Seating Layouts
Create seat maps for flights, buses, and venues with per-seat pricing and assignments.
Seating layouts let you define seat maps for products that require assigned seating — flights, buses, ferries, theaters, or any venue with numbered seats. You create a grid layout, configure individual seats with characteristics and pricing, and then assign passengers to specific seats when they book.
How It Works
You create a layout by specifying the number of rows and columns. Itsy automatically generates a seat grid with labels (1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc.). You then customize individual seats — marking some as window seats, aisle seats, blocked, or premium — and assign pricing either per-seat or through rate categories.
Key Concepts
Layout Properties
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The layout name (e.g., "Boeing 757 Economy", "Tour Bus 40-Seat") |
| Description | Additional details about the layout |
| Total Rows | Number of rows in the layout |
| Total Columns | Number of columns (seats per row) |
Seat Grid
When you create a layout, Itsy generates all seats automatically. Each seat gets a label combining its row number and column letter (e.g., 1A, 1B, 12F). Seats are arranged in a grid that you can customize afterward.
Seat Properties
Each seat has:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Row Number | The row this seat is in |
| Column Label | The column letter (A, B, C, etc.) |
| Seat Label | The full seat identifier (e.g., "12A") |
| Available | Whether this seat can be booked |
| Characteristics | Special properties of this seat (see below) |
| Rate (Adult) | Per-seat price for adults |
| Rate (Child) | Per-seat price for children |
| Rate (Infant) | Per-seat price for infants |
| Rate Category | Optionally link to a rate category for standardized pricing |
Seat Characteristics
Seats can have one or more characteristics that describe their physical properties:
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Window | Next to a window |
| Aisle | On the aisle |
| Middle | Between other seats |
| Exit Row | In an emergency exit row (extra legroom) |
| Bulkhead | Behind a cabin divider wall |
| Extra Legroom | More space than standard seats |
| Limited Recline | Seat recline is restricted |
| No Recline | Seat does not recline |
| Age Restricted | Passengers must meet age requirements |
| Wheelchair Accessible | Accessible for wheelchair users |
| Bassinet Capable | Can accommodate a bassinet attachment |
| Companion Seat | Reserved for companions of passengers needing assistance |
| Blocked | Seat is blocked and cannot be booked |
| Preferred Seat | Premium location seat |
A single seat can have multiple characteristics — for example, a seat might be both "Window" and "Extra Legroom".
Rate Categories
Instead of setting prices on every individual seat, you can create rate categories that define standard pricing tiers:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Category name (e.g., "Standard", "Premium", "Extra Legroom") |
| Description | What this category includes |
| Rate (Adult) | Price for adults |
| Rate (Child) | Price for children |
| Rate (Infant) | Price for infants |
| Color Code | Color used to visually distinguish this category on the seat map |
| Order Index | Display order in the rate category list |
Assign a rate category to seats, and they automatically inherit the category's pricing. This makes it easy to update pricing for an entire tier at once.
Seat Assignments
When a customer books a product with a seating layout, their participants can be assigned to specific seats. Each assignment records:
- The participant being assigned
- The seat they're assigned to
- The date (for multi-day products)
- The rate charged
Resizing a Layout
If you change the number of rows or columns on a layout that already has seats, the existing seats are deleted and new ones are generated. This is a destructive operation — any custom pricing, characteristics, or assignments on the existing seats will be lost. You must explicitly confirm the regeneration.
Assigning Layouts to Trip Products
Seating layouts defined here are master templates. They are not used directly on trips. Instead, when a trip product needs assigned seating, you copy a master layout onto that trip product. The copy resolves rate-category pricing into flat per-seat prices so the trip product has its own independent seat map. Changes to the master layout after copying do not affect trip products that already have a copy.
A trip product can have at most one seating layout at a time. You can remove the layout from the product (provided no seats are currently reserved by booking participants) and copy a different one.
Seat Selection Mode
Each trip product with a seating layout has a seat selection mode that controls whether passengers must choose seats:
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Optional | Passengers may choose a seat but are not required to |
| Required | Passengers must select a seat before the booking is confirmed |
| Hidden | The seat map is not shown to customers; seat assignments are managed internally |
Seat Blocking on Trip Products
Once a layout is copied to a trip product, you can block and unblock individual seats on that product without changing the master layout:
- Block — Marks a seat as unavailable for booking. Blocked seats appear on the seat map but cannot be selected by customers. You can add a note explaining why the seat is blocked.
- Unblock — Removes the block, making the seat available again.
Only seats that are not already reserved by a booking participant can be blocked. Reserved seats cannot be blocked; to change a reserved seat's status you must first release the reservation.
Common Tasks
Creating a Seating Layout
- Navigate to Data > Seating Layouts
- Click Add
- Enter the layout name and description
- Set the number of rows and columns
- Click Save
- The seat grid is generated automatically
Customizing Seats
- Open a seating layout
- View the seat grid
- Select seats to customize
- Set characteristics (window, aisle, exit row, etc.)
- Set per-seat pricing or assign a rate category
- Mark seats as blocked if they shouldn't be available for booking
- Save your changes
Setting Up Rate Categories
- Navigate to Data > Seating Layouts > Rate Categories
- Click Add
- Enter the category name and description
- Set adult, child, and infant rates
- Choose a color for visual identification on the seat map
- Click Save
- Assign the category to seats in your layouts
Bulk Updating Seats
You can update all seats for a layout at once. This is useful when you need to apply pricing changes across the entire layout or mark a block of seats with specific characteristics.