vibguy

I know people who love the intimacy of seats 25A/C on the A319.

gcuk

Not the case unfortunately. Just looked at a booking to Edinburgh non-HBO and Row 1 is available but all exit rows on the A321 greyed out.

travelwithross

Same here. All exit rows are greyed out on all my European and domestic bookings. Luckily I got the seats before the "change". Would be nice to get some answers from BA though if this is an official change to policy.

ianwall

I also just did a dummy non-HBO booking to Edinburgh and had all exit rows greyed out. The official policy (which I'm pasting here, before they alter it) doesn't make any reference to short-haul seats, which you'd assume means free for Gold / Silvers.

https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...sing-your-seat

pjh981

If this is an unannounced policy change, I just wonder if it is a result of some analysis which shows that since the reduction in seat pitch throughout the short haul fleet, golds and silvers are opting to buy economy and select the exit row seats than buy club and sit in 31 inches of pitch for the sake of a salad!

Cymro

As a silver I've only ever paid a flat price on each flight to select HBO seats, though the prices offered have varied between £7 and £21. Generally I haven't bothered unless an exit row was available, but 12C on an A320 has always been the same price as 25B.

They could have been running a small scale trial I suppose.

Oh and I did pay extra on a VY codeshare once, and on EasyJet they actually moved people into the exit rows because they'd have been empty otherwise.

Cymro

Even if it is, it's pretty hardcore revenue management to set it up so that we are banned from selecting them at all rather than either paying a premium or making them available to golds only until two weeks out, then charging a premium to everyone else like long haul (which would be a genuine enhancement to golds, though at the expense of silvers).

The CE cabin seems to have got bigger as well - at least until close to departure.

Modo

Wonder if that is coming??

Paid a premium for exit row/extra leg room in Asia over Christmas.Asked for a beer - paid for, not comp either - and refused. No alcohol in exit rows.

Offered to move whilst consuming in to the rows of empty seats forward and drink there. Firmly told that after drinking no return to my premium seat permissible.

This on an airline deigned not safe enough to fly in to The USA.

I can see the logic - but it might "disrupt" the premium pricing strategy of BA. LOL

On Topic.... might explain this thread. It will take BA ICT many aeons to incorporate that in to on-line booking engines!

Modo

Deleted

Dupe - dodgy internet

headingwest

Despite being told many times by various posters on this forum that Club Europe is as successful as ever, I very much doubt that is the case. If, to fill cabins, they have to resort to selling business class tickets at a little over the cost of an economy ticket, as they did with the recent LGW sales, then something is obviously very wrong. I'm sure that they've noticed a shift towards the exit row seats and are trying their very best to 'encourage' their regular customers back to the front of the plane.

One other point, recently airberlin introduced a new seating policy of blocking all seats up to and including the exit rows, but at least their own elite members (not other oneworld Emeralds) can still choose priority seating. Maybe BA have taken it one step further!

Buzzz

As a very tall Gold (6'5"), this would be a serious enough change to cause me to look elsewhere. Access to the exit row seats isn't just a luxury for me, it's an absolute necessity.

themapelligroup

I'm starting to wonder what's the point of status if BA continues with its cutting policy.

I really hope this is a IT glitch, it would be nice if someone from BA could have a word on this issue.

headingwest

It seems unlikely to me that this is a IT glitch considering that it doesn't affect just one particular aircraft but all shorthaul seating. Longhaul seat maps remain unaffected, suggesting this is a policy change rather than an error.

ginger50

^+1 I am afraid that I am with you on this one. I used to be able to pay extra to get guaranteed legroom in CE, when BA removed that I downgraded myself to ET to get exit row seats. Unless they can guarantee a seat with legroom then I already look elsewhere.

It is a real shame because I like so many of the other aspects of the BA product .... oh well!

lost_in_translation

I have several ET return flights to book which I've been holding off doing, very much hoping this isn't an unannounced policy change and I've missed the exit row on all of them! Will certainly make me think twice about using BA for the return leg back to London in particular where lounge access isn't as much of a factor.