
Why Are Flight Seats Unavailable When Check-In Just Opened? - wslh
http://www.traveller.com.au/travel-questions-why-are-so-many-flight-seats-unavailable-for-online-checkin-gjk4wx
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wahern
Airlines also often hide seat availability on booking sites (including their
own) for various reasons. expertflyer.com's paid account permits you to see
actual seat availability. Especially when booking international flights for
the family, I'll cross-check seat availability on expertflyer.com. If they
show better seats available than the booking site, I'll book the flight and
then immediately call the airline's customer service to request a change in
seat assignment. It's never failed, but even if it fails you often have 24
hours to cancel a reservation free of charge.[1]

[1] Required under U.S. law as long as you book at least 7 days in advance.
[https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Noti...](https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Notice_24hour_hold_final20130530_0.pdf)

