Thomson - 'select your seat'!!!!

originator

jeeezuz H....... does it really !!!!!!! matter what seats you have on a 4 hour flight????? We are off to Cyprus on Wednesday and I couldn't give a tinkers toss where I or my mate sit on the plane,it's just a means of getting from A to B

photome

originator wrote: »

jeeezuz H....... does it really !!!!!!! matter what seats you have on a 4 hour flight????? We are off to Cyprus on Wednesday and I couldn't give a tinkers toss where I or my mate sit on the plane,it's just a means of getting from A to B

To be honest it wouldnt bother me/us either but it obviously matters to the OP which is why they have posted. If you had paid as the Op has, to be able to select seats you would expect to be able to do just that, wouldnt you?

SevenOfNine

originator wrote: »

jeeezuz H....... does it really !!!!!!! matter what seats you have on a 4 hour flight????? We are off to Cyprus on Wednesday and I couldn't give a tinkers toss where I or my mate sit on the plane,it's just a means of getting from A to B

If you don't give a "tinkers toss" & haven't chosen to pay for the "select your seat" option, I'm surprised the title of this thread stimulated your interest enough to bother to read it, let alone comment.

You should have tried jogging...........and jogged right on past to read about something more interesting to you
:beer:

Pearls_of_Wisdom_2

I booked a Thomson Flight to Skiathos and paid the extra £38 to pre-book seats. I did this for a very good reason - my husband suffered a stroke some 20 years ago and was left with a weakness of his right side.

In short this means he has limited use of his right leg and very little use in his right arm. I assumed ( it seems incorrectly) that I would be able to choose the seats most suitable for us from those available! An aisle seat which allows my husband to lever himself out of his seat using his strong left leg and left arm was our preference, with my seat next to his (centre) to assist him with the fiddly airline food, wrappings and containers.

There were plenty of unoccupied rows to choose from but my choice was refused as it left a window seat. I called Thomson and explained the situation - after 17 mins of holding on whilst the operator spoke to a supervisor, I was advised to call customer welfare. Another lengthy wait (at 5p a min plus) and Daryl told me they couldn't change their policy and advised I booked a seat across the aisle.

E:mad:mbarrassment aside -have you every tried helping someone to unwrap those fiddly crackers from across the aisle with a trolley between you? I asked to speak to a manager but the request was refused by Daryl ( I don't have to give you my surname) and I was told - it wouldn't make any difference, the manager has to abide by the same policy. Well it is a ridiculous policy - If you pay a premium to select a seat then you shouldn't be dictated to on which seat you can choose - otherwise it simply isn't selection it is allocation. Thomson is a faceless company spending too much on advertising and promotion and not enough time listening to its customers!

mandragora_2

I found exactly the same issue after paying £100 to select seats on a Thompson flight - we didn't want the window seat, it was the aisle seat and the middle seat we were after. It was a case of 'Computer says 'No' ,' but it was resolved when I rang Thompsons C/S and spoke directly to them, politely but firmly pointing out the very points you've made. I haven't paid £100 extra to guarantee to be more cramped than I might be if I'd left it to chance - and as I asked for either a refund (on the grounds that I felt the expectation/ description was ambiguous) they offered us the arrangement of seat we were after, ie one aisle and on middle seat. I've never bothered with pre-booking seats since this, as it was such a hassle, and added such a significant extra cost to the flight, but if it matters to you, I'd recommend giving c/s a call - be polite but clear in your points, and you may find someone who will help you resolve it.

Ian1covkid

Just to add another minor issue on this point.
We were allocated 2 seats across an aisle automatically and wanted to sit at a window seat as I enjoy looking out the window and my partner does not like being disturbed by being knocked in the aisle seats. Hence we decided to pay extra to book a window seat and a middle seat. Unfortunately the window seat was next to a blank wall where there was not a window. I could have booked the seat behind if I had known this when selecting my seat.
Thomson said initially:-

"I can see you’ve had difficulty changing your seat as when you selected your seat it wasn’t a window seat. However though my investigation I can see you haven’t paid for a window seat you have paid for select your seat option. Whilst I appreciate your strengths and feeling I’m unable to refund back your seat as you haven’t paid for the window seat option."

Then when I said I wasn't happy with the reply:-

"The select your seat option doesn’t guarantee having a window, it allows you to choose to sit together. None of our promotional material or terms and conditions promise that by choosing this option you will be guaranteed a window."

Won't be wasting my money with Thomson again.
:(:(:(

callum9999

Pearls_of_Wisdom wrote: »

E:mad:mbarrassment aside -have you every tried helping someone to unwrap those fiddly crackers from across the aisle with a trolley between you? I asked to speak to a manager but the request was refused by Daryl ( I don't have to give you my surname) and I was told - it wouldn't make any difference, the manager has to abide by the same policy. Well it is a ridiculous policy - If you pay a premium to select a seat then you shouldn't be dictated to on which seat you can choose - otherwise it simply isn't selection it is allocation. Thomson is a faceless company spending too much on advertising and promotion and not enough time listening to its customers!

While you're certainly justified in being upset about this, it doesn't strike me as a remotely difficult scenario. Wait for the trolley to move, reach across and take the crackers, open them, put them back.

If it's that embarrassing to you/him, shout "I'm just going to nick one of your crackers" so all the completely uninterested people around you can hear, but don't actually take one.

An utterly ridiculous policy none-the-less.

wrinkletoes

I feel this whole exercise is more about generating money than passenger choice. Against my better judgement I felt that my arm was twisted into selecting my seat, this was based on having seen the cabin plan where there seemed to very few seating options left. I feel £38 is a total rip-off though. I selected my seat at a local Thomson shop, and after some discussion whereby I was informed that the following day I would be automatically allocated my seat I decided to go ahead. The lady giving me this information said she was in a similar situation but was waiting to see what she was allocated. She informed me that you could still pay to change if you didn't like what was allocated. She said they would just kick someone out of their allocated seat if you wished to pay and change. Charming!
I usually turn up at the airport, check-in and choose two aisle seats, never had a problem. I also wasn't told that you couldn't purchase a middle and aisle seat leaving the window free. I now believe that is not allowed. Why?
Since booking I've been bombarded with emails for all sorts of things. If I want something I'll ask. I'm begining to wonder why I've dealt with Thomson.
Feeling ripped-off at the moment.

lynngrantmc

I wished I had seen this before. We normally do pre book our seats but fly as a family so never seen an issue. This year we are travelling as a couple and my husband is a large bloke (overweight) with dodgy knees so always sit on the aisle and I sit in the middle seat next to him, we wanted to do the same this year especially to save his embarrassment of encroaching on other peoples space, but obviously the computer and Thomson say NO! Utter rip off

PolishBigSpender

I entirely fail to see what the problem is here, particularly with children. If they can't behave themselves on the plane without a parent next to them at all times, then they shouldn't be on the plane - it's that simple. Anyway, you can always ask other people to move place to accommodate the children - although I wouldn't move personally.

As for selecting seats, anyone with two seconds can log onto SeatGuru and pull up seating plans at a glance.

The policy is quite sensible, as it stops people from trying to 'game' the system by booking an aisle and a window seat, knowing that the system will try and keep people together if it can - meaning that they've got a chance of a free middle seat.

If it wasn't for people trying to "beat the system" and exploit "loopholes", then this situation wouldn't exist.