Beginning Friday, March 22, travelers will be able to sign up for seat notifications and get automatically moved if their preferred seat is not available at the time of booking, as confirmed by a United spokesperson.
When booking (or managing) a flight on the mobile app, you'll be able to request your desired seat while browsing the seat map.
For instance, if you're booking just a few days before departure and only middle seats are left, you can set an alert to be automatically moved to a window or aisle seat if one becomes available.
The app will also allow you to opt into notifications for exit rows and bulkhead (first-row) seats. If your desired seat choice becomes available, the app will automatically reassign your seat and notify you that it processed the seat change.
For example, if you set a seat preference alert three days before your flight, United will start monitoring for your preference, and if it becomes available up to 12 hours before departure and you're next in line, the airline will automatically move you to a new seat and send you a notification about it.
United didn't share how frequently it will check the seat map on your behalf.
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This new app feature will begin rolling out on Friday to a small group of customers, followed in the weeks ahead by a broader rollout to additional flyers. United didn't share which travelers would be in the first tranche of eligible users, but we'll update this story with some firsthand experiences when we get our hands on the feature.
For United travelers, this is a nifty new (and free) service that should incentivize more downloads and engagement with the app. United says that 3 million flyers use its app on a daily basis.
It's also the latest feature that United has debuted to simplify the digital travel experience, building on initiatives such as Live Activities on the latest iPhone devices and a new all-in-one rebooking center for delays and cancellations.
As part of the news, United has become the first and only U.S. airline to offer a seat preference feature.
For those booking tickets on other airlines, there are several third-party tools that can monitor your seat assignment and notify you if better seats become available. This includes ExpertFlyer, which allows you to set seat alerts on most major airlines and sends email and text notifications when seats open up. (ExpertFlyer is owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures.)
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