You can now earn cashback on many online flight purchases with a variety of airlines. Any website which refers customers to an airline gets paid commission for doing so. One website has turned this around and passed the commission back to the customer, effectively giving you a sizeable chunk of cashback for every airline ticket purchase. This article will show you how to claim cashback for your next air ticked purchase.
Quidco, a UK based company sends visitors to airline websites and when the visitor makes a booking, Quidco receives a commission. This commission is then shared with the visitor. In effect, this means that if you visit Quidco then you can receive cashback every time you book a flight with certain airlines. Individual airlines and other booking sites such as Expedia, Opodo and Lastminute.com are represented here.
Quidco offer cashback for a wide range of companies but this article will focus on flights. Quidco is free to join and you receive 100% of the commission for all purchases. There is a £5 annual charge which is only applicable if you actually earn cashback. The fee is automatically deducted from your cashback balance. If you use the service one and never again then you won’t have to pay any recurring annual fees. Essentially, the first £5 you earn per year gets deducted from you as a fee for the service.
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It happens all too often, when you show up at the airport – all the good seats are taken. Frequent travellers learn certain strategies and tricks that enable them to receive the seats of their choice. Most of the time, this happens without showing up at the airport early.
This article will look at the strategies and techniques that allow you to book specific seats in advance of your flight. Many times, doing so will be completely free and it is the best way to The Best Seats on the Plane.
When booking
Many airlines now allow passengers to select a specific seat at the time of booking. Indeed, some airlines allow you to view the available seats before even purchasing a ticket. There are two scenarios here.
For budget airlines such as Air Asia, all seats are available for purchase at the time of booking. Extra legroom seats are more expensive and purchasing these seats in advance is usually the only way to get them.
Traditional carriers have a slightly different approach. Many allow you to select a seat at the time of booking. This is done by choosing your seat from an online seat map on the airline website. Sometimes certain areas being reserved for high ranking members of the airline’s frequent flyer program.
However even these individuals are not allowed to select exit row or bulkhead seats in advance. The next section will cover how to request these. Not that some traditional airlines have started charging for exit row seats. Some of these airlines do not charge for bulkhead seats though, and these can be requested in advance.
On aircraft with just a few paired seats at the back, selecting seats at the time of booking is almost always possible. Be quick though, as paired seats are often snapped up quickly by couples. When it comes to empty rows, It is very challenging to successfully pick one at this stage as you have no idea where other people are sitting.
Aisle seats and window seats are easy to pick at this stage. For solo travellers there is a good tip to ensure you have extra space here. Select an aisle seat where the window is already taken but the middle seat is empty. The middle seats are the last to fill up which means you have a higher chance of having an empty seat next to you. If you pick an aisle seat in an empty row then a couple of group may fill in the remaining seats, but solo passengers rarely pick middle seats.
Requesting seats in advance
Before check-in officially opens, most airlines go through a stack of requests and allocate certain seats for certain needs. A good example of this is parents travelling with very young children. These passengers often request bulkhead/bassinet seats. What most people don’t realise is that anyone can make use of this to request exit row seat and bulkhead seats.
If a Platinum status frequent flyer requests an exit row seat here, their request may be prioritised above yours. However, most people simply do not know about the possibility of requesting seats in advance. Some airlines always charge extra for exit row seats, but if there is no demand on a specific flight and you have put in the request then you stand a chance of getting the seat for free. I currently have a 100% success ration in obtaining an exit row aisle seat when I ask for it in this way.
To try this, simply call up the airline and ask to put in a “request” for an exit row seat. There are a few things to watch out for. Many inexperienced agents will not know about requests and instead will assume you are asking to be assigned an exit row seat there and then. Rightly so, they will advise you that is not possible to secure and exit row seat in advance. Be persistent, if necessary speak with a supervisor, and make sure they have a note in their computer system of your request.
Each passenger or group of passengers travelling together have something called a Passenger Name Record (PNR). This tracks all the details of your journey and other information about your booking. There is a field here called Special Service Requests (SSR) which is often used when allocating special meal requests. It is in here that the agent should make a note of any special seating requests. It is worth calling a few days later to verify that this has been done correctly. You may also be able to view your PNR online at http://www.checkmytrip.com depending on whether or not your airline is linked to their system.
If you cannot select seats in advance online, then you can always “request” paired seats if you are a couple travelling together. It is not necessary at this stage to request window or aisle seats but you can do so if you really want to.
Online Check in
Online Check In is a relatively new feature that allows passengers to select a seat before making their way to the airport. If you do not have check in baggage then this lets you head straight to the gate. Most passengers do have baggage and still have to queue at the “fast bag drop” line, which usually just as slow as regular desks. Still, selecting your seat in advance is highly advantageous.
Most airlines open their On Line check in between 24 and 48 hours in advance of the flight. Annoyingly, some airlines do it at unusual times such as 30 hours before a flight. This may often be in the middle of the night. Fortunately there is a solution for this too. http://www.checkmein.eu is a site that charges passengers €9 per flight or €15 return to check them in as soon as check in opens, even if you are asleep at the time. Their service works with most major airlines.
If have requested an exit row seat and it has been approved then the online check in tool will allow you to select the exit row seat you had requested. Make sure not to change your seat or else you risk losing it in the system. For the vast majority of flights, you cannot select an exit row seat during on line check in. Most other regular and paired seats are available.
There are a few tricks that you can employ to ensure you receive the best possible seat. Let’s assume that you have not requested an exit row seat and are trying to book a regular window seat with a spare seat next to you. Note that if you have purchased The Insider First and Business Class Airfare Guide and received the bonus report How to Check if your Flight is Busy then you can apply what you have learned to choosing your seat here.
The safest strategy is to select a window seat with an empty seat next to it but with the aisle seat occupied. Middle seats are the last to be allocated and you stand the greatest chance of having more space. If you have checked that your flight will be very quiet, then you can select an aisle seat towards the rear of the plane.
Aisle seats are more popular than window seats and the front is more popular than the back so you stand the greatest chance of having an empty row to yourself. I would not advise doing this unless you are sure the flight is fairly empty. Note also that some frequent flyers automatically have the next seat to them blocked so this can be used to your advantage if you are a frequent flyer.
If you have two passengers travelling together, another option is to book one aisle and one window seat. This gives you a high chance of having 3 seats between 2 people. Should someone come to occupy this middle seat, they will most likely be happy to change to the window or aisle.
Another great trick to note is that many on line check in facilities let you change your seat before (and sometimes after) confirming and printing your boarding pass. This is fantastic as you can check in when it opens then wait until on line check in is about to close before altering your chosen seat if necessary. Remember that you can still change your seat at the airport.
Summary
The key learning to take away from this article is that little planning and research can pay dividends. Those passengers sitting in the good seats are there because they took a little time in advance of the flight to try and secure them.
More often than not, you will have to physically call the airline to request the seat you wish. The early you do this the better, but given how few people realise they can do this you actually have a really good chance of having your request granted.
