Travel question: Will I be guaranteed a seat on TUI flight if I check in at airport?

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Tour operators should be able to quickly solve overbooking problems (Reuters)

Q We have booked a TUI holiday in Ibiza through a travel agent. We didn’t pay extra to reserve seats as we don’t mind where we sit, and are happy to be seated separately during the flight. We were told we could check in a week ahead. When I tried to do this online, a message said I had to go to the store. So I did that, and they also told me they were unable to do this and we would have to wait until the day of travel and check in at the airport.

I asked why, and was told it was due to a random security check by the airport on that flight. I got no further, other than to be told not to worry and there would be a seat. My question is: should I be concerned about seats being available when we arrive at the airport, and is there anything else we could do about it?

Norma K

A Thank you for another reminder of the travel industry’s infinite capacity for talking complete tosh. First, to put your mind at rest, TUI Airways does not overbook. Its flights – including yours – are mainly operated for package-holiday passengers, and there is a very low “no-show” rate. It would quickly get very messy if more tickets were sold than there were seats available. And even in the extremely unlikely case that the plane has to be “downsized” (eg for technical reasons), you can rely on the tour operator to come up with a suitable solution.

Next, I am amazed that you were told there would be a random security check by the airport. I am not aware of any such practice, but even if I am wrong and there is a check, I cannot conceive of circumstances in which that would stop you being allocated a seat.

What I imagine is happening is this. Airlines like to sell allocated seats in advance, but there is always a proportion of passengers (including me) who decline to pay and are happy to be allocated whatever is left. It strikes me as reasonable for the airline to wait until the last possible moment – ie at the airport – before making the final seat allocations. Indeed, the carrier could rationally wait until the departure gate.

Keeping seats in reserve gives the airline’s staff leeway to cope with issues that arise, such as sorting out emergency exit seats reserved by people who regrettably are not allowed to occupy them, or families who need to sit together but have not paid for seats upfront.

I am writing this from a very comfortable seat, 22C, on an easyJet flight from Glasgow to Gatwick. On budget airlines, I like to check in at a late stage, and usually get a decent seat – though on easyJet this also carries some risk of being selected for an involuntary offload in the event of overbooking. And if you find yourself on a package holiday where easyJet is used for the flight, being denied boarding is not a zero risk – as a Chester family found this week, when their three-year-old was selected for possible offloading. In the end, they all travelled happily together.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder