Getting and improving seat assignments

Planes are more crowded and getting a good seat is becoming increasingly difficult.  It's important to know all of the tricks and tips of getting and improving seat assignments.

Web sites like SeatGuru offer great advice about which seats are good and bad.  However the real challenge can be obtaining a seat assignment if your reservation was made within a few weeks of your flight.  Most airlines stop issuing seat assignments when a flight is 65% to 75% booked.  At that point, you are at the mercy of the gate agent who issues random seat assignments based upon seats that were held in reserve and no-shows.

Most airlines sell tickets at least 11 months in advance but only allow specific seats to be claimed within 90 days of travel.  When you hit the 90 day window for each flight segment, go on-line or call your airline for seats and have SeatGuru available at that time.

Even if you have a seat assignment, there are a number of steps you should take.  The longer your flight, the harder you should work to get good seats.

Want to see the inside of any type of aircraft or airline?  Check Airliners.net.  The site has excellent photos that can be easily searched.

Call the airline as soon as you have a reservation	if you have a valid reason for them to make seating available such as handicapped or unaccompanied minors.
On the first of the month of your flight	airlines may change the type of aircraft and seats disappear or may be created.  Check on-line.
7, 5, 3 and 1 days prior to your flight	some "elite" flyers are moved to first class and coach seats become available.  Check on-line on each of these days.
24 hours prior to your flight	attempt to check-in via the airline's web site.  Do not complete the process if you can not get seats or are unhappy with your seat assignments and better seats are not available.  Keep checking on-line throughout the day to see if seats become available but do not complete the process unless you are satisfied with your seat assignments.
When you arrive at the airport	use the airline's ATM to attempt to check-in to see if seats are available or can be improved.
At the ticket counter	speak with a ticket counter agent to see if there are any passengers who have missed their connecting flights and who's seats are now available.  If unsuccessful, ask for boarding passes (without seat assignments) that will be required to get through security.
At the gate	speak with a gate agent to see if there are any no-shows or passengers who have missed their connecting flights and who's seats are now available.  This is a better option than just waiting for a randomly assigned seat once others have boarded and overhead space is full.  Dressing nicely and acting professionally can be helpful.  Be nice to gate agents, they never hear good news and have the power to help you a lot!!
Getting on board	for regional jets (2x2 or 1x2 seating), board last.  You can take any open seat or your assigned seat.  For all others, get on board ASAP to claim overhead space.
On board	see if the flight attendant can find other passengers to switch seats so that your family can sit together or just ask near-by passengers.
Take a "bump"	If you are flexible, tell the ticket counter and gate agent that you're willing to relinquish your seat for a later flight.  However, ask for a voucher worth money-off rather than a "free" ticket.  Free tickets are often restricted to flights where frequent flyer seats are available.  Check BumpTracker to see what airlines are offering.  Be sure that the gate agent "protects" you for the next flight.  You may also get a first class upgrade, meal voucher, hotel room, etc.  It never hurts to ask.