If you have an Air Canada flight booked, you should immediately take action in case they fix the bug! You can currently select your seat for free. It allows you to save money or, for budget travelers who don’t pay for this, to get your seat preference for free and/or to be 100% sure to be seated with your (adult) companions.
Let me remind you that you never need to pay for an Air Canada seat if you want to save money. There are so many people who told us they thought it was mandatory when the booking process reached the seat selection step!!! You can always simply not choose one (with all airlines)!
And by being a savvy traveler who checks in online precisely 24 hours before your flight, you’re going to be seated with your travel companions at least 99% of the time (lower with ULCCs). And it’s worth also repeating that if you have young children, in Canada, airlines are legally required to seat you together for free!
Here are the details of this tip that could stop working at any time.
Tip for free seat selection
In our 4 Air Canada updates, we told you that seat selection fees are currently waived for all fare classes (as is the flight change fee). It’s a special goodwill policy following the Air Canada strike (strike that won’t restart, even if it was announced yesterday that 99.1% of flight attendants voting against the tentative deal).
It was supposed to be only for flights booked between August 27 and September 12, according to Air Canada’s official policy.
But I tried it myself: for the seat selection, it also works for flights booked before. For now, at least! And on a computer (I didn’t think to try the app too). So don’t wait!
Here are the basics of this tip:
- Free seat selection
- No matter the flight date
- No matter the booking date
- But it could change
- Do it right away
- Detailed instructions below
September 12 is the last day you can do the seat selection. There’s no reason to wait if you already have your flight.
Seat selection is always governed by the airline operating the flight (not the one selling it). So to be eligible for free seat selection, the flight must obviously be operated by one of these airlines:
- Air Canada
- Air Canada Express
- Air Canada Rouge
This policy is also supposed to be only for flights sold by Air Canada.
But considering that all booking dates work, it wouldn’t be surprising if it works for all tickets, even if they were (unfortunately) booked on a third-party site. I would certainly try it if you had done that (and I would read more below, too)!!!
It’s very important for travelers to understand that it often happens that there are rules in theory (what’s written) and rules in practice (which are very different). Like the rules for getting multiple Aeroplan welcome bonuses!
By the way, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card happens to have a new excellent increased offer for the 1st time in several months since Thursday (57,000 points by unlocking the bonus)!
Perfect for going to Europe in a luxurious lie-flat pod seat… the guaranteed fixed price is only 60,000 points, like I did in May (it’s worth 3000 CAD+)! I also paid just 60,000 points for my 10-hour flight in August, and I explained in detail how it works!
We’re going to help you find seats with our new section of lucrative points deals very soon. The card also gives you free checked bags for you and 8 companions for all Air Canada flights (no matter how/when/where you booked).
In short, as mentioned, I myself had an Air Canada flight booked before the 27th. I had even forgotten I had booked it… that’s a first. I really have “too much” travel this fall! Unluckily, I booked on the 26th in the evening, just before the policy started.
But I was indeed able to choose a seat for free (and I bought Basic Economy, so it really works for all fare classes). I chose a seat for free just in case, even though I always get extra legroom seats for free thanks to my Aeroplan elite status. Because I can just take advantage of this benefit at check-in time (there are always some left, fortunately).
Several readers told us it also worked for their flights booked before the official start of the policy.
So go do it right away.
How to choose your seat for free
I’m even sharing the detailed step-by-step process with screenshots. It’s something extremely simple that any traveler should know how to do.
Here’s exactly how to choose your seat for free:
- Go manage your booking on the Air Canada website (or app)
- Our guide has ALL the details
- Click on “Change seats”
- Easy enough to deduce, like almost always
- There aren’t 1000 choices; you just have to read and deduce
- The price will exceptionally be $0
- For standard seats, obviously
- Not preferred seats (extra legroom)
- Choose a seat
- Choose well with our pro tip
- Click “Continue” to confirm
- There and on the other page
Knowing how to manage your flight reservations is really one of the most basic things for all travelers!!!
You should read our guide, which also explains where to find your booking number if you booked elsewhere.
(If you made the very basic mistake of booking your flight on a third-party site, hopefully you won’t do it again. Or maybe you’re one of the rare ones who found a flight truly cheaper on a third-party site or who knows the trick to take advantage of arbitrage with partner airlines; article about that coming soon!)
Once on the booking management page, you click on the option that has an airplane seat icon.
As you can see, the price is $0 (complimentary) for all standard seats.
You therefore choose your desired seat. Choose wisely if you want to increase your chances of having an empty seat next to you, with our pro tip.
If you’re traveling solo, you choose a window or aisle seat in a row where the other end is already selected, as far back in the plane as possible.
If you have a travel companion, you choose the aisle and window in the same row, still at the back. If someone ends up in the middle, you simply swap places, and it doesn’t change anything in anyone’s life.
(No, by doing this, there aren’t fewer “together” options for others than if you choose the aisle and middle like hundreds of thousands of travelers do every day!!!)
Finally, you click the “Continue” button at the bottom of the page and on the next page to confirm your choice.
And it’s done. You’ve gotten the free seat selection.
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Summary
Air Canada’s goodwill policy, which offers free seat selection for flights booked between August 27 and September 12, seems to apply regardless of the flight booking date after all. So go check it out quickly, in case they fix it rapidly.
What would you like to know about seat selection with Air Canada? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: Airplane interior (photo credit: Air Canada)
