I have the same situation for a United flight this week. When I booked it, there were no “free” economy seats left and it says I will be assigned at check in unless I pay $33+ for a seat.

It’s really dumb, especially because it really is economy and not basic economy. But, anything to make a buck.

I would do nothing. Assuming it is really an economy ticket (not basic economy), you will be assigned seats when you check in. I have ended up in seats that had a premium price attached to them this way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You may have to choose a seat that has a premium charge assigned to it - anywhere from $25-$100 more. There is a color key when picking seats that tells you if there is a charge for the available seats. It may be that all of the “free” economy seats are taken (or are all in the middle row between other seats so not together).

No. They will give OP those seats for free the day of the flight. OP, don't be fooled into paying even more for them.

Our recent flights were fully booked (or oversold). I would not count in sitting anywhere desirable if you wait.

Anonymous wrote:You may have to choose a seat that has a premium charge assigned to it - anywhere from $25-$100 more. There is a color key when picking seats that tells you if there is a charge for the available seats. It may be that all of the “free” economy seats are taken (or are all in the middle row between other seats so not together).

No. They will give OP those seats for free the day of the flight. OP, don't be fooled into paying even more for them.

You may have to choose a seat that has a premium charge assigned to it - anywhere from $25-$100 more. There is a color key when picking seats that tells you if there is a charge for the available seats. It may be that all of the “free” economy seats are taken (or are all in the middle row between other seats so not together).

Are you in regular or basic economy?

Go to united.com, put in your reservation, and click on seats. The ones in the back (solid blue) are free. Click on them to select. The ones half-way up (have a black triangle on them) you have to pay to reserve in advance.

Anonymous wrote:This happened to us on American recently. We paid for regular economy so we could choose seats and have carryon luggage. But there were not enough non-premium seats for us to select. So, we just didn't. They ended up automatically assinging us seats together the day of the flight. Again, this was American so YMMV.

This is likely what will happen for OP.

Usually you select seats when you book.

Anonymous wrote:You should have been able to select seats when booking. Are you on a code share flight that is operated by a different airline?

This was the issue that we had. We could pick our seats on the United leg but needed to call Lufthansa to get seats on the Lufthansa leg. Lufthansa made us pay for the seats, which was irritating because we had paid extra (beyond basic economy) on United so that we could select seats! We went back and forth with United customer service and they ultimately gave us a small travel credit in the amount of the extra we paid Lufthansa.

This happened to us on American recently. We paid for regular economy so we could choose seats and have carryon luggage. But there were not enough non-premium seats for us to select. So, we just didn't. They ended up automatically assinging us seats together the day of the flight. Again, this was American so YMMV.

Anonymous wrote:You typically pay extra for an assigned seat.

No, you don’t, unless you booked basic economy.

Typically you get seat assignments when booking with the option of choosing from available seats.

United does seat parents with kids under 15 together, so I wouldn’t panic.

You should have been able to select seats when booking. Are you on a code share flight that is operated by a different airline?

You typically pay extra for an assigned seat.

Do you mean you paid for regular economy as opposed to premium or basic? Do you know for sure that you paid to
Select your own seat? Often the airline blocks out a large number of seats and assigns them to people.

I am hoping that someone that travels more than I can provide some insight as United has not been helpful. Flying to Europe next month with a kid. We paid extra for economy, but there are no seats available to select. There are seats available on the plane as United has identified more than half the plane as premium seating. Does anyone happen to know when I will be able to select a seat?