Kate_W

flanneruk:

It may be that the reason you could select seats in advance is because a) you were flying full fare (in any cabin) or b) have Silver or Gold status (or equivalent with Oneworld). Amazingly, full fare Y passengers (World Traveller/Economy) get to choose seats but discounted Club World/Business) do not.

I've seen the difference with the new policy, including the inability for non-elites to book in advance. For example, I had a Club Europe trip booked by our corporate travel agent. When I went to Manage by Booking on the BA website, initially it told me that I couldn't select seats in advance. Then I added by BAEC number (Gold status) and seat selection opened up.

putch29m: If when you go to check in online you absolute hate the seats on offer (e.g. only middle seats available, or seats apart), then do not check in online. Once you've checked in, you can't change your seats. You can take the risk of going to the airport and trying to get better seats. It is a significant risk (the selection left at the airport might be even worse than what's online), so only do this as a last resort if your seat selection is completely unliveable. (I would take the risk and wait until I got to the airport, for example, if the only seats left are middle seats because I'm claustrophobic and couldn't bear it.) For example, if you get the type of seat you want (e.g. aisle or window) but can't sit together, you're probably better off keeping your seats and checking in online, and then asking your seatmates politely if they would be willing to change so you can sit together.

Generally, though, my experience with airlines that don't let you check in until 24 hours before (Air France) is that there are enough seats left to get the type of seat you want (e.g. aisle or window), just not necessarily enough seats to be able to sit where you want (and, more rarely, not enough seats to be able to sit together in your seat-type of choice).

johngerard

BA introduced this condition around December as my work colleague booked in November after some phone calls was able to get pre booked seats only because he had booked in November. Because children must be seated with their parents BA allow families to pre book seats 3 days before flying - everyone else is given 24 hours. They still guarantee though that despite all this pre booking that a child will be sat with a parent.

putch29m

we are flying at around 8:25 p.m. on a monday night to heathrow. we should go on line starting 8:25 p.m. on sunday night? or can we begin earlier? what has been your experiences? i don't care if we don't sit across the aisle from one another; i just want us both to have aisle seats. from your experience, is that a reasonable expectation?

robjame

I would try earlier with the expectation that you probably can't get through until 8:25. If I couldn't get through within an hour of that I would phone BA.

Kate_W

Probably the earliest you'll be able to check in will be T-25 (i.e. 25 hours before), but more like T-24. By the way, I check in online for BA flights quite frequently (about once a month) and have only had a problem once in trying to complete check-in (on the other hand, I don't worry about that fact that much because I get to choose my seats in advance). But what I wanted to emphasise is that I haven't had any problems with "congestion" in terms of using the BA website at T-24. Also, I think that, even if there's a glitch and you can't complete check in, I think you'd still be able to select your seats at T-24.

I would think you've got a reasonably good chance of getting a couple of aisle seats, but quite possibly nowhere near each other. The pool of people who get to select seats in advance (those with elite status and those flying full fare economy) is relatively small, and some of those elites will be travelling in the World Traveller Plus, Club World and First cabins. I would expect that about 50% will be open at T-24. After your trip, you should post a note and let us know how wide open seat selection was. That might calm other travellers' nerves in the future.

nbujic

"Probably the earliest you'll be able to check in will be T-25 (i.e. 25 hours before)"

that has been our experience. No trouble getting on line and isle seats .Print your boarding passes!

jody

Is it possible to make your seat selection online , but still get your boarding pass and check your luggage at the counter? Sounds weird I know but at MCO after you check in and get your boarding pass , you take your own checked and tagged luggage to the screening area and can watch and see if it makes it past that first step without being opened.

robjame

jody - you can seat select, print the boarding pass and still go up to the check-in wicket. I do to see about upgrades etc.

nbujic

"Is it possible to make your seat selection online , but still get your boarding pass and check your luggage at the counter?"
We could not book seats for the second leg of our trip Toronto _ London - Nice, so we made selection for Toronto _ London and checked in at the counter in Toronto. On the way back, we got the seats all the way ( who knows why it worked just on the way back) and printed boarding
passes all the way ; with only carry on luggage, it was great getting to the airport in Nice an hour before the flight and going straight to the security.
BA has people on the ground who will direct you what to do with your luggage ( that needs to be tagged) and everything else.

sashh

the other good seats to have are the emergency exit seats. You will not be able to book these online only at check in. WHy? because you hav to be physically capable of opeing the emergency exit so if you request these the staff want to have a look at you.

If you don;t get the seats you want ask for the emergency exit seats at check in.

And then ask again at the gate. If the flight is not full these seats are often left empty so you can change at the gate.

cali123

From my experience, if you're just going to the continent, it is likely the flight will be far from full, and so selecting your seats won't matter much.

jody

Thanks, robjame,

The last couple of times we've flown BA we were able to get upgrades at the check-in desk. Orlando BA flight check-ins are sometimes zoo-like, with kids, stuffed animals, and excess baggage!!

Kate_W

One caveat to robjame's comment about selecting seats, printing boarding passes and then going up to the check-in desk. Except for the remote possibility of getting a discretionary operational upgrade (i.e. getting one for free because they've oversold your section) or paying for an upgrade to World Traveller Plus (if available), you CANNOT change your seats under the new BA seating policy after you have checked in for a flight online. So, yes you can go to the check-in desk (e.g. to drop off bags, to see about checking in/getting a BP for your connecting flight if you haven't already got one), but if you're unhappy with the seat selection you saw via online check-in and check in online anyway, you CANNOT change your seat afterward. BA policy is very rigid in this regard (and everyone is angry about it ...)

Ackislander

I posted this last month on the airlines board, but it is worth repeating here, though it will increase your paranoia. Yes, I was flying in cattle class.
_________
On April 24, I flew BA from BOS to LHR. Like a good doobee, I checked in 24 hours in advance and was assigned a seat automatically. Yes, automatically. Even though I was online exactly 23 hours and 59 minutes in advance, I was unable to get to the seat selection screen (and I have a witness -- this wasn't just incompetence!) Growling, I printed my boarding card, planning to change it at the airport since it was a really lousy seat.

Guess what? No seat changes for people who have preprinted their boarding cards! Told so at the checkin desk and again by the chief purser on boarding. Not much of an incentive for being a good passenger, is it?

Fortunately, it was a 747, there were lots of open seats, and I was actually able to move after the doors closed.

BUT on the return flight (CDG-LHR-BOS) we were able to select seats and confirm them 24 hours in advance, but we did NOT print the boarding cards! We got boarding cards when we checked our bagggage through for the return flights at CDG.

Aside: as always, food was much better between the UK and US than vice versa.

robjame

Ack - Ach - The rules seem to change as they go along, don't they?
Seems to me that there is something about YYZ they makes you go to the check-in wicket whether or not you have a boarding pass - baggage check perhaps. Maybe that is what lets you get reassigned.
Out of habit I always appear way ahead of the boarding time - like 3 hours - which I think puts you in a more advantageous spot.
Do you think seat selection on the BA site has something to do with Club membership?

daveesl

Many airlines do the online 24 hr check-in only stuff. However, I have found that by simply calling them up, I can get my seat.

Now, if BA is not even allowing this, then I'll never do BA again.

dave

Kate_W

robjame: You might have to go to a desk to drop off bags, but if you have already checked in online, you can't change your seats. The rules have been in place for flights booked since late last fall (around November or December 2006, I think).

Yes, the new rules are associated with British Airways Executive Club membership and, even then, the basic Blue card won't get you any special privileges. To get advance seat selection, you need Silver or Gold status (or the equivalent status with Oneworld) or to have booked a full fare World Traveller or World Traveller Plus ticket, a Club World ticket or a First Class ticket.

I continue to fly BA only because: a) I have a lot of miles already, b) I like World Traveller Plus, and c) so far, I've managed to hang on to Gold status. But if I ever lose that privileged status, I'll drop BA in a heartbeat if it retains this stupid seating policy. (I've heard rumours, though, that it is wavering.)

suze

dave, nope even calling BA does not get you a seat assignment.

putch29m

let's see if i understand you correctly. i can get a seat approximately 24 hours before my flight but i should NOT print out my boarding pass because, by doing that, i would not be allowed to change my seat once i get to the airport. what "confirmation" would i get on-line as to what seat i have selected? i understand that the seat would be on a boarding pass i printed out, right? you say that flights from jfk to heathrow are often not very crowded so i shouldn't "worry" about getting an aisle seat, is that right? we are flying the beginning of july which will be a more popular time to fly so the plane not being full may not apply for that time period. i still have to go through the same nonsense 24 hours before i fly home to n.y. from heathrow, correct? i don't really care if my husband and i don't sit next to each other or across the aisle from eachother. my main concern is that we get aisle seats since on the forum people have stated the seats are a bit small on BA. i guess we'll try to ask for bulkhead seats and maybe we'll get lucky. thanks for all the good advice.

Kate_W

putch29m:

Go onto the BA website 24 hours before flight and choose your seats. If you like your seats, then "check in" and if you want, print your boarding pass. As I have already said at least once (and possibly twice) on this thread, it's not the act of printing your boarding pass that locks you into a seat. It's not selecting a seat that locks you into a seat. It's "checking in" online (which happens after you select a seat but before printing your boarding pass).

So, again, if you like the seats you've been able to select, then continue to check in on line and print your boarding passes. Go to the airport, drop off your bags and go. Once on board, if the flight isn't full after take off, there might be some opportunity to move around to an empty row (but don't try to do this before the doors close; FAs need to keep people in their assigned seats until then so they can complete their counts and ensure they've got everyone on board).

Now, if you don't like the seats available when you go to check in on line, then you can choose the best available (best of the worst) and then stop. Do not proceed any further. Do not check in on line. You should then go to the airport as early as you can (maybe 3.5-4 hours in advance if possible) and check in with an agent.

There is an online demo of check in and seat selection on the BA website. I strongly recommend that you try it out as soon as possible so that you've got a better understanding of what the screens look like.

One more time: It's not printing the boarding pass that locks you into your seat. It's the step before that - checking in on line.

Good luck.