On Jul 17, 4:53*pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:
> sarge137 > wrote:
> >I'm a big guy, (6'4"/265lbs) and when I travel alone I always buy two
> >coach seats, usually at less than half what a first class ticket would
> >cost. *
>
> So I'm curious about how to go about purchasing these seats. *
> Do you book them both in your name, or use a made-up or slightly
> different name for the second seat? *Does the airline
> reservation system ever reject your attempt to do this?
>
> One used to be able to buy a second seat to carry one's
> musical instrument (cello, say), but they have clamped down
> on this as part of the general security panic.
>
> Steve

Things have changed a bit in the past year or two. Used to be, I
could book my seats on line by using my full name for one seat, and
first initial and last name for the second. For the past three or
four flights though (I'm not a frequent flier - I fly only about 4
times a year), the on line reservation system has rejected that
approach and I've had to call a reservation agent. That means I have
to pay a "booking fee" ($25.00 I think) - just another reason to love
the airlines.

In fact, on my last flight last May, they didn't want to book me a
second seat. The agent said they couldn't sell more than one ticket
per passenger. I told her why I needed the second seat, and I needed
to speak to her supervisor. She came back on the line in a few
seconds and took care it.

I think you're right about the panic part. My old system worked fine
well after 9/11. Some bureaucratic idiot somewhere must have decided
the practice left some kind of a security loophole open.