Often passengers leave their seat assignments up to chance, waiting until they get to the airport for check-in to find which seat they’ve been assigned. This method will only lead to disappointment – and a not-so-great seat.
Have your travel agent assign the seat of your choice at the time of booking. And while, for operational reasons, airlines can never guarantee a seat assignment, they typically do everything in their power to honour such requests.
Sometimes the most sought-after seats are available for a fee. Both Virgin Australia and Qantas offer exit-row seating for an additional payment.
The next most important thing to do is to check-in for your flight as far in advance as possible. Depending on the airline and the route, this can usually be done online 24 or 48 hours before departure. This is when your seat assignment should be verified and confirmed.
Finally, one of the best ways to ensure you get the seat that you want is to join the frequent-flyer program of your preferred airline. Top-tier frequent flyers are given first dibs on seats, but even if not in that elite category, airlines do look more favourably on members versus non-members.