Originally Posted by
seacow
but I maintain my view that this charge isn't what I would expect from a premium brand in a premium cabin more Ryan Air
Look at it a different way. Most airlines do not allow reserving seats on long-haul or short-haul flights in economy. BA does not allow it either. What BA does is let you do it - if you really want it - for a charge. Sometimes when I am not flying BA and I can't select seats on other airlines I wish they allowed me to pay to select them.