I'm flying ORD-IST tomorrow afternoon on KLM. When I made my reservation online, I was able to select seats online for ORD-AMS but not for AMS-IST. I'm still not able to select seats for that leg. Is there a way to get a seat assignment before going to O'Hare?

I'm assuming you've already called KLM.

Otherwise i would think no dice

Yeah, I called NWA, but the rep said they weren't able to assign seats. I just wasn't sure if that's really the deal.

the problem is that you would need to call KLM, not NWA ... and KL is recently no assigning seats for nwa.com tickets anymore. On your way back you can do KL OLCI and select seats.

KL doesn't allow advanced seat assignments for intra-european legs. I'm pretty sure AMS-IST is considered intra-european.

That's really odd considering that one of the benefits of SkyTeam elite status is preferred seating.

So, we're at the whim of KLM to assign us into preferred seating?

I'm a newly minted silver elite, so I was hoping that that might help me out but sounds like no such luck.

More or less.

To me, 'preferred' means exit row. Have a flight LHR-CDG-PVG on AF, turns out they don't put people in exit rows until day of departure..?!

Annoying.

Others would consider it a forward cabin on a larger aircraft, or perhaps a bulkhead seat. In any case, whatever is defined as 'preferred' should be accessable at time of booking. Perhaps it only helps if you're ST Elite Plus? Dunno, but even the Silvers should have access to it.

"Bulkheads" on most of KL's 737s are most definitely not premium. Same legroom as the rest of coach, but with a curtain in your face. Avoid them.

All SkyTeam Elites should have access to preferred seating (i.e., the front of coach, exit row, etc.) on all SkyTeam operated flights. But as I said above, KL simply doesn't assign seats in advance on their intraeuropean flights. Unfortunately, since most NW elites are connecting to those flights from TATLs, it can be very tough to get a preferred seat on your way out. But if you use klm.com's OLCI for your return trip, you can usually get a pretty good seat.

It doesn't matter if it's SkyTeam Elite + or just Skyteam Elite.

We've discussed some KLM intra-European seating issues before. Sometimes, KLM assigns even ST Elite Plus passengers connecting from North America seats in the absolute rear of the plane. Other times, KLM assigns ST Elite passengers seats near the front, as they should. While nobody knows for sure KLM's rhyme or reason for assigning seats, some think it may have to do with fare class. And of course, by the time you get to Schiphol to ask for a seat change "it is not possible" to get a better seat (especially if you are traveling with others). But if you use KLM's on-line checkin on the return, you should be able to move up to the front of the plane without a problem if you're a ST Elite. Just double check where their computers first seat you.

Not all KLM "bulkheads" are equally bad. If the plane is a 737-900 and FC is only 4 rows, 5A and C are the absolute best coach seats on the plane for couples. They are 2 Europe Select business class seats - and there is no 5B. 5D,E&F are also decent, but E is the middle seat. 6A and C are regular coach seats (but perfect for couples, since there's no 6B). And 7C should have more leg room because there is no seat directly in front of it.

Seatmaps of KLM's 737s can be found here. If I recall correctly, only the 737-900 has more legroom and 2-3 seating in the first 5 rows.

I have never had this problem with KL (although with AF), when I get my boarding passes from NW (if they can print them, which sometimes is a problem), the seats are always in the first couple of rows.

Was it on a business class or coach ticket?

Everytime I fly on WBC segment and then connect to a single class KLM intra-european flight, I was able to get seat assignment in advance (in the so-called preferrred section).

However when I am booked on coach ticket, then no luck. Standard "It's not possible" answer and had to wait to be in AMS to get my seat assignment.