Why doesnt SQ allow seat selection for tickets booked by travel agent?

[acey]

Hi everyone
Not exactly related to this thread, but did not want to start a new one.

Anybody know the rationale behind not being able to select seats for tickets booked thru travel agent ? (as compared to online booking).

There were occassions when I do online check-in right on the dot at the 48th hour before flight departure and all the good seats have been taken up !! Very frustrating for Y class travellers !

cheers
Acey

[simong]

Hi everyone
Not exactly related to this thread, but did not want to start a new one.

Anybody know the rationale behind not being able to select seats for tickets booked thru travel agent ? (as compared to online booking).

There were occassions when I do online check-in right on the dot at the 48th hour before flight departure and all the good seats have been taken up !! Very frustrating for Y class travellers !

cheers
Acey

One would assume it's to encourage people to book online, makes more money for SQ.

I think that most of the best seats are not available for preselection anyway. I say think because for various reasons none of my trips have I been able to book online.

I like the system how it is, I have always got my desired seats assigned to me at OLCI.

[KeithMEL]

Not exactly related to this thread, but did not want to start a new one.

For the purpose of housekeeping, please do not hesitate to start a new thread in future.
Unless of course an existing thread addresses an identical or similar issue.

Cheers.

[jjpb3]

acey:

I think your question does deserve its own thread, so I've gone ahead and moved it, so that others can spot it more easily and chime in with their thoughts.

[acey]

Does SQ make more money when people book online ?
I thought travel agent just add a "service fee" to the price that SQ quote to the public (at least that is how it works in Singapore).

One would assume it's to encourage people to book online, makes more money for SQ.

[KeithMEL]

Does SQ make more money when people book online ?
I thought travel agent just add a "service fee" to the price that SQ quote to the public (at least that is how it works in Singapore).

Travel agents do get commissions, even from Y bookings. Some invoice you a service fee on top of it. Others are less transparent and hide the service fee in the taxes/surcharges.

[upright man]

Hi everyone
Not exactly related to this thread, but did not want to start a new one.

Anybody know the rationale behind not being able to select seats for tickets booked thru travel agent ? (as compared to online booking).

There were occassions when I do online check-in right on the dot at the 48th hour before flight departure and all the good seats have been taken up !! Very frustrating for Y class travellers !

cheers
Acey

Hi Acey,

yes i encountered the same problem recently....

did a phone redemption of 2 tickets (seats not selectable)

then bought 2 more tickets on line (seats selectable)

so now 2 members of my family have seats selected and 2 dont,

just gotta wait till 48 hrs before flight for OLCI i guess....

[KeithMEL]

Call reservations and get them to link the PNRs. This will ensure that you'd be seated together.

[upright man]

Call reservations and get them to link the PNRs. This will ensure that you'd be seated together.

Hi Keith,

Ok I will do that;

that means they may block the 2 seats next to the 2 I have already

selected ?

I am such a noob at these things !

thanks.

[KeithMEL]

that means they may block the 2 seats next to the 2 I have already selected ?

Not sure if they'd block - it might be a feature of being QPP?
Usually they'd link the PNRs and when the flight goes to airport control, your desire to be seated together will be noted. Maybe even get the res agent to put a note into the PNR just in case.

[SuperFlyBoy]

Not sure if they'd block - it might be a feature of being QPP?

On the subject of blocking seats...

I was able to select a "blocked" (x'd-out seat when selecting seats online in J (SQ site), assuming this is a PPS perk...

However, when reviewing the same seatmap online and on ExpertFlyer, no seat-blocking (for PPS) is in effect...not that it matters too much for me!

[Guy Betsy]

Travel agents do get commissions, even from Y bookings. Some invoice you a service fee on top of it. Others are less transparent and hide the service fee in the taxes/surcharges.

That is absolutely not true...

TAs these days are squeezed and strained through sieves.. and no commissions are given out anymore... at least not in North America and Asia especially in Singapore by SQ.

SQ commands what fares to be sold as what - and they in turn demand that the agents do not undersell the suggested service fee when selling SQ flights.

'Others' do not hide the service fee. If there is a service fee, then the agent must advise that there is a service fee. You can't 'add' it on the ticket!

There might be some unscrupulous travel agents out there.. but the good ones are a dying breed! But in all fairness, TAs won't go away... cos there are some things that simply cannot be booked on line.

[KeithMEL]

'Others' do not hide the service fee. If there is a service fee, then the agent must advise that there is a service fee. You can't 'add' it on the ticket!

There are TAs in Australia who resort to such practises. They tag the service fee on to the taxes/surcharges and do not provide a breakdown of what the actual taxes/surcharges are. It's pretty easy to spot this when you add up the YQ and other taxes vs what you were actually invoiced but a lot of people don't realise it. There's a big chain TA which gives you an AUD50 discount if you book a QF/BA ticket as they get a huge commission from QF/BA. And they do push the QF/BA fares hard even though these fares may not be the cheapest. OTOH you won't be given a discount if you book on other airlines and neither will you be told that theres a service fee.

Poor choice of words there on my part - wasn't trying to say that TAs are evil.

Last I heard TAs in Australia still get commissions except for domestic tickets. I didn't realise the situation is different in Asia and NA. My TA charges an AUD33 service fee per ticket but none for premium bookings as he apparently gets a much bigger commission from the latter. And yes there's a benefit to using a TA if you have one that knows his stuff - mine was able to clear a WL for M on SQ in less than 2 hours for a flight which was mostly zeroed out in economy. And I especially like the ability to hold seats on busy flights without upfront payment until I'm ready to pay.

[flyguy]

do u know that nowadays, if one call direct to SIA Reservations to book a flight, there is a S$20 additional charge to it as for ticketed tickets; instead of online booking.

[KeithMEL]

do u know that nowadays, if one call direct to SIA Reservations to book a flight, there is a S$20 additional charge to it as for ticketed tickets; instead of online booking.

That's a rather common industry practice. It's to encourage people to book online.