Originally Posted by
PETER01
It suits BA/OW members with status as they can get the pick of the best seats and this is especially useful with last minute bookings thus rewarding FFr's. We rarely see complaints from BA/OW regulars with status here about this and so seems to suit the BAEC model. It's a buyers market so people can choose to fly elsewhere if they don't like that policy.
I agree and while I understand why people are surprised given it's somewhat unusual, it's not a terrible policy overall in my view as:
- It rewards frequent flyers but doesn't completely exclude those who really want a specific seat by allowing them to pay to get the same access.
- A CW return gets you 93% of the way to Bronze (and hence seat selection at t-7) so it's not a huge hurdle to clear for status if you fly BA more than once a year
- Given the cost of a CW flight, the >10% extra for seat selection on a return seems not insane pricing
- The option to pay for seat selection is presented during the booking process so it's reasonably clearly flagged before you confirm the booking
I would love to know if BA makes any useful revenue from CW seat reservation fees but I assume not much as most either get it free with status or don't bother.