I am planning to take a trip with my son and some of his friends for Spring Break next March. He will be a senior and most or all of the kids will be 18. The best flight is on a 787.

Last year on a similar trip we flew on a LOT airlines 787 with 16.9-inch-wide seats. It was miserable. I’ve read that BA has somehow made their 787 seats wider, and SeatGuru lists them at 17.5-inches wide. Are they really wider, and how did they manage this?

If I book this can I come back later and just upgrade one of the seats to WT-Plus for cash or maybe Avios. If I try to do it on the front end I have to upgrade everyone, and I wasn’t going to upgrade the kids. They are all skinny. Also, I’ve read that I can book an “extra seat.” This is cheaper than buying a WT-Plus ticket. Since BA doesn’t assign seats right away, how can I be sure the seats will be together?

I flew a cheap business class fare last year which made me Bronze. Not sure if that is good for anything. Thanks for the help and any other advice.