Originally Posted by
THEOBCMAN
Is it even possible with basic fare ? Who can I call to ask ? BA Silver line or IB London office ?? Any advise appreciated.
Yes, it's possible with IB Optima fares and HBO fares from other OW carriers.
First of all: don't waste your time calling BA. I don't get why someone would call there. It's much more logical to approach the operating carrier. It just works, no nonsense. And before I call, I of course do my selection by using ExpertFlyer.
Whenever you need seat assignments with OW carriers, you should always call the operating OW carrier and ask for the seats you want. For instance, I've requested a specific seat on the A340-600 from IB in Business, while being BA ticketed. There's no reason to call the ticketing carrier, because the operating carrier will be able to find you and they have the proper seat assignment feature available, meaning the assignment will work for certain. Recently I flew Iberia Regional (yes, yes, Air Nostrum, but I usually refer with the marketing name) and I was bolted to a seat by their CS, as IB had trouble doing it, so I took it a step further. And I was BA ticketed.