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BA to charge for seat selection
So, another shot in his own foot by Willy Walsh. From October 7 BA are to charge for seat selection. £60 per passenger per sector in Club World, according to reports in the travel trade press today; £40 , down to £10 in economy. Makes it difficult for BA to attack the Government for makinmg air travel more expensive with increased taxes, doesn't it? And what about all that BA advertising dissing the budget airlines for charging extra?
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At face value, a very bad move by BA, closing further the gap that differentiates them from the low-cost airlines.
But presumably this charge would be levied only for seat selection ahead of normal on-line check in? A kind of queue-jump charge? If so, it may be worth paying £60 to get the coveted 62K on that next LHR-SYD trip. (And almost certainly worth an additional £10 to get an exit row seat at the back of the plane.) |
New service to give BA customers more control over seating options British Airways is launching a new service to give customers more control over their seating options. From October 7, customers will be able to select their seats when booking and secure exit row seats. The move is in line with the airline’s response to surviving the economic downturn. Teams from across the sales & marketing and customer directorate have been reviewing the airline’s entire customer proposition, looking at ways to reduce costs and bring in additional revenue. Mark Hassell, head of customer experience, said: “There are various seats within the aircraft that we frequently receive requests for from customers. In the past, we’ve only been able to confirm them on the day but we know people want to secure them in advance and have real control over their flying experience. These seats are at a premium and like other airlines, we can create a positive revenue stream in return for a new service for customers.” Customers will now have the option to pay to select their seats when they book their tickets. The fees are £10 per person per sector in Euro Traveller and domestics, £20 per person per sector in Club Europe, World Traveller, and World Traveller Plus and £60 in Club World. In addition to selecting seats on the aircraft, from 10 days prior to the flight, customers travelling in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus can now pay £50 to secure the exit row seats. All transactions will be handled through contactBA. Premier and Gold Executive Club members will be able to pre-book their seats for free in all cabins as they can today. Silver card holders, customers with fully flexible tickets and customers on corporate deals can pre-assign their seats for free and will have the options to buy exit row seats in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus. Mark continued: “The team have developed this new proposition in record time, and is a great example of customer experience, marketing, ba.com, IM, ContactBA, cabin crew and the airport teams working together to create new revenue streams for the business.” Customers who do not wish to take advantage of this new functionality will be able to select the remaining seats for free from 24 hours before departure. |
Madness.
When you book with a legacy carrier, you expect a certain level of service, both in the air and on the ground prior to and post flight. That's precisley why you accept the implicit bargain that it will cost you somewhat more than you otherwise would flying on a low cost carrier, irrespective of whether a LCC flies the route or not. This seems to be a move of desperation to soak some extra cash rather than cut down on any hassle factor of folks picking & swapping seats ahead of time. I doubt that this comment will make any difference to BA, but if BA are serious about raising their profit margin, they would be more effective if they looked at the people and positions in their organisation that add value to the business and look at those people & positions that add costs to the business and find ways to eliminate the cost positions and move the folk across to value add positions and re-focus on getting back the levels of custoer service that they used to be so widely admired, respected & were well paid for. |
If I were flying economy LHR-SYD, I would gladly fork out 50 pounds to be up the back with my partner on the two seats by themselves than wedged in the middle of four.
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Donkey 497
I agree with you. As a silver card holder, this is what BA has done in the past two years - sacked the very good franchise holder on my route (MLA) - brought in LGW 737s that were olds as the hills and uncomfortable - decide to pull off the route - decide to drop food in Y on routes under 2 hours Although I will still be able to pre-select as a silver card holder, it will be difficult to maintain that card now. So I see me booking even fewer fights. Looking back at my records (needed for tax purposes) I notice that I took 60 flights with BA in 2003. I would be surprised if it hits 6 next year, then why should I pay to preselect a seat, when that comes as part of the deal with other airlines in premium cabins? I do not think this company understands what business it is in. |
I have no problem with BA adopting this sort of budget airline policy if they charge budget airline fares.
Instead, customers (or their employers) are being asked to pay the same sort of prices for a lower level of service. In the current economic climate, if BA want to take something away they need to give something back. TP Cashing in his BA miles asap |
F3G - I agree with you [I think I may need to have a sit down having said that!!]
In the past, in business mode, and now in leisure mode, my first preference has always to book with BA. If they are going to start extorting an extra £50 or £60 from me for every sector I fly I will start looking elsewhere. To be fair, it is not so much the cost, but the principle that I am against.I pay a decent price and expect a decent seat with no 'faffing about'. I've just paid a significant supplement to fly to Florida with BA this winter because I prefer the BA service to our US cousins - but there is a limit to this preference. Willy Walsh did not exactly do much to excite in his previous job - perhaps by driving BA into the ground -sorry for the phrase - he will write his name in the history of British aviation for all the wrong reasons. He alone will be responsible for the destruction of both Aer Lingus and BA. - Never in the field of human conflict has one man done so little for so many! Hopefully he will realise that by chasing the last dollar he may well alienate many full fare paying pax. |
:mad:
On my last 4 flights, none of my pre-selected seats have been honoured however they have managed to get my bags onto the correct flight which is a step in the right direction. How long will it be before they charge for collecting the trash left over from my in flight meal.... which is now bought in Waitrose ? |
Erosion of Service levels
Yep - Da man is looking after his future career prospects as chief ex of "Take it or leave it its a long bus journey to "East of the Thames/Rhine/Vistula" Air transport Cattle Co." - Yep thanks for the LHR/SFO upgrade Eco/to row 12 - on the basis of this, I would have reccomended your great airline to anyone - What is going on in your Business mind ? - please come on to this thread and explain your decision to your client base.
CAT III (BA287 Sort of Reg user) |
So I see me booking even fewer fights. Next move, charge you for the seat belt, magazine, seat etc etc :eek: |
If you meant fights then you should book 0 flights next year with BA. |
Seems Willie Walsh and Michael O'Leary have more in common than just the passport. On the other hand O'Leary's airline is making money hand over fist, something one has to admire, however despiccable his business practices might be. Judging by what I've heard recently about BA, their customer service is heading the same way as Ryanair's.
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As BA used to say "Remember you have a choice"
Great pity really as BA are without doubt one of the worlds finest carriers in terms of quality of flight crews and maintenance. Pity they totally lost the plot with Customer service. |
Is this really such a big issue?? I won't be paying to book my seats in advance, 24 hours is more then enough time to choose the seats that I want. If the airline want to try and make cash out of people who need to know where they are sitting 6 months in advance then good luck to them. If the seat(s) that I want are not available, then I'll go for the next best ones in my eyes.
The simple answer, if you don't like it, don't use it. |
I'm a gold card holder with BA, and do a lot of long haul sectors each year with them. I always pre-select a seat,wasn't one of the benefits of being a "valued" frequent flyer first choice on the seat selection? Does this mean that now in addition to paying a premium for flying BA I have to stump up additional cash to get the seat I want?
In my opinion this is just another way to upset the frequent fliers with BA, I've had my gold card now solidly for 9 years, I already have enough points to qualify for my 10th year. To be honest, I very much doubt I will bother making it 11 years. I just booked my next trip to Australia with Cathay Pacific, it is costing me just over £1000 pounds less than BA, I have flown with Cathay many times before and always been more than pleased with the service. If WW wants to make BA a value carrier then so be it, but you cant have your "premium fare" passenger cake and eat it! |
I won't be paying to book my seats in advance, 24 hours is more then enough time to choose the seats that I want. Here's an example. The seats available are indicated with a . those taken have a + Tomorrow's JNB LHR A B C D E F G H J K M 28 E + + + + + + + + E 28 M 29 E + + . + + + + + + + E 29 30 < + + + + + + + + . + > 30 31 < + + + + + + + + + + > 31 32 + + + + + + + . + + 32 33 + + . + + + + + + + 33 34 + + + + + + + + + . 34 35 + + + + + + + . + + 35 36 + + + . + + + + + + 36 37 + + + . . . + + + + 37 39 + + + 39 40 + + + + + + + + + + 40 41 + + + + . . + + + + 41 42 + + + + . . + + + + 42 43 + + . + + . . . + + 43 44 + + + + + + + + + + 44 45 + + . + + + + . + + 45 46 + + + + + + + + + + 46 47 + + + + + + + . + + 47 48 + + + + + + + + + + 48 49 + + + + . + + . + + 49 50 + + . + + + + . + + 50 51 + + . . . . + + 51 52 + + . . . . + + 52 53 + + - - - - + + 53 A B C D E F G H J K |
£60 to pre-select a seat thats cost thousands is taking the P***
What sort of company goes out of its way to aggravate its best customers. Whilst BASSA and its dispute is none of my business, they sure get it right that the management is a complete and utter joke. |
The simple answer, if you don't like it, don't use it. |
I wonder if the booking engine will allow you to select your seats before committing to the purchase, i.e. to cancel the booking if your preferred seats are not available? If I were booking a business trip a few days in advance and found that there were no aisle seats available towards the front of the cabin then I would cancel the transaction and choose another carrier.
British Airways would have gained invaluable customer goodwill, publicity and, ultimately, additional revenue if they had introduced free seat selection at time of booking. That would have put a great deal of clear blue water between them and the locos. But then, what do I know... I work in finance and marketing, not aviation. |
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