What Do Empty Seats On The Seatmap Mean?
This is a very common question, so I thought I’d answer it in this video.
How Seatmaps Work
The seatmap shows the seats that are assigned and unassigned. If a seat shows unassigned, it doesn’t mean it will be or is empty.
Reasons
Many airlines assign Basic Economy seats at the airport.
Also, many customers don’t pick a seat when they buy a ticket as they don’t want to pay for it, so they wait until they check-in and is assigned one at random for no charge as they have to get a seat on the flight.
In addition, people will only check-in at the airport as they have a bag to check and don’t know they can still check-in online and then drop their bag at the airport.
If you want to lessen the chances of getting the seat next to you empty, then choose one in the elite seat part of the cabin. If Elite, it’s usually complimentary, otherwise you’ll have to pay more than you would for a regular seat. Or you can purchase a ticket that allows you to sit in the elite area without paying extra for the seat assignment.
In any case, all the flights are usually full these days, so you chance of having the seat next to you regardless of which part of the plane you’re sitting is extremely slim.
Good luck out there.