What does it mean when your flight is sold out and it says that seats will be assigned at the airport

Question

i am flying united airlines on a long transpacific flight and online it currently states that all the seats for the return flight are sold out (i already have been booked on the flight) and that the seats will be assigned upon checkin at the airport

does this mean that it is a first come first serve process for the best seats and when happens should i not be able to get a seat on the flight

thanks alot :)

Answer 1

yes. once you get to the gate you can check in and try to get a good seat. get there as soon as you can.

Answer 2

That they overbooked the flight and will be asking people to accept a travel voucher in exchange for taking a later flight.

Answer 3

airlines do not pre-assign all seats, but leave some open for the airport check-in to assign.  I presume you booked fairly close to flight time, so all the pre-assignable seats are gone.  If you can't get a seat on that flight, you will get denied boarding compensation of some sort, and rebooked on other flight(s)

Answer 4

This is common practice with all airlines nowadays...  They overbook to ensure they fill seats.  I'd get there early...  Or call to find out what the booking procedure will be like that day...

Answer 5

You have been booked on A flight, not necessarily on the flight you want to travel on.

They try to accommodate as many people as possible with regard to seat preference; they re-arrange the passenger list so that passengers who travel alone, are often assigned a seat last, or even bumped, rather than bumping a family which travels together.

To get the best seat, call your airline, and get a written confirmation for the flight you want to go on. At that time, try to arrange your seat preference. Some airlines do this 2 days ahead of departure time.

With others, it can only be done at time of check-in.