Honeymoon: Flying

I always do seat selection when we travel... no telling if you’ll be able to sit together.

You should be able to either pick your seat for free or pay extra for seat selection. It just depends on the airline. Unless youre flying Southwest, they dont let you pick seats ahead of time. But if you go into the flight with a seat selected, they shouldnt be changed once youre on the flight

I wouldn't count on finding two seats together in the situation you describe, at all. Pick a different flight and pay for seat selection; that's the only way to be sure.

What airline are you looking at? If you book the seats on the same ticket - same transaction, that is - you will likely be seated together. Seat assignments aren't usually done until like the day before.

I would look into flights that let you choose your seats - currently Delta and Southwest are the only airlines that are enforcing social distancing and putting 2 passengers/row. Delta lets you pick your specific seat, but Southwest (and many other airlines) board by "zones" so it is likely you will sit next to eachother, but not guaranteed. You can always ask someone to switch seats, but with Covid, I wouldn't really want to ask that of someone.

The number of seats left at current price is a pricing/marketing technique, so that has relatively no bearing. That said, it is a definite possibility you won’t sit together.
The process depends on the airline, you should look up the specific policies for seating depending on which one you are flying. Many of the airlines that have unassigned seating have a $20+ option to pay for a guaranteed seat or boarding position, which honestly you should just do to take away the stress that you may not sit together. (There is a filter on google flights to just see tickets with guaranteed seating- try searching that way too!)

View Quoted Comment The two I’m looking at are American Airlines and Allegiant

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So a couple things: American is a major airline, Allegiant is a budget airline (like Frontier and Spirit). I have never flown a budget airline but from what I've heard, they are very strict on things like carry-on size and weight requirements, etc. Something to keep in mind about Allegiant specifically (again, what I've heard) is that if they don't have enough people on the flight, they sometimes cancel the flight and bump you to the next one. This isn't a big deal if there are multiple flights to your destination, but the flight I was looking at was scheduled 2x/week. Not a great thing to get bumped on.

American is a major carrier so they don't have those types of issues. I have annoyances with them (I prefer Delta), but they are decent.

PP are saying to pay extra for seat selection...you can if you want, but I wouldn't spend the $. Every time I've booked two passengers on the same ticket, we've been assigned adjoining seats. On the off chance you get seated apart, I wouldn't worry about asking someone to switch, both because with Covid they'd be more inclined to seat shared travelers together and because irrespective of Covid, if you tell someone you're on your honeymoon there's no one who wouldn't switch with you. I think you're overthinking; you'll be fine.

Bonus tip: consider getting an airline credit card (watch for special offers, depending on how much time you have). I got a Delta card with 70,000 bonus miles, which would have covered our wedding, honeymoon, and bach trips before covid and the price increases. Fingers crossed they'll go down before I rebook.

View Quoted Comment I flew on Allegiant last month and it was terrible. Maybe during non-pandemic times it wouldn’t be a problem. But, they packed that flight so full there was NO way to social distance and I didn’t feel like the plane was that clean.
You have to pay for a carry on and the weight limit for your checked bag is 40lbs. (My bag was exactly 50 lbs, which is the limit I was expecting, so I had to throw a bunch of clothes away and buy new stuff at my destination) Your seat is assigned when you check in 24 hrs in advance. If you buy your seats at the same time you should be seated next to each other.
To me the reduced price isn’t worth it. My typical airline is southwest and next time I’ll use them.

"PP are saying to pay extra for seat selection...you can if you want, but I wouldn't spend the $ . . . because irrespective of Covid, if you tell someone you're on your honeymoon there's no one who wouldn't switch with you."

I don't think this is good advice for anyone, but especially for the OP who needs to make sure in advance that she will be sitting with her partner.

Everyone on the plane who has paid for seat selection has a valid reason for doing so. There should be no expectation that you can decide not to pay that extra fee but still get your preferred seat just by asking for it. Does that happen? Sure. Should one count on it or use it as a strategy? No. There will be other newlyweds. There will be parents with children. There will be people with visible and invisible disabilities who need a certain seat. Honeymooners are not a protected class, nor are they rare.

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I would go with Delta or Southwest before I went with either of those. Also, make sure you're looking at their sites directly, not the third-party sites - a lot of times you can get cheaper, guaranteed seats (with seat selection) if you go directly to the source.

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Damn, if you're going to say my advice is terrible, at least tag me in the comment so I can respond.

"Everyone on the plane who has paid for seat selection has a valid reason for doing so." Okay...but most people don't pay for seat selection. They pick an open seat that looks good, like a window, maybe an aisle, a row near the front, an exit if they want more legroom, whatever.

"There should be no expectation that you can decide not to pay that extra fee but still get your preferred seat just by asking for it."

If you have a specific seat you want, then yes, pay for seat selection. If you JUST want a seat, in any row, with your partner, there are ways to do that that don't involve an upcharge:

- Book your seats on a single transaction (this has worked *every* time I've flown Delta with my FI)

- If you're flying an airline where you select your own seats, select them as soon as you get the email (e.g., American)

- Fly Southwest and check in exactly 24 hours ahead of time so you get to board at the front of the line

Or, sure, pay for seat selection. But OP, who has never flown, shouldn't have the idea that's the only way to sit with her FH. It won't work every time but the odds are very good.

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Allegiant is one I'd stay away from as far as seat selections go. They nickle and dime you for everything.

It's well worth to pay to confirm your seat assignments and be assured seats together. If you arrive at your flight early enough, you can ask the gate agent (at American) to perhaps give you seats together in the last row or Exit row seating. (These are usually assigned within 2-3 hours of departure).