BA's pay-to-select seating policy
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BA's pay-to-select seating policy
When BA introduced their new seating policy a few weeks ago, allowing pax to pay to select their seats, I posted here on my unhappy experience with it. In short, I had already booked two journeys (London-Los Angeles return and London-Miami return), and now I had the chance to choose my seats, I wished to do so. It is important, for medical reasons, that my wife is able to sit next to me in the cabin.
BA would not allow me to pay to select my seats as they insisted only the original credit card used to make the booking could be used. As my card had been subsequently compromised and I now had a new one, it couldn't take my money. However, customer services said they would mark my booking as essential for medical reasons for my wife and I to sit together.
To update: When I went online to check in for my LA flight, I had a message from BA offering me the chance to upgrade from WT+ to CW one-way for £400 each - something they had refused to allow me to do previously as they said my class of ticket allowed no changes. And, curiously, no problem about using a different credit card, either. So I grabbed the opportunity.
On returning from LA last weekend, and unable to upgrade as BA now wanted £4000 a seat for the overnight flight, I found that in spite of my WT+ reservation being marked as 'must sit together', my wife and I were seated in different rows. No amount of (perfectly reasonable) discussion could change this.
On the flight, I found I was seated next to a lady who had also been seated at random by the computer, and had neither paid to choose her seat or had requested it. My wife was seated next to a man in a similar situation.
So why couldn't BA have simply left us together?
Talking this through with the purser during the flight, he offered me an unhappy insight into what may be going in at BA these days. "The seating arrangements are made by the people in Operations", he told me. "They are the most militant, bloody-minded people on our staff. If a customer's name is marked - either for a specific request, as yours was, or as suitable for upgrade - Operations take a fiendish delight in ignoring it and causing the most possible inconvenience ". It happens all the time, he told me and is done in the hope that pax will take out their grievances on the cabin crew (of whose pay and allowances they are apparently jealous), or on the hated management. Nobody cares, at Operations level, it seems, that disgruntled pax will probably take their business elsewhere, thus endangering BA, and ultimately, everyone's jobs.
OK, now my next problem is this: How can I be sure that we won't be separated for our upcoming Miami trip, and that the seat request will be honoured? Seems ironic that BA is reporting a £250 million half-year loss this week, but won't grab with both hands the money, admittedly chickenfeed, that I'm prepared to pay them to get the seats I want. And there must be many pax in the same situation as me - perfectly willing to shell out extra cash to secure their seats, but can't because they've changed their credit card.
Anyone got any thoughts on this?
BA would not allow me to pay to select my seats as they insisted only the original credit card used to make the booking could be used. As my card had been subsequently compromised and I now had a new one, it couldn't take my money. However, customer services said they would mark my booking as essential for medical reasons for my wife and I to sit together.
To update: When I went online to check in for my LA flight, I had a message from BA offering me the chance to upgrade from WT+ to CW one-way for £400 each - something they had refused to allow me to do previously as they said my class of ticket allowed no changes. And, curiously, no problem about using a different credit card, either. So I grabbed the opportunity.
On returning from LA last weekend, and unable to upgrade as BA now wanted £4000 a seat for the overnight flight, I found that in spite of my WT+ reservation being marked as 'must sit together', my wife and I were seated in different rows. No amount of (perfectly reasonable) discussion could change this.
On the flight, I found I was seated next to a lady who had also been seated at random by the computer, and had neither paid to choose her seat or had requested it. My wife was seated next to a man in a similar situation.
So why couldn't BA have simply left us together?
Talking this through with the purser during the flight, he offered me an unhappy insight into what may be going in at BA these days. "The seating arrangements are made by the people in Operations", he told me. "They are the most militant, bloody-minded people on our staff. If a customer's name is marked - either for a specific request, as yours was, or as suitable for upgrade - Operations take a fiendish delight in ignoring it and causing the most possible inconvenience ". It happens all the time, he told me and is done in the hope that pax will take out their grievances on the cabin crew (of whose pay and allowances they are apparently jealous), or on the hated management. Nobody cares, at Operations level, it seems, that disgruntled pax will probably take their business elsewhere, thus endangering BA, and ultimately, everyone's jobs.
OK, now my next problem is this: How can I be sure that we won't be separated for our upcoming Miami trip, and that the seat request will be honoured? Seems ironic that BA is reporting a £250 million half-year loss this week, but won't grab with both hands the money, admittedly chickenfeed, that I'm prepared to pay them to get the seats I want. And there must be many pax in the same situation as me - perfectly willing to shell out extra cash to secure their seats, but can't because they've changed their credit card.
Anyone got any thoughts on this?
Last edited by mickchick; 3rd Nov 2009 at 11:11. Reason: clarification
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The response you received from the Purser is totally incorrect,operations have nothing to do with seating arrangements, it would be down to the ground staff at your originating airport to seat accordingly. As for operations being militant and bloody-minded , pot kettle and black comes to mind, disgruntled pax will probably take their business elsewhere but that will be down to the action of the cabin Crew and the effect of their proposed industrial action. Seems like this Pusrer had very little customer service skills with a "not my problem" attitude.
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Why don't you do online check-in 24 hours before then you choose your seats and it's free to do so.
(This, of course, is a problem with all airlines that allow you to select your seats when you book the ticket, whether you have to pay to do so or not; those who book earliest get the best choice of seats).
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Mickchick,
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get the seats you would've liked. I'm even more sorry that you encountered the Purser on your flight. Not only was he lying to you (see post above), but he obviously had no interest in your situation at all.
When a passenger comes to me and explains the situation, whether it's medical or something else, like small kids, and that they're not seated together, I will do my ultimate best to fix it. Fortunately a vast majority of crew will do the same. It's such a shame people like that Purser give the rest of us a bad name.
May I ask: Did you manage to swap with another passenger at all?
Gg
I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get the seats you would've liked. I'm even more sorry that you encountered the Purser on your flight. Not only was he lying to you (see post above), but he obviously had no interest in your situation at all.
When a passenger comes to me and explains the situation, whether it's medical or something else, like small kids, and that they're not seated together, I will do my ultimate best to fix it. Fortunately a vast majority of crew will do the same. It's such a shame people like that Purser give the rest of us a bad name.
May I ask: Did you manage to swap with another passenger at all?
Gg
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Why don't you do online check-in 24 hours before then you choose your seats and it's free to do so.
You've missed the key point though - it wasn't a case of him wanting to sit next to his wife, it was a case of needing to be sat next to his wife for medical reasons...
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Maybe your purser is posting on another thread concerning BASSA!!
Back to the point though, he was talking through his
. I suspect that you are a victim of sheer inefficiency by the back-office staff concerned.
I have worked in this department and it is not rocket science to preseat people for such reasons, indeed if you look at some of the posts concerning this it is often the case that the aggrieved party has been moved to accomodate people such as yourselves.
Again, it is unfortunately the case that you came up against some of the more ignorant staff and said purser only aggravated the situation.
There are a lot of nice, sympathetic staff members out there, honest!!
Back to the point though, he was talking through his
. I suspect that you are a victim of sheer inefficiency by the back-office staff concerned.I have worked in this department and it is not rocket science to preseat people for such reasons, indeed if you look at some of the posts concerning this it is often the case that the aggrieved party has been moved to accomodate people such as yourselves.
Again, it is unfortunately the case that you came up against some of the more ignorant staff and said purser only aggravated the situation.
There are a lot of nice, sympathetic staff members out there, honest!!
