I am taking a vacation with a friend who has status on the airline – is there a way we can sit together?

When making your reservation be sure the two of you are booked in the same record. That way, the status of the most elite traveler is applied to both people. If you are booked on separate records you will be at the mercy of the airline. In this case call to the airline will sometimes “link” the records and allow you to share status, but it is not a given.