Not sure how true it is but a similar thing happened to me - I'd paid to book the two seats in WT towards the rear of a 747 where it tapers (and they cost an arm and a leg!). But we were upgraded to WTP at the gate - which was nice!It was Christmas though and we had spent 20 minutes listening to a lot of people complaining about almost missing out on seats. I was told on here that priority is given to Executive club and to people who have paid for seat allocation. I generally prefer to pay so me and the wife can sit together but have noticed the price is starting to rocket...

We normally fly club but have booked WTP and paid for seat selection to YVR, have no problem with that, if we were not bothered where we sat then we do not have to pay the premium.

Unfortunately with BA you cannot see the seat map until after you have booked so on the o/b there were only two seats in the middle of the cabin left, not what we wanted. Booked though just in case the situation doesn't change.

Lady Groundhog, bronze card, can get a look 7 days before departure. Does the 'pre bookable' allocation change, is it worth checking every day or should we wait till minus seven days?

Thanks

Yes you can. During the booking process I'm pretty much certain there is an button on the form that takes you to somewhere where you can choose your seats.... before finalising your booking.

Just like this, I visited ba.com, didn't login to my account, just started going through the standard booking process....




http://s3.postimg.org/nuu2q0xcj/BA_SCREEN.png






Yes it changes... fewer seats become available for you to choose from as the aircraft fills up... :cool:

Thanks, wait until 7 days before then, perhaps some classes of seat can be viewed before confirming on certain routes but the last three or four times we have booked you could not view the seat map without having a locator first.

All our flights have been long haul though, mostly YVR, BA is still our airline of choice despite this plus the squillion or so AVIOS we have earned to date never seem to be available for use on the flights we want!

Policies vary by airline- KLM let me reserve a seat to AMS (on a rock bottom fare). Cathay let me reserve seats on discount fare but not deep discount fare. Is there a website that gives the policies of various airlines and what it costs to book a seat?

I see that BA have changed their policy on cheap short haul fares. I don't know if the system will be optimised to allocate a centre seat towards the rear with the hope that the customer pays extra for a better one (hopefully not). To me it is moving in the direction of LCCs and whilst I am happy to pay a small premium for the extra comfort of a legacy carrier, with the likes of easyJet moving upmarket this is harder to justify if the product is downgraded. What do others think?

From the BA website
ummary
On 26 March 2015 we are changing how you choose your seat on hand baggage only fares. For bookings made on or after this date, we will allocate you a seat when you check-in. Should you wish to change this seat, you'll be able to do so for a fee.
This change applies only to new bookings made on or after 26 March 2015. Any hand baggage only booking made before this date will still include free seat selection at check-in, even if the travel date is after this time.
More information
Hand baggage only are still our best value fares on shorthaul flights. They include the same great British Airways service, a generous hand baggage allowance, free check-in and complimentary drinks and snacks all at a great low price. Checked baggage can be added as an optional extra, and from 26 March seat selection will also be extra.
We know that many of our customers want to take only hand baggage with them and have no specific seating requirement and this change means we can continue to provide the lowest and most competitive fares. For those customers who do have specific seating requirements, other fare options are available and seat selection will be an optional extra.
How does this change affect me?

• Existing hand baggage only bookings - if you have an existing hand baggage only booking, or make a hand baggage only booking before 26 March, this change does not apply to you. You will still be able to choose your seat for free when you check-in, even if you are travelling after 26 March.
• Executive Club Members - for new bookings made on or after 26 March, seating benefits for Executive Club Members will apply to with baggage fares only. For hand baggage only fares, Executive Club Members of all tiers will be allocated a seat when they check-in and be able to choose an alternative seat for a fee.
• Families - if you are travelling with an infant (under 2 years) you'll continue to be able to choose your seats for free at any time. If you're travelling with children (between 2 and 11 years), we'll allocate you seats a few days before departure. We'll aim to seat you together, but if this isn't possible children will at least be seated with one adult in the booking.
• Customers with special assistance needs - if you require assistance because of a disability, please call us and we'll help you find the best seat to suit you for free, just as we do today.

(a) Easyjet et al. are not "moving upmarket", their business model simply doesn't permit it. And with Easyjet in particular, the strategy remains cost-cutting through the easyJet Lean programme and market position building on their top 100 routes (something like 75% of their capacity is at airports where they are either no 1 or 2).

(b) There is the little issue of weight & balance to consider if its a quiet flight or you're booking early....that's why the computer tries to fill up the aircraft from the rear.

If you prefer the legacy carriers, then you'll just have to work harder to get status, then you can get free seat allocation at the time of booking. :E

On competitive routes, LON (all airports) - GVA, for example the prices are all about the same be it LX or U2, BA etc. The network airlines offer a little more on board, but really not enough to make a difference.

The choices are really 'airport' and then Terminal if you are flying to LGW/LHR. We have found that if we are travelling to the West of London, BRS is often a better choice as you don't spend as much time fiddling around and getting out of the airport. Total journey time can be an hour less!