Selecting seats strategically when expecting a gate upgrade is important when traveling with a companion. As a frequent flyer of Air Canada, I am allowed to upgrade up to two additional companions on the same reservation as me. I also get preferred seat selection for myself and all my companions when traveling on the same reservation. Although I am writing this in context of Air Canada, the same strategy will apply to any airline where you are expecting a gate upgrade.
Travel Tips are my series of articles that are curated based on personal experiences, either as a travel advisor, or during personal travels. Below, are other travel tips I have written:
- Travel Tip: Selecting Seats in a Group when Expecting Gate Upgrades
- Travel Tip: Free Checked Baggage on (Ultra) Basic Economy in Canada
- Travel Tip: Always Map the Hotel on Google
- Travel Tip: Taking Advantage of Marriott Dynamic Award Pricing
What is a gate upgrade?
I define a gate upgrade where the upgrade is processed after check-in has closed, and the airline is issuing upgrades to all empty seats in an upgraded cabin. The upgraded cabin can either be Business or Premium Economy. Within the context of Air Canada, the following are processed once check-in closes:
- Upgrade requests using E-Upgrade credits,
- All passengers who do not have a seat allocation,
- All remaining standby passengers.
All remaining E-Upgrade requests are processed 60 minutes prior to flight departure.
Selectin seats when traveling alone
When traveling alone, this is my order of priority:
- Emergency exit window seat for all red-eye flights, or,
- Emergency exit aisle seats for all day flights,
- Bulkhead aisle seat,
- Regular aisle seat.
Selecting Seats Strategically When Expecting a Gate Upgrade
When traveling with a companion, this is my default seat selecting strategy for two people is:
- Window and aisle emergency exit seat with empty middle seat, or,
- Two aisle emergency exist seats within the same row, or,
- Two aisle seats in the same row.
Finally, when traveling with three people, I prefer to be all seated together.
When assigning seats, I typically do not pay attention which passenger is in what seat. However, recently, I realized, when requesting an upgrade for three passengers on the same flight, it is very likely that only one or two of us get upgraded. That would mean one of us, which would be me, will be seated in Economy Class. So, I had to be very strategic when selecting my seats.
Rather than give myself the best seat, I actually gave myself the middle seat. That way, if I was the only person who got upgraded, it would be the person seated in the middle seat.
I then consider the second person on the upgrade list. In my experience, the second person is the second person on the reservation (assuming I was the first). I assign that seat the second option, which is an emergency exit window or aisle seat, depending on whether this is a red-eye or a day flight.
That way, if only two of us get upgraded, then I have my preferred seat option.
Of course, if all three of us got upgraded, that would be the icing on the cake.
Conclusion
As I finalize the plan of my mom’s birthday trip to Cancun, selecting seats strategically when expecting a gate upgrade is very important. I get the worst seat, since I will be upgraded first, and ultimately my mother would be seated in Business Class. My father gets the second best seat. He will be upgraded second. My mother gets the best seat, since she will be upgraded last, as she is the last person on the reservation.
