Traveler unable to select an upgraded seat even with Gold status

[jholland]

I have a traveler that is attempting to book a flight. When selecting a seat (that is AA Gold level worthy for upgrade) she is being told "The option to select seats for a fee is a feature that is coming soon".  How do we go about booking and upgrading her seat using Concur?

[KevinD]

@jholland I don't want to misspeak, so I would suggest calling your company's travel agency to have them book the reservation as they could possibly be able to select the proper seat for the traveler. They also might be able to tell you how to go about this going forward.

[jholland]

She claims that for another traveler that is american airlines platinum it works fine for.

[KevinD]

@jholland hmmm...maybe because Platinum>Gold? 🙂

[TriciaW]

@jholland Thank you for your post.  Here is some  FAQ information we have available.  There is a new Concur Travel user experience which will provide a better experience for upgraded seating.  It is up to your company and TMC when to enable it.  Below is some information on Legacy Concur Travel which Parker University is using.

1. Travelers will not be granted preferred seats because of status through Concur Travel. 

• The seat map is governed by the reservation systems (GDSs) and suppliers. The seat map may or may not appear in Concur Travel and, if it appears, it is only on specific pages within the Travel Wizard.
• The validation process for preferred status in the Frequent Flyer/Mileage Plus Program does not occur until a flight has been reserved (purchased) on Review and Reserve Flight page in Concur Travel.
• Once the user advances to the Travel Details page, clicking the Change Seat link will display the seat map and will show the additional preferred status seating options that users can select

2. If charges are added for a seat, when would those come through? (i.e. at time of booking? at time of ticketing?) since these are not from Concur Travel, only the airline, correct? 

• If selecting a seat incurs a fee, a message similar to the one below will be displayed to the user in Concur Travel:

          "Seat selection may incur a fee. See exact pricing per individual seat below." 

• Concur Travel does not support paid seating for GDS bookings 
• If a paid seat is requested by the traveler after ticketing, the record is not sent to an agency queue to notify the Travel Management Company (TMC) that they need to take action
• For Travelfusion and Direct connect bookings, the users might be able to pay for the seat via Concur Travel. Only if the added fee appears on the Review and Reserve flight page and is included as part of the total amount to pay

3. If they choose a preferred seat, and their status allows them the seat without fee, how would the traveler know? 

• Concur Travel will only permit users with elevated frequent traveler status who have access to book preferred seats without paying an additional fee. If the users had to pay an additional fee, they would not be able to select that seat in Concur Travel. Travelers will need to contact their TMC for assistance
• If a user is assigned to a premium seat but does not qualify for a premium seat, the seat will be cancelled and the reservations (PNR) will be created without the seat assignment. The user will see a message on the itinerary: "We were unable to confirm a seat assignment. Click on the "Selected Seat" to view the seat map and manually select your seat"

4. In my tests I never see exact prices for seats, am I missing something? 

• When you pull up a seat map there is a legend at the bottom of the pop-up. The legend provides images for available, occupied, preferred, and paid preferred seats
• If you choose a paid preferred seat, Concur Travel will add dialog and advise of a potential extra charge and directs you to contact the airline, their website, or your Travel Management Company for payment. There is a Quick Help feature. This shows:
  'This seat requires an additional fee. Elite frequent flyer status may provide complimentary preferential seats in some cases. To avoid arriving at the airport without a confirmed seat, travelers without elite status can ensure a preferential paid seat has been reserved by purchasing it on the airline's website or through your travel agency.' 
• Some customers have a preferred frequent flyer status that will allow confirmation of these paid preferred seats at no additional charge. That said, If you do not have preferred status, you must pay for these seats shortly after booking them or the airline will cancel them. Also, Airlines will only accept payment for these types of seats after the ticket is purchased.

Remember to tag me if you respond or feel free to mark this post as Solved if you don't have further questions or comments. To tag me on your response, you click the Reply button, first thing to type is @. This should bring up the username of the person you are replying to.