seat. Really after I paid more money for the aisle seat. I did move but will never fly on them again.

We booked Biz/FC with Choice Air and were able to choose the seats with the airline within minutes of payment/receipt from Choice Air.

The fare was substantially lower than booking with the airline.

Thanks everyone for your input. I took your advice and called Choice Air and booked the flight we wanted over the phone. Was again told (twice) that the rates shown were for regular economy where we can choose our seats after booking and they don’t sell fares that do not include choosing your seat.

I booked flights and transfers over the phone and when I received our record locater, I went to the airline site and was able to assign seats for the flight.

On 10/8/2018 at 4:39 PM, grandgeezer said:

Which airlines offer the bigger seats and better food. We would love to get bigger seats and better food. We haven't flown Premium Economy for over three years, on Delta and Air Canada, and I know the only difference was the extra legroom. The seats were exactly the same size and the food choices were the same. Coming back from Amsterdam, we were in the last row of Premium Economy. The row behind us was regular economy and was completely empty. I moved back there, lifted up the arm rest and chilled. The seats width was the same in both classes.

The seats and food choices were the same, at least for Delta, because you did not actually fly premium economy.  Delta did not offer true premium economy 3 years ago.  What you probably flew was Delta comfort+, which is indeed the same exact seat and food as regular economy but with a little extra legroom.   Delta's true premium economy, which they call Premium Select, is wider seat and different food than regular economy.  You also get a foot rest, Tumi amenity kit, noise reducing headphones and a few other things.

You are correct. Premium Economy appears to be very similar to Business Class, Both in amenities and price.

Virgin has a good Premium Economy product and they are a Delta code share.  Wider seat with decent recline and a flip down footrest.  Food and drink step up from economy.

11 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

You are correct. Premium Economy appears to be very similar to Business Class, Both in amenities and price.

In many ways yes, although only biz class has actual lie flat seats and direct aisle access for every seat.