Frequent flyers, answer me an airline question, please

[spinbaby]

I have flights next week on Northwest. I made the reservations in May, but the flights I was on disappeared, so they put me on other flights. The flight times aren't too bad, but when I went to get seat assignments, I found that the only seats left were "premium" seats for their elite frequent flyers or available at extra cost, so I didn't reserve a seat. They have to give me a seat if I show up early, right? Am I in danger of getting bumped?

[montanto]

1. sounds like you already got bumped.

They have to find you a seat on some plane getting you to your destination at approximately the correct time. They can't make you pay more for a seat that you already paid for. Sometimes it helps if you speak to them with great conviction about this.

I got bumped from a flight from D.C. to L.A. a few years ago. The ticket agent said "well, we've got a flight to Denver we could put you on." I said that's fine, except that I live in Los Angeles about a thousand miles from Denver. They found me a flight.

If they have to wait 'til the next day they need to pay for a room, meals, ground transpo, etc. They can't just bump you and make you pay extra.

[LeftyMom]

2. Call customer service now.

If you get somebody helpful, there's a chance you'll get put in one of the premium seats for the inconvenience of the reschedule.