[Japan Airlines] MEL-Tokyo - Booking for Apr-May 2024 Travel, a Seat Selection Question

KaraZorEl on 08/09/2023 - 15:41
Last edited 08/09/2023 - 15:50

Hello all,

We (2 adults + 1 child) are planning a Spring 2024 trip to Japan. We've narrowed it down to shoulder periods of either early-mid March or early-mid April for a 15 day trip. Our preference is a non-stop Melbourne to Tokyo flight, which leaves us with JAL or Qantas to choose from. We lean towards JAL due to better pricing and quality.

The issue: When booking the tickets directly with JAL, 95% of seats on the Mel-Tokyo flights are marked as "Not Available," making it hard to find three seats together or even two, that are not the middle 2 in a 4-seat configuration. Interestingly, there are plenty of seats available for the return flight. Considering it's a 10+ hours long flight with a child, not being able to book seats together is almost becoming a deal-breaker for us.

So, here's my question: Is it possible to purchase the tickets without selecting seats at this moment and then later call customer care to request seats together? I've noticed that many Ozbargain members have experience traveling with family and kids to Japan, so I'm curious if anyone has encountered a similar issue.

A few additional details:
- Seat selection is included in the ticket price, except for extra-legroom seats where you can pay a premium.
- I find it unlikely that the tickets are completely booked out, as the fares for the dates we've chosen still seem to be the lowest in the period according to Google Flights.
- I did call the customer care, but unfortunately, I was left on hold for an extended period with no response.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I would greatly appreciate any tips or insights that someone might be willing to share!

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Comments

  • Mechz on 08/09/2023 - 16:52

    Do they not have online chat?

    I would think if there aren't 3 seats together you can either book another flight or one of you sits with the kid and the other elsewhere.

  • SpicyPeanut on 08/09/2023 - 18:50
    +1

    I asked my friend who works in travel this question and he said JAL considers itself a premium airline and if you have a look at seat mapping, 2/3 of the plane is for 1st, business and premium economy so there are only limited economy seats. People also tend to go during peak seasons when you are looking but some stay few days, other few weeks so more seats to choose from on the flight back

  • MELso on 09/09/2023 - 00:22
    +1

    Do you have status with Qantas? JAL restricts the front half of economy to people buying flex tickets and those with Oneworld status. If you choose Flex (without booking, natch), you can see what the seat map’s really like.

    • KaraZorEl on 11/09/2023 - 10:00

      Good point, I was looking using Promo and the one next up from promo. Same seating options, no difference. Will try Flex. And, no we don't fly Qantas so have no status there.

  • KaraZorEl on 11/09/2023 - 19:58

    Thank you for the replies.

    As some of you suggested, I tried with Economy semi-flex ($50 per person more) and Economy Flex ($4000 per person more) options. The semi-flex showed same available seating, which was all towards the tail-half of the flight. Flex showed 90% available seats in the front-half of the economy section. So yes, that confirms that certain sections are blocked for different fare types.

    I ended up changing my dates to leaving on a Wednesday and returning on Friday. Previously it was leaving on Saturday returning Sunday. It helped secure 3 seats together on both legs.

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