£16 is just another example of how the poor consumers in rip off Britain are being nickle and dimed to death. You pay a premium for your 087x phone call to give the company business, you pay a booking fee to a company which has as its major business activity booking tickets and so such fees should be part of the fixed costs and not an additional line item on the invoice, you pay a surcharge on your credit card to give the company business, and now you pay in advance for a service which
isn't even guaranteed, and which should be expected to be provided for a family travelling together - just because people should be nice to each other. Yeh I know it's a tough market out there and companies need to make money, but these extra charges leave a nasty taste in the mouth, and frankly if things are that bad then some need to go out of business to give a decent profit to the survivors.
As for the BA website and getting a seat assigned in advance. This service on the BA website is about the only thing that positively differentiates BA from it's competitors if you are one of the economy class scum er, sorry 'Low Yield Pax'
It would be a shame to see this feature removed from those low yield pax who may fly 100k miles per year, but never make it to executive club silver tier. A hearty slap on the back for those people who use it to their advantage and try to make what has become a steadily more uncomfortable long haul experience a bit more bearable.