In a few months I will be travelling with a colleague and by the time of the flight I am expecting to be BA Gold (I'm silver now if it matters). We're trying to save costs and need one checked bag each and would like free seat selection. My plan is to book an 'Economy Standard' fare for myself on one reservation, thus giving me 2 checked bags, one of which my colleague can use. They can then be booked on a 'Economy Basic' fare.
I know Gold has the perk of being able to book seats for other people on the same flight but different bookings. The wording is "as long as they’re in the same travel class and on the same flight* I was wondering if Standard and Basic are considered the same class, i.e. World Traveller. Or whether they are considered different classes?
Does anyone have experience of using this perk, is it easy to apply? Thanks for any advice!
Yes.
Same travel class is that - World Traveller. There is no distinction as to whether someone paid a cheaper fare on a Basic versus a Standard. It's literally the same class.
I used this perk in November 2021. A friend and I were booked in Club Europe on separate tickets, I just contacted BA and said I'd like to select a seat for my friend to sit beside me as part of my Gold perks and passed on his details. They wanted the booking reference for my friend, his e-mail address, and other verification details. I happened to have paid for his upgrade, so I said that I had and they could see that different card on the booking. As long as you have all the security details for the second booking, there shouldn't be any problems. I found it pretty seamless.