Understanding seat map availability data

Seat map availability data shows you which seats are currently available to reserve in each cabin on aircraft. It's important to stress that seat map availability does not align with the number of actual tickets/fares available for sale.

Often an airline will limit which travellers can select a seat at the point of booking their ticket based on their loyalty status or fare type. Without the correct loyalty status or fare type, you're typically required to pay to reserve a seat of your choice. This means that on any given flight there are often a large number of travellers who have bought a ticket but choose not to reserve a specific seat. These travellers have their seats automatically assigned by the airline 48 to 72 hours prior to travel, which is when you'll see the seat map start to represent the actual 'total load'.