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I'm going to the US this year, sponsored. My sponsor will buy me the plane ticket with the additional option baby bassinet. If I understand correctly, I'll get the front seat (near the bassinet).

The problem is my accompanying partner doesn't have a sponsor and has to order the flight ticket by himself; how do I get him to sit right next to me? Will I know my seat number after my (sponsored) order?

Update: There's still no fixed itinerary from my sponsor. I depart from Indonesia (CGK), and my final airport is Orlando (MCO), so I think I will get United or Delta Airlines, and I believe I will have some stops/connecting flights from a different provider (e.g. Nippon Airways)

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  • How can your partner buy a ticket without knowing what airlines and flights you'll be on? With only the information you wrote, your question is unanswerable. You should get more information from your sponsor.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Commented Jul 8, 2023 at 16:02
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    Have you asked the sponsor whether it's possible for the sponsor to buy two tickets and have you reimburse one, or to have the sponsor's travel agent book the tickets together but have you and the sponsor pay separately?
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 8, 2023 at 17:30
  • One thing you can try is to call the airline to have the two bookings linked. This depends a lot on the airline, the fare, and a lot of other details, but it doesn’t hurt to ask (other than spending quite a bit of time on the phone for some airlines).
    – jcaron
    Commented Jul 8, 2023 at 19:52
  • @phoog That's a good idea actually, unfortunately, communicating with the sponsor is quite difficult in my case :(
    – malioboro
    Commented Jul 10, 2023 at 2:51

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Will I know my seat number after my (sponsored) order?

This depends a bit on how the sponsor buys the ticket but in most cases, the answer will be "yes". You will get a six-digit booking number (PNR = Passenger Name Record) and you can use that to go to the airline's website and check out your reservation including your seat and you may actually be able to change it (if you want).

As soon as you have your PNR, your partner can book their ticket as well. They can reserve a seat during the booking, but they may have to pay extra. Some airlines charge enormous amount of seat reservation fees and some cheaper fares don't allow seat reservation at all.

If the seat next to you is taken or blocked, than you will have to call the airline directly and see what they can arrange. Again, they may charge for that service.

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    Something else to note is that bassinet seat bookings can be overridden by the airline if someone else needs it, so if the partner isn't booked together they may be moved if another mother/family needs a bassinet seat.
    – Midavalo
    Commented Jul 8, 2023 at 18:24
  • @Midavalo: it's more likely that they simply block them until the plane is full. I once got the very last seat on a plane as a stand-by and, sure enough, it was a bassinet. These tend to be fairly undesirable (if you don't need the bassinet): noisy, less room for feet and backpack, no luggage during take of or landing and no in-seat monitor in front of you.
    – Hilmar
    Commented Jul 9, 2023 at 13:10
  • I've found they're usually bookable, for a fee, but with a warning that your seat could be reassigned if someone needs the bassinet.
    – Midavalo
    Commented Jul 9, 2023 at 15:44
  • I see; thanks for the suggestion. I think this approach is feasible in my case. Thank you!
    – malioboro
    Commented Jul 10, 2023 at 2:52

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