[/QUOTE]

This is exactly why I go out of my way to avoid BA whenever possible, despite my OW Emerald status. I find it highly insulting that if I didn't have status I would have to fork over an extra $100 on top of my $4k-7K "discounted" J ticket to select a seat, when I can do it for free on other carriers.[/QUOTE]

But surely if you had to fly BA at short notice you'd find a much better choice of seat available to you as most wouldn't have been preselected.