More BA bad behaviour with Avios premium availability
Was trying to get a J one way LHR -SFO but continual checking this week has shown zero availability all the way into Jan.
Checking the loads reveals J9 C9 etc most days but still not one seat for Avios. W9, Y9 for the rest of the dates and BA quite happy to make loads of Avios seats available in these classes but not Club.
When T-24 turns up all of a sudden you can get as many J class Avios seats as you want but clearly most of us can't wait to book with less than 24 hours notice.
(notice that there are more than 9 Avios J seats for tomorrows BA 285 when there were zero all through the week).
This is just not acceptable. Avios are not just for W and Y cabins and whilst I understand the need to maximize revenue, offering no J seats until almost T-24 is not on (especially when the flights are wide open in all classes less than 7 days before departure)
With a little appetite for risk you can now use my method to determine which flights are likely to have Avios availability open up and then either wait or book WT+ and get ready to UUA on the day.
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On that route in particular, due to the mercurial booking patterns of those in IT, it is often the case that availability is showing only at T-24. So the obvious thing to do is to book WT+ (or First) and then switch over at the last moment, or go via LAX, LAS or SAN. Very similar to Seattle, for identical reasons. If you are Gold there is no charge for cancelling and rebooking.
You can book Avios bookings up to a few hours before departure, that changed at least a year ago.
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It isn't ideal, but I just find workarounds... I knew this was the case with Avios availability in J on LHR-LAX and last month I bagged a J seat with 24 hrs notice. Did exactly the same on the return though that opened up a few days before. As a backup I knew I could always book in Y at the last minute and find a seat at a perfectly reasonable cost.
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So you're saying you can buy a normal WT+ ticket, say 6 months before travel, then upgrade at literally the last minute with the Avios?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HIDDY
They need to change their t&c's then.
Not really. That clause just allows BA to charge a close-in ticketing fee (a la United). So far BA have chosen not to. The last sentence implies it's not an outright prohibition but rather may face an administrative penalty.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Oh
corporate-wage-slave
So you're saying you can buy a normal WT+ ticket, say 6 months before travel, then upgrade at literally the last minute with the Avios?
That's good to know
I don't think it's "literally" the last minute, but you can certainly make UuA and new bookings a few hours before departure, 2 hours being the minimum for me so far (I live well over an hour from NCL and EDI airports). If you need to cancel and rebook you still need to do that the day before, unless you ring up BAEC and they offer to do it for you that way.
When T-24 turns up all of a sudden you can get as many J class Avios seats as you want but clearly most of us can't wait to book with less than 24 hours notice.
...
This is just not acceptable. Avios are not just for W and Y cabins and whilst I understand the need to maximize revenue, offering no J seats until almost T-24 is not on (especially when the flights are wide open in all classes less than 7 days before departure)
Why not? Just because it doesn't suit you? Just because you might then actually have to pay for a cash J ticket if you want to fly J?
Indeed, just because you might do precisely what yield management's job is to get you to do - pay as much as you are really prepared to pay up for your travel, as opposed to pay as little as you would like to get away with?
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Was trying to get a J one way LHR -SFO but continual checking this week has shown zero availability all the way into Jan.
Checking the loads reveals J9 C9 etc most days but still not one seat for Avios. W9, Y9 for the rest of the dates and BA quite happy to make loads of Avios seats available in these classes but not Club.
When T-24 turns up all of a sudden you can get as many J class Avios seats as you want but clearly most of us can't wait to book with less than 24 hours notice.
(notice that there are more than 9 Avios J seats for tomorrows BA 285 when there were zero all through the week).
This is just not acceptable. Avios are not just for W and Y cabins and whilst I understand the need to maximize revenue, offering no J seats until almost T-24 is not on (especially when the flights are wide open in all classes less than 7 days before departure)
Concur with most of this. I'd thought this "newish" approach was temporary, but its been around a while now.
I can understand reward availability being 'withheld' in the peak J booking window(s) ... but the current strategy doesn't really help anyone apart from those CW travellers who like to see a half-empty lower deck.
As has been noted, the logical workaround is to purchase several avios tickets you don't want, then cancel all bar one at the last minute, hardly revenue optimising for BA.
A U bucket mini-opening around t-8 or 9 weeks might be the answer? As 6F sort of notes revenue mgt have a pretty good idea which days have the lighter J loads.
Why not? Just because it doesn't suit you? Just because you might then actually have to pay for a cash J ticket if you want to fly J?
Indeed, just because you might do precisely what yield management's job is to get you to do - pay as much as you are really prepared to pay up for your travel, as opposed to pay as little as you would like to get away with?
I earnt my miles flying, with the expectation that there will be at least some J (Avios) availability some of the time.
If the Exec program states that there will be almost no availability for J seats even when J9 etc for ever then that is also fine, just don't set expectations.
And no, I am not going to pay £5K for a crappy Club seat with pi*s poor food and everything else that goes with it. I fly Y because that's as much as flying BA is worth to me.
FYI, the J seat was for a friend of mine as she starts a new job on Monday.
P.S.
VS have availability in J for about 10 days out of the next 30 on this route and I was able to book a J miles seat on UA even though they had far fewer revenue seats available.
P.P.S
BA currently are showing availability for a one-way J LHR-SFO for only 10 separate days in the next 365
Last edited by Prospero; Dec 9, 12 at 1:39 am..
Reason: Remove personal gibe
I think the lack of availability is purely down to the popularity of Avios to be honest.
I don't know the figures but I suspect membership of the BAEC must have increased dramatically over the last few years.
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