Travel Deal of the Day (August 21, 2007)

Have you chosen your seat yet for your next trip? If not, here are some tips for getting the best seat:

(1) Before selecting your seat, educate yourself about the best seats on the specific type of aircraft that is scheduled for your flight at http://www.seatguru.com/.

(2) Choose the best seat available when you book your trip unless only middle seats are available. It is always best to secure a seat to ensure that you have an assigned seat for the flight.

(3) Continue checking for available seats as often as you can tolerate. Seats will often open up as travel plans change.

(4) If you really do not like your seat selection, check for seat assignment availability 72, 48 and 24 hours in advance of your flight. These are key times for elite frequent flyers to obtain complementary upgrades to first class, so the coach seats that these elite frequent flyers have (which are often the best on the aircraft) will open once these passengers obtain their first class upgrades.

(5) Inquire at check-in about seat availability. If there are no good coach seats, you may inquire about a very inexpensive upgrade for a much better seat. (You can often obtain very inexpensive upgrades at check-in if premium seats remain unsold.)

(6) Finally, ask the gate agent if you can wait to board until 20 minutes before departure to see if a better seat opens up if someone does not show up for the flight.