British Airways Seat Selection
 

I used FF miles to book flights from Prague to LIH (Kauai, Hawaii). We would have gladly used an additional 30,000 miles each to upgrade to business/first class, but it was only available on the Los Angeles to Hawaii leg—not for the 11 hour-and-twenty-minute haul from London to LAX.

Here’s the dilemma and question. It is free to choose seats on the British Airways flights (Prague to Heathrow—and Heathrow to LAX) but only if these are selected within 24 hours of departure. To choose our two seats now, the cost would range from $74 (for standard coach seats) to $182 (for standard coach seat in prime locations). FYI, this is only for the London to L.A. leg. I don’t care where I sit for 2-1/2 hours from Prague to London.

It is an enormous plane, with two levels. When I look at the seating chart, 99% of the seats are available. Only a few of the exit rows have been reserved. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth $182 to guarantee that we’ll sit together and have an aisle seat. I would hate to get stuck in middle seats for more eleven hours. But I would also hate to pay $182 and find there are entire open rows!

I know every flight will be different. But I’m curious if anyone waited until 24 before departure to choose their seats and if so, were the good seats all taken instantly?

I hate all these extra charges! However, on such a long flight I do like to choose where I want to sit and would likely, unhappily, fork over the extra money in advance.

Sometimes all that are left at the last minute are middle seats or the seats right by the rest rooms.

I meant to add, you don't have to pay extra now. You can keep checking the website to see if the seats are filling up and make a decision later.

Remember what seems good to you (aisle) might seem terrible to others.

If these are 747s then that upper level is all ClubWorld seating I suspect

What time of year are these flights? I suspect there are ways to find out how full these segments generally are but my inclination would be to wait somehow. OTOH if it is that important, spend the money.

BTW are you Executive Club members? I am trying to think if that would allow you to choose seating now.

I'm assuming you're on an A380 between LHR and LAX. When is the trip? Most seasoned BA flyers regard the seat booking fee as a ripoff and there are relatively few complaints about getting socked with awful seats if you pick them at 24h.

Remember the 24h clock is from your departure from Prague, not from London, so you'd be a couple of hours ahead of people who are originating in London. I personally wouldn't worry about it overmuch.

Did you use AA miles for the trip?

Edited to add, the seat maps you see online are no indication of how full the flight is. Most people don't pre-pay for seats so while they look open, the plane can be quite full, which is why I asked when these flights will take place.

For that long a flight, I have to pick my seat and will pay extra for the emergency row or bulkhead. I suspect the you're on an A380. If so, I would choose the upper deck since economy is 2-4-2 seating instead of 3-4-3. That way you're not sardined with a stranger. Check out seatguru.com for pointers though, since the upper emergency rows have some loss of legroom.

Thanks for your responses.

The flights will be Monday, March 19th.

Gardyloo: I do realize that the seating chart only reflects people who have paid the extra amount -- or are otherwise entitled to -- early seat selection.

But if the 24h clock really does begin in Prague then I would feel confident that we wouldn't get the worst seats. Thanks for pointing that out. Of course, many other travelers might be originating somewhere other than London, but not all of them.

Yes, I used AA FF miles for the trip.

Dukey1: Unfortunately, I am not an Executive Club member. I noticed it requires "Bronze" level for free seat selection 7 days in advance.

Yes, it is an A380. I did check Seatguru and the upper level has 2-4-2 seating for the steerage customers, instead of 3-4-3. That is what we would prefer.

BAEC bronze level = One World Ruby, if that helps you out. If you are sapphire you should be able to choose now. If not, I agree with KTravel about checking from time to time to see how things are filling up. I personally would hate to get stuck in the middle section.

Sorry, should have realized the aircraft is NOT a 747 (which we still get from MIA to LHR but hopefully not too much longer).

<<I’m curious if anyone waited until 24 before departure to choose their seats and if so, were the good seats all taken instantly?>>
Your seats are allocated automatically by the system beforehand but you only have access to that info 24hours before departure with the option to change them.

I have the same situation on my British Airways Christmas flight to London, we have to wait 24 hours prior to get our seats too. I think that is the strangest procedure of any airline I've flown on. I think all coach seats should be free and able to be booked when the flight is paid for, with an additional upgrade-for-cost option available for those that want better seats. I hope that I can get some decent seats in a couple weeks when I do the 24 hour thing! Fingers crossed! :0

I fly first or business class on BA from DEN to LHR and have for years. In first class you can book your seat when you book the ticket. For Business Class or Club World ( same thing ) you can only book seats 24 hours in advance unless you have tier status with Executive membership. I have always been fine with BA seat selection when checking in24 hours in advance. Even on the few occasions of flying with Mr. H. We've had our preferred seats ( aisle for him, window for me) next to each other. Strangely over the years they usually put me in the same seat, my preference for window seat. This year I
'M flying with family ( 4 of us ) and I didn't want to risk not getting seats together so paid some $500 to select seats in Davao e.

Good heavens where did Davao e come from? Should be in advance.

One more question:

If I wait to choose seats until 24h before I depart Prague, will ALL of the available seats still be free? What I would prefer is two seats in the 2-4-2 configuration upstairs. Does anyone know if there would still be an extra charge for those? If so, that will make my decision.

PS. There is no chance that they will randomly assign acceptable seats because DH and I booked the trips separately, using our respective FF miles. They wouldn't seat us together.

What will you do if you do wait and none of the seats upstairs ARE available or the ones which still are do not happen to be ones you'd prefer?

I always select my seats 24 hours from departure and have never had an issue, however we just take the regular coach seats, no bulkheads etc. I believe they will put you together - we have never bought 2 tickets together and been split up. And we fly a lot. I just check in exactly 24 hours before my flight and choose my seats.

The one time I have prepaid for seat selection I got to the airport and they had reassigned me because a person with a baby needed the bulkhead. No refund for the seat selection fee. They can also do this if they change the planes.

I fly BA a reasonably regularly long haul, usually from LHR or LGW and have us7ally managed to get decent seats together by checking in as soon as the online check in opens up. Last year when flying back from Buenos Aires I had a feeling that the flight would be very busy and booked seats a couple of weeks in advance. The choice was abysmal and when I did try to check in online, those seats had magically change to even worse seats at the very back of the plane. When we got to check in we got the "sorry the flight is overbooked" greeting. Just about to kick off when the agent then said "is it ok if we upgrade you" Oh, alright then :-)

90% of the time we have managed to get our preferred seats, which in economy are the upstairs cabin 2-4-4 configuration which are great, small cabin and just the two seats etc. , next best are centre section aisle and adjacent seat. If you are happy with the latter, I wouldn’t pay, if you want the upstairs cabin I would most definite pay.

British Air is having money troubles. Their service, which used to be excellent, has declined significantly.

Earlier this year we flew from Seattle to Italy and back on British Air, using miles plus one free companion airfare for Club World/Business class seats. I like to book the long legs ahead of time and will grudgingly pay for this privilege. But I was not allowed to do this on the return flight. Bad sign; they won't take your money.

It turned out BA had overbooked the Club World cabin and we were downgraded. I guess having spent relatively actual cash, we were expendable. They gave us a Debit card for £400 and hustled us on the flight. At home the BA debit card didn't work. I called the phone number on the back of the card. After more than an hour on the phone, we connected with an agent who saw we were re-imbursed. But the phone call cost over $400. I asked for compensation and was refused.

I'm researching other airlines.

Dukey: <What will you do if you do wait and none of the seats upstairs ARE available or the ones which still are do not happen to be ones you'd prefer?>

Um... be disappointed and save almost $200. ;-)
The only thing I would really hate is being stuck in a middle seat for more than 11 hours. And I'm trusting that being able to check in 5-1/2 hours before anyone who is originating in London will eliminate that. (It's a 2-1/2 hour flight from Prague -- and there is a 3-hour layover in London.)

Crellston: <90% of the time we have managed to get our preferred seats, which in economy are the upstairs cabin 2-4-4 configuration which are great, small cabin and just the two seats etc. , next best are centre section aisle and adjacent seat. If you are happy with the latter, I wouldn’t pay>

I would be fine with a center aisle and adjacent seat. So I might take my chances.

Jamikins: <I believe they will put you together - we have never bought 2 tickets together and been split up.> But it's good to hear that so many of you have not gotten stuck with horrid seats by checking in 24h in advance. In fact, NO ONE has said that.

But as I said, we did NOT buy the tickets together. I might send an email and ask them if it would be possible for us to be seated together.

Mimar: Wow. Sorry you had such a horrible experience!

Thank you all for your input. I'll let you know what we finally decide. Now ... time to pick hotels!

If you did not buy the seats together, there is probably little chance that you will be seated together. I wouldn't even bother to either email or call requesting to be seated together. From my experience, you will be wasting your time. In fact, I believe those that respond to phone calls and emails really don't have the authority to appropriate seats. Your best bet if you don't buy your seats would be to arrive early and ask to be seated together at check- in.

>The one time I have prepaid for seat selection I got to the airport and they had reassigned me because a person with a baby needed the bulkhead. No refund for the seat selection fee. They can also do this if they change the planes.<

@ Jamikins: you could have applied online to have the seat selection fee refunded if they changed you from the seat you paid to reserve. I've claimed it 6 months after the fact (procrastinator that I am) and they had no issue with it.

I had the same dilemma for a flight from DC to Paris via London. I didn’t want to pay the money for a seat assignment, but also worried about getting a poor seat. I kept checking the online seating chart and when I saw seats becoming full I bit the bullet and purchased for the DC to LHR leg. Glad I did because the flight was fully booked and who knows what I would have gotten if I waited. Maybe it would have been fine, but for the overnight portion I didn’t want us split up or stuck in middle seats. Unfortunately, the airline counts on people like me so they can make extra cash!

Yes, it's a two-fer for BA: they earn extra cash and they reward silver and gold status passengers with free seat selection.

I no longer fly BA transatlantic. They charge a fortune for business class tickets, have uncomfortable business class seating/beds, have poor customer service in person and via the telephone, and they separate travellers who are traveling together to pressure them into paying to be seated together. I feel sorry for the employees who have to put up with so many complaining and angry passengers. Not the fault of BA, but since London itself is rarely my final destination when flying, having to deal with Heathrow + BA in the same trip is something I everything I can to avoid.

I fly BA several times a year, albeit within Europe, but I'm only a Blue executive club member so get no privileges. I check-in as close to the 24 hours as possible. When viewing the seat allocation, I almost always change it, to an aisle seat as far forward as possible (avoiding the first row behind business/premium economy so I don't get the curtain in my face!).

One year I'd booked 5 of us on the same flight, some paid for, some using miles, but in 3 separate transactions. I opened 3 different BA tabs, so I could check us all in more or less simultaneously and got us all seats together in the same row.

Keep checking the seat charts, see how it's going.

If I know I have an overnight flight, I do tend to reserve my seat in advance so I can be sure of an aisle seat not too close to the bulkhead where there are baby cribs, and not too close to the toilets or galleys.

I'm a Blue Executive Club member as well, and hate those extra seat charges. I've just booked a flight with BA from LHR to Cape Town, and am paying more than my brother, who will be flying from Minneapolis to Cape Town via Amsterdam with Delta/KLM. How can that be?

When the 24 hour window opens, a game of musical chairs takes place. Pre-assigned seats are revealed and some passengers upgrade either by payment or status or whatever, leaving their former assignments open for the next passengers to move up to, if desired, and so on. You never know what will show up.

Heimdall: "just booked a flight with BA from LHR to Cape Town, ... How can that be?

Strangely, it's because South African Airways decided to fly all flights via JHB, leaving BA the only airline flying direct from London to Cape Town - a situation that they take full advantage of.

I've just come back from CPT and flew via Istanbul, because the 16 hour flight via Turkey cost me about half of BA fare.

BA have had a long history of monopolising the "old colonial" routes.

The two routes they abuse are to UK to the Caribbean and to South Africa. Their prices on some particular routes like Cape Town, Nassau and Barbados are comical in terms of price. Some passengers are simply prepared to pay ridiculous economy prices for around 2 hours of convenience.

The prices we are quoted to Nassau average £1300. I've never paid more than £600 to fly through Atlanta with Delta.

I'd agree with Willit about Cape Town. There are always good deals to fly through Dubai or Istanbul. Emirates have huge A380s to fill on their hub route to Dubai.

BA have always reminded me of a Natioanlised company, stroppy staff and crap service levels with poor prices. They need to send their staff on secondment to Singapore Airlines.

OK, so an airline company has a route nobody else has and yet you don't expect them to take advantage of that fact? DUH

@Dukey1- Not Duh, merely answering Heimdall as to why that particular route is so expensive.

The ignore button really can't soon enough to apply to some of our intellectually changed posters.

Challenged posters.

Bloody autocorrect.

Willit, I took a direct flight with BA to Cape Town last October, and sat next to someone who prefers the KLM flights from Amsterdam. In April I will be saving a little money by going via JHB on the way down, but the BA flight is still expensive. Strangely the fare was a little lower going direct from CPT to LHR on the way back.