British Airways Seat Upgrades for crew
 

Hi,
I was just wondering I am flying with BA in November doing a longhaul flight and I booked my flights online as normal, I work for a partner airline and have spoke to a few people about cabin upgrades when flying. I was just wondering is it actually possible
for partner airline staff to be upgraded for free by crew on board and what the procedure is? Would it be a case of politley asking the SCM onboard at the door if its possible and showing airline ID or is this not actually a thing thats possible.I work for one of the partner airlines and
I know we can get standby tickets but our staff travel policy is a bit vague when it comes to BA so was wondering if any crew or anyone could help out with this as if possible would love to upgrade somehow.

thanks :)

If you booked normal tickets then I doubt you would have a chance of an upgrade in all honesty, but then I don't fly BA that often. I was upgraded a few times on BA when I worked for another OneWorld carrier and traveled on duty tickets, although only within Europe, but my priority code specifically allowed upgrading on a space available basis.

I'd say you would probably have more chance of an upgrade if you were using your staff standbys, at the very least you would be getting the same flight for cheaper and with more flexibility if you used an ID ticket.

There's no "procedure" and if you are on a commercial ticket then TBH it's probably not even worth asking or hinting that you are airline staff: Any upgrades done onboard are subject to monitoring at head office and the SCCMs are aware that at some point they may be asked why an individual was moved....

TBH these days even BA's own staff using standby tickets on BA flights are unlikely to gain any, err, "advantage" ..(please don't shoot the messenger, please don't blame the frontline staff )

Obviously any staff ticket with a J class priority gives you a much better chance of getting something "nice".

Ah perfect thanks for the help and yeah I completely undertstand and its no issue at all haha, Like I said was just wondering if it was even possible but if not thats fine so I understand its out of their control if its all monitored.

Also these days any passenger hearing you ask for an upgrade on that basis will be straight on Twitter - oddly the paying SLF get pretty worked up about employees getting benefits denied to them.......

Not worth it the risk for the Cabin Crew or the airline - far better to choose a Silver card holder or someone old & decrepit or with mobility issues for the upgrade

The staff travel system these days is extremely transparent, staff know exactly how many seats are available in each cabin, how many are booked and how many have checked in, prior to boarding. If there are upgrades available they will go to those with the cabin priority and seniority. The old days of hovering around the desk dropping hints are all but gone.

Unless you are dead heading crew of course, in which case its Capt's descretion. :mad:

You'll get old one day.

I've had a upgrade once or twice ... nice to get but very rare these days unless you have a Gold Card or equivalent.................

Tensions are high at BA and things like unpaid upgrades are very risky business for the foreseeable future.

Please don't put the cabin crew/pilots in an awkward position, they would love to help you out but right now we're not even able to look after our own sadly.

I'm intrigued...how would head office know that someone sat in a different, vacant seat?

...
.... but anyone can report it ....

....

Slightly off topic but never mind upgrades for staff there is an inherent problem in the upgrade system for fare paying passengers.
I am booked LHR/YVR in PE, an offer is on to upgrade to Club at a reasonable price on my flight, so far so good.If you are travelling with a partner though there is no way of seeing the available seat plan before you complete the upgrade, it could be available seats are across decks let alone cabins and there is no return from the booking after you have paid. Rang the call centre (South Africa I suspect) and they could not help, using the phone the price tripled. Tried discussing it and suspect the agent put the phone down on me, I was cut off anyway.
I am a life long BA fan and in denial their standards had slipped ,,, beginning to think I am wrong!
Never had this problem with other airlines???

Have a look at ExpertFlyer.com for the flight seat map (you don't need to subscribe for a basic query)

Appreciate the suggestion but it is not seeing the seat map before confirming a booking that is the problem, it is seeing the AVAILABLE seat map the same as you can on most other airlines.
In the end I took the chance as I really wanted to be in the upper 747 cabin and was able to get 60A and 60B, mind you £250 to reserve them!!!

There is one way of seeing the available seats before committing to the upgrade.
Go to the BA website and make a dummy booking for the flights you are on, opting for the class you wish to upgrade to.

Once you've chosen the flights and before you have to enter any personal or payment details, you can choose your seats and you get to see the seating plan showing what is still available.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1fab48d1b0.jpg
A bit of a pain and I agree that it should be easier but by doing this, you can at least get an idea of what's available before upgrading.

Coincidentally I am booked to fly LHR-YVR in PE within the next week. No window seats available - you get the option to view before deciding to pay.
Flight back a week later is the same - hardly any seats available to choose, and for a minimum of GBP45. Might as well wait until I can choose for free, and then double-check on day of flight to see if any others have become available.

Also, a bit off-topic, when I booked, BA were using the A380 on the route and I was looking forward to flying on the A380 again, but from 1 October they have downgraded the plane to a 747 :-(

ExpertFlyer gives the available seat map for all classes for a specified flight - it's not like SeatGuru that just shows the layout for an a/c type - EF will help you, I'm sure! It will also allow (possibly subscription only) you to set alerts for when BA move you and don't let you know :(

In the end decided to upgrade to Club outbound, upper deck on the 747 is so much nicer! No way I can justify an extra £1500 with pre reserved seats but it is only money!
Thanks all anyway

Absolutely agree on the 747 upper deck - hope you enjoy it!