Do bulkhead and Exit seats become available to Silvers at some point?
May 3, 2016, 4:01 am
#1
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Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Location: TLV/LHR
Programs: BA GGL, IHG Diamond Elite Amb, HH Diamond, Avis PC, Hertz PC, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 12,948
Do bulkhead and Exit seats become available to Silvers at some point?
Trying to reserve seats for Mrs Clubman on her upcoming business trip to NY, unfortunately in Y.
Can't seem to select row 39 bulkhead for her (not even offering it as a paid option), which is strange, as I thought it was only exits that were reserved for Golds.
So question is, will these seats open up for her prior to OLCI, or does her status make no difference in this case?
Also, do Exit rows that are currently only available at a cost, become free of charge for Silvers at some point, or would she have to pay whatever happens?
Sorry for the novice questions, but I've been lucky enough to have had Gold for years now, and not really familiar with the rules in respect to Silvers and seating.
Can't seem to select row 39 bulkhead for her (not even offering it as a paid option), which is strange, as I thought it was only exits that were reserved for Golds.
So question is, will these seats open up for her prior to OLCI, or does her status make no difference in this case?
Also, do Exit rows that are currently only available at a cost, become free of charge for Silvers at some point, or would she have to pay whatever happens?
Sorry for the novice questions, but I've been lucky enough to have had Gold for years now, and not really familiar with the rules in respect to Silvers and seating.
May 3, 2016, 4:14 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: NCL
Programs: FB Plat; BAEC Gold
Posts: 930
You can pay between 14 and 4 days prior to departure for exit seats as Silver.
BA seating policy guide is here.
BA seating policy guide is here.
May 3, 2016, 4:19 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: North East
Programs: Hilton HHonors, BAEC Silver
Posts: 1,204
Usually I find they open if not assigned for infants etc. once the flight is within the airport systems. I would check at 72/48/24 hours ahead and see what you can bag, if anything.
May 3, 2016, 4:41 am
#4
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,197
They're free 24 hours before and available two weeks out.
Being silver offers no advantage here, except that you might know where to look for the good seats.
Being silver offers no advantage here, except that you might know where to look for the good seats.
May 3, 2016, 4:43 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,197
They're free 24 hours before and available two weeks out.
Being silver offers no advantage here, except that you might know where to look for the good seats.
Being silver offers no advantage here, except that you might know where to look for the good seats.
May 4, 2016, 7:49 am
#6
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London, ARN, HEL, ..... or MAN
Programs: BA GGL / GFL, Mucci Diamond!, HH Diamond, Radisson Premium, IHG Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 5,874
May 4, 2016, 8:17 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, VS Gold, Virgin Trains Traveller, Her Majesties Secret Service.
Posts: 407
So the Compare Tiers table on the BA website lists the following for silver -
Free seat selection2 - Silver - at time of booking (same as gold)
2Free seat selection is not available on hand baggage only fares or group rate bookings and excludes exit row seats on long haul flights for Bronze and Silver Members.
No mention of bulkheads..
BA tiers table out of date?
Free seat selection2 - Silver - at time of booking (same as gold)
2Free seat selection is not available on hand baggage only fares or group rate bookings and excludes exit row seats on long haul flights for Bronze and Silver Members.
No mention of bulkheads..
BA tiers table out of date?
May 4, 2016, 12:26 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Location: TLV/LHR
Programs: BA GGL, IHG Diamond Elite Amb, HH Diamond, Avis PC, Hertz PC, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 12,948
Reason being that Mrs clubman wasn't really traveling much without me, but now she's traveling far more for work, I'll gift her Gold once her Silver runs out.
In the meantime, her loss was my brother in law's gain!
Sep 14, 2016, 4:16 am
#9
Join Date: May 2009
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 450
I posted this question yesterday on another thread, but maybe this one is better:
I had thought (presumably wrongly) that bulkhead/exit row seats become available to nons-status passengers 14 days out for transatlantic flights - this seems consistent with the policy linked above. My wife is on such a flight in 10 days, and I (as a gold) can see a bulkhead seat available if I make a trial booking, but it isn't available to her, and I'm not sure whether she should just pay for another seat at this point.
I had thought (presumably wrongly) that bulkhead/exit row seats become available to nons-status passengers 14 days out for transatlantic flights - this seems consistent with the policy linked above. My wife is on such a flight in 10 days, and I (as a gold) can see a bulkhead seat available if I make a trial booking, but it isn't available to her, and I'm not sure whether she should just pay for another seat at this point.
Sep 14, 2016, 6:45 am
#10
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: LON
Programs: BA Gold; LH FTL; IHG Diamond; Marriott Gold; ALL Gold
Posts: 1,758
As a Silver travelling TATL last month in W and Y, the bulkhead rows opened up for me 72 hours before departure. Even then, I wasn't allowed to select some of the seats in those rows because they had a bassinet attached to them, although nobody was using the bassinets on the flight itself - I guess those are saved until check-in just in case.
Sep 14, 2016, 6:57 am
#11
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Singapore
Programs: BA Gold. KrisFlyer Gold
Posts: 732
Also be aware that, under the new FLY seating protocols, a SCH will most likely not be able to select the exit row or bulkhead seat next to a GCH who has reserved that seat, when the flight is not full in Y.
It would be interesting to know how this arrangement intersects with paid seating arrangements when this becomes available to all passengers. I would have thought BA would take your cash and free up the seat, regardless of the FLY privilege for GCHs, but I've had spare exit row seats next to me pretty much all the time in long-haul Y recently so that could be wrong...
It would be interesting to know how this arrangement intersects with paid seating arrangements when this becomes available to all passengers. I would have thought BA would take your cash and free up the seat, regardless of the FLY privilege for GCHs, but I've had spare exit row seats next to me pretty much all the time in long-haul Y recently so that could be wrong...
Sep 14, 2016, 7:35 am
#12
Join Date: Nov 2011
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,222
Also be aware that, under the new FLY seating protocols, a SCH will most likely not be able to select the exit row or bulkhead seat next to a GCH who has reserved that seat, when the flight is not full in Y.
It would be interesting to know how this arrangement intersects with paid seating arrangements when this becomes available to all passengers. I would have thought BA would take your cash and free up the seat, regardless of the FLY privilege for GCHs, but I've had spare exit row seats next to me pretty much all the time in long-haul Y recently so that could be wrong...
It would be interesting to know how this arrangement intersects with paid seating arrangements when this becomes available to all passengers. I would have thought BA would take your cash and free up the seat, regardless of the FLY privilege for GCHs, but I've had spare exit row seats next to me pretty much all the time in long-haul Y recently so that could be wrong...
