FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

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boff180
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by boff180 »

Evening guys,

The seating plan is now online via the link in the first post of this thread. Thanks to Wendy @ DBH for helping decipher the layout for 2018.

Before anyone queries, those on Row D seats 200 to 211 will not be allowed to stand - to keep the peace with rows A to C.

Ta

Andy

p.s. Tommy will be doing a lot of the updates this year - thank you!
p.p.s. Sorry Havoc you're not an aisle seat.

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by G67 »

2285 FRIAT seats this year, that's half a million in revenue just there! :o

alans895
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by alans895 »

I'm having a hard time getting my head around this!

So a Mach 2 person got row E, and yet a Mach 3 person got row G :dunno:

I thought Mach 3 was priority elevation so a Mach 3 couldn't be below a Mach 2 unless they specifically requested it :wall:

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Wrexham Mackem
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Wrexham Mackem »

alans895 wrote:..
So a Mach 2 person got row E, and yet a Mach 3 person got row G :dunno:

I thought Mach 3 was priority elevation so a Mach 3 couldn't be below a Mach 2 unless they specifically requested it :wall:


From what I can gather from the thread above the Mach-3ers in G have requested it - they expressed a preference for aisle seats. That can send you down the rows unless you have a very low voucher number as its a common request.

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Airwolfhound »

Wrexham Mackem wrote:
alans895 wrote:..
So a Mach 2 person got row E, and yet a Mach 3 person got row G :dunno:

I thought Mach 3 was priority elevation so a Mach 3 couldn't be below a Mach 2 unless they specifically requested it :wall:


From what I can gather from the thread above the Mach-3ers in G have requested it - they expressed a preference for aisle seats. That can send you down the rows unless you have a very low voucher number as its a common request.


Yeah, I requested an aisle seat (as I do every year) and have ended up in Row G. Annoying as previous years I have had aisle seats in Rows C to E. Oh well, gives me a different view point for photos. I have a feeling, though, that the lower rows are slightly less staggered vertically, so may block my view with heads in row H, but hopefully won't.
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by alans895 »

C 163 for me.
Last edited by alans895 on Thu 31 May 2018, 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Paul_Reflex »

alans895 wrote:Just got informed I have J171 as a Mach 3! I'm gutted and to be honest having already paid over $5000 AUD in Airfares and Accomodation, I really am considering cancelling. I nominated Aisle if possible and they took it literally and gave me J171. :sad:


Don't cancel Alan! You'll get great shots wherever you are in the FRIAT grandstand. There are only two possible positions that have any advantage at all, Row A because you can stand up and have a little ledge behind you for stowing a bit more kit and an aisle seat in any row. You have one of the advantageous seats so you should be pleased. If you really don't like it when you see it for real on the Thursday, pitch up a bit early on the following days and bag yourself a spot at the rope in front.

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by davidjones533 »

.
Last edited by davidjones533 on Thu 13 Sep 2018, 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

G67
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by G67 »

J is only one row below me in H, come and join the Mach 3ers in the dungeons :) Dunno why I'm away down there but it does mean we'll be first to the loos when the Arrows arrive.

Seriously though I've never found the grandstand much good for photography, there's not much room to swing a lens and even less space for kit. With the grandstand being extended this year there will be more room down at the rope in front and there are no speakers in the way. You can set-up a tripod or monopod and click away.

Actually that's a downside of the top rows, those speakers blasting out the 'commentary' and music are right behind them. Useless if you're trying to do any video.

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by alans895 »

I contacted the FRIAT staff for clarification and was very happy with how professional and courteous they were.

It is exactly as Airwolfhound explained it.

If you purchased a Mach 3 and got placed well down the stand it is because you elected to have an aisle seat. The aisle seats are very popular, so if that was your preference, despite holding say a Mach 3 ticket, then the next available aisle seat would be allocated to you.

This is why people are being placed in areas usually not associated with Mach 3.

I have learnt a valuable lesson, and for next year will not mention anything about aisle on my preferences. Instead I will state "as high in the stand as permits."

Regards,


Alan

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by G67 »

alans895 wrote:
If you purchased a Mach 3 and got placed well down the stand it is because you elected to have an aisle seat.


Not always.

I didn't express any seating preference but I did book with two other people on the same form, so perhaps that's another gotcha. Maybe they position booking-groups in the grandstand to keep them together. Though we didn't ask for that either, we'll see enough of each other on the journey!

So the rules for keeping high in the grandstand appear to be:

1. Grab a renewal form ASAP from the marquee at RIAT
2. Don't express any seating preferences
3. Book only one person per form

As with much that goes on in the backoffice at DBH it'd be much simpler if they just put guidance like that on a webpage.

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boff180
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by boff180 »

IF you do want a seating preference or top row, grab your renewal form at the gate when Wendy first gives them out! The lower the number on your form, the better the chance of you getting where you want to be.

There are 199 seats on the top row, that doesn’t mean forms 1-199 will get those seats, there are effectively 21 to 33 row A aisle seats (depending on what you class as an aisle seat) it doesn’t take too many aisle seat requests in those first 250 forms for everyone else to be bumped down a row.

I’ve been lucky in the past and had a form in the mid-teens/low-20’s and always requested a row A aisle seat. Yes I got my request but I would be well past halfway in the Grandstand even with such a low ticket number.

Moral of the story - if you want the best seats you need to be prepared to get up extremely early and get a good spot in the FRIAT renewal queue to get a low numbered form.

Andy

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Wrexham Mackem
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Wrexham Mackem »

boff180 wrote:IF you do want a seating preference or top row, grab your renewal form at the gate when Wendy first gives them out!


This. Its clearly stated in the covering letter every year when and where the renewal forms will be given out.

boff180 wrote:I’ve been lucky in the past and had a form in the mid-teens/low-20’s and always requested a row A aisle seat. Yes I got my request but I would be well past halfway in the Grandstand even with such a low ticket number.


A related point has had me a little baffled for a while. If I have renewal form of say 60, there'll be two sets of aisles between A1 and me. I haven't requested an aisle seat. If more people than the available number below seat 60 do, the remainder will be allocated them further along the top row and therefore will end up further west than me, but net effect should be, in theory, that I end up east of 60 by the number of seats who have ended up over 60 due to their preferences. It isn't necessarily so, from experience. As long as I squeak on the top row though, I don't mind.

G67 wrote:I didn't express any seating preference but I did book with two other people on the same form, so perhaps that's another gotcha. Maybe they position booking-groups in the grandstand to keep them together. Though we didn't ask for that either, we'll see enough of each other on the journey!

So the rules for keeping high in the grandstand appear to be:

1. Grab a renewal form ASAP from the marquee at RIAT
2. Don't express any seating preferences
3. Book only one person per form

As with much that goes on in the backoffice at DBH it'd be much simpler if they just put guidance like that on a webpage.


To get seats together in a high position I'd recommend obtaining consecutive renewal forms, completing them individually, and requesting on them to sit next to one another. The folks behind the desk in the enclosure will even clip them together for you before they drop the forms in the box.

As you can all tell, my letter hasn't come yet, and I'm spending far too much time ruminating on seat numbers!

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Colinp02 »

B56 for me

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by alpha586 »

B84 for me....I think as at work at the moment. Filled in the form in the FRIAT enclosure on the Friday last year despite not being FRIAT member, just asked at the entrance and said it was no problem just go through. Have done FRIAT a few times before but never been quite so high row D or E last time I think.
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Stevt20
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Stevt20 »

C92, First time as FRIAT member, so very happy. It will be interesting to see how it compares to pervious years I've been as a non FRIAT member.

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Ian G »

F196 for me
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Tommy
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Tommy »

I'm updating this when I can, and editing Andy's into post each time I do. After the date, I'll stick the last forumite who's seat number I have entered, to avoid any confusion. If I've missed anyone in the chat about seating systems, please let me know. :up:

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by IP1960 »

F147 for me - first year ever in FRIAT (Mach 2) after many years at RIAT. Usually go on how ever many days work commitments will allow and sit/stand in different place each day, so this will be a bit different!

Ian

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Roughcutter »

C28 & C29 for me and my mate (Panther494) :yahoo:

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Tom105 »

C56 for me please :yahoo:
Thomas

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by Peter345 »

F197. My first time in FRIAT so I can't wait, although it appears I've drawn the short straw and got a seat next to Ian G. Ah well...

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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by CJS »

Yay! I've never made it onto a proper FRIAT seating plan before, thanks Tommy. I'll make sure I don't wash, as per the spreadsheet :-p
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by theskunk »

I'll be down the front at X71
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Re: FRIAT Seating Plan 2018

Post by jamyt123 »

C53 & C54 for myself and the girlfriend
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