BA to charge for seat selection
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: London
Age: 60
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On BA short haul if you book a seat at the front of the cabin in Economy you get club class leg room. One less reason to pay for Club.
It's my belief that airlines (BA included) do NOT offer all their seats for advance allocation. They release different seats at different times during the lead up to departure. I've also found that some of the more "sophisticated" carriers take into account the status of the passenger and will show different availability if you are a premium passenger rather than an ordinary customer.
So, if the plane is booked to 110% there will come a point when the number of seats released for advance allocation (not 100%) is reached leaving the airline with some wiggle room for families who haven't preallocated and to deal with (some of) the overbookings.
My guess is that BA will have taken that functionality into account when introducing this charge. I would expect some of the best seats to be held back and only offered when the passenger is a higher tier card holder.
So, if the plane is booked to 110% there will come a point when the number of seats released for advance allocation (not 100%) is reached leaving the airline with some wiggle room for families who haven't preallocated and to deal with (some of) the overbookings.
My guess is that BA will have taken that functionality into account when introducing this charge. I would expect some of the best seats to be held back and only offered when the passenger is a higher tier card holder.
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Yearning for sun and sea
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SLF3b not always so. I booked seats in economy right at the front behind Club as shown on the BA site and found on boarding the seats were in fact in Club and I was told to move!
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Southampton, UK
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Being kicked out of what became club? That happened to me 2 weeks ago - booked an overnight to Hamburg from Heathrow on the morning of departure - cost £700(!) for economy.
Was offered online checkin for the return at the same time, so booked the aisle seat in the first tow of economy.
When I arrived at the gate for the return, I was paged, and told "due to a configuration change" they had to move my seat - into a centre seat right at the back(!) - because they had extended club y one row.
So I paid the most money for one of the worst seats....
Was offered online checkin for the return at the same time, so booked the aisle seat in the first tow of economy.
When I arrived at the gate for the return, I was paged, and told "due to a configuration change" they had to move my seat - into a centre seat right at the back(!) - because they had extended club y one row.
So I paid the most money for one of the worst seats....
Bad news for BA
The Continental flight was fine.
Ok, some of the staff were, er, "New York" style - somewhat abrubt, but everything else was fine...........food, IFE, etc.
And while I'm being positive about things, the baggage was at the carousel when I got there. (T4, lhr)
Ok, some of the staff were, er, "New York" style - somewhat abrubt, but everything else was fine...........food, IFE, etc.
And while I'm being positive about things, the baggage was at the carousel when I got there. (T4, lhr)
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: West Sussex
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Just today I received word that BA will allow us to pre-pay to select seats for reservations booked prior to 7 October. This is more like it - we didn't want to sit across the cabin from each other in WTP for long haul.
I just wonder, why didn't BA simply advise those who booked prior to 7 October that we could do this? I had to contact their Customer Relations department three times before receiving any sort of positive answer.
It's a shame, really. All that ill will generated with customers. It makes it more likely we will shop around the carriers for our future long haul trips, regardless of whether the other airlines charge for advance seat selection.
I just wonder, why didn't BA simply advise those who booked prior to 7 October that we could do this? I had to contact their Customer Relations department three times before receiving any sort of positive answer.
It's a shame, really. All that ill will generated with customers. It makes it more likely we will shop around the carriers for our future long haul trips, regardless of whether the other airlines charge for advance seat selection.
