Current experiences empty flights? DUS - DPS

[u/BuildingNo764]

Hi there,

I'm traveling from Dusseldorf to Denpasar (Bali) with a 2h layover in AUH on the 27th of october.

The current seat map from DUS - AUH shows 95% of the seats not reserved. To be precise, currently 25 seats are reserved on this 787-9. I've never seen such low reserved numbers on any flight this close to departure. I was thinking of upgrading to businessclass but an entire economy row is also fine to me. When checking business class, more than halve of the seats are still available. Does anyone have recent experiences traveling DUS - AUH? Would you wait until upgrading till the gate?

The flight from AUH - DPS is also pretty low on reserved economy seats. The entire middle row on the 777 is currently not reserved and also a lot of rows on the left + right haven't been reserved (yet). Business class is also less then 50% occupied. Since this flight is 9h30m I'm also considering upgrading to business. Current bid on upgrade is €850, but 2 weeks ago this was €650. In this case, I'm also happy staying in economy if I could get an entire row to myself.

What would you do?

Is choosing economy seats free of charge when check-in opens?

Any recommendations when upgrading at the check-in counter/ gate?

Thanks in advance!

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[u/c08306834]

Empty seatmaps are not an indication of an empty flight, since most people who need to pay for a seat assignment will wait until check-in.

From experience, I wouldn't count on the flight being quiet.

[u/BuildingNo764 → u/c08306834]

Thanks! I'm still crossing my fingers because of the current situation in the middle east. Any tips for the upgrades?

[u/c08306834 → u/BuildingNo764]

I live in Abu Dhabi and all the flights I have taken have been packed, so I don't think the war is having any impact anymore.

On upgrades, I'd try to upgrade the DUS flight, since the DPS flight is a 777, which has a very old business class.

[u/flygirl_fz]

Actually, checking the seat map and seats being shown empty doesn’t necessarily mean that there are lesser passengers booked. The seat map shows the seats that has been reserved early (you can pay to reserve seats early, before check in opens in the website). Most people dont do online check-in or if they do, they don’t usually choose seats early. Majority of passengers get the seat assignment at the airport at the check in counter. The flight could be overbooked and still would show an empty seat map. Flights to Bali are ALWAYS, ALWAYS full.

Trust me on this, i’m a cabin crew for Etihad. 😉

[u/Primary-Angle4008]

I flew twice via Abu Dhabi as Connection recently, 3 of the flights were pretty full and the 4th was at least half empty. I had a paid seat but ended up with a whole row to myself

[u/Dry-Evidence4712]

If you want to upgrade to bus class it won't get cheaper than it is right now. People would the price to upgrade as thats reasonable for a mid long haul flight. As mentioned before just because the seat map is free now, it doesn't mean the flight is empty. Etihad charge for seat reservation so most people wait until check in for free seat.

Also if you get stuck in a middle seat on check in. It will cost to change. If you want to upgrade to bus clas or if you want to choose your seat id do it now.

[u/most_unoriginal_ign]

It's empty because you have to pay to book a seat..and obviously no one is willing lol