Funny, I had never intended on posting on my recent experience with BA until I saw this thread.
The exact same situation happened with me 3 weeks ago when travelling back from Baltimore to LHR. I paid to pre-select a window seat in Economy, checked in online all with no problems for my assigned seat. Got to my seat and there's an unaccompanied minor sat beside me on the aisle seat. I must point out that I'm only 24 so hardly fit the old man pervert image but that it subsequently how I was made to feel soon enough. Just before pushback a cabincrew member comes over after they've checked seatbelts, etc.
She bluntly tells me that I'm not allowed to sit beside a young child and tells me that I have to move. Of course I'm not going to give up my paid for window seat without at least questioning the reasons so I protest the case and tell her that I specifically selected a window seat and didn't understand why I had to move. The child, a 14 year old boy, at that point offered to move as he didn't even want to be near a window and there were 2 middle rows free down the back. However she was having none of it and told me that I was the one that had to move as I shouldn't have sat there in the first place!!!! So I get brought down the back and put right at the very back in a seat that wouldn't even recline due to the bulkhead behind it so as a result I couldn't sleep.
While I've no intention of making a bigger deal out of this other than an email to customer services, I won't be travelling with BA in the future because of the way this was handled and how they made me feel. Handled differently I'd have no problem with this policy, even a simple apology from a member of the cabin crew would have been sufficient. The fact the matter wasn't dealt with using discretion annoyed me most. All the passengers in the near vicinity heard what she was saying.
Already I've booked my next flight to the US with a different airline even though BA was €30 cheaper. Good work guys
