Originally Posted by phillipas
BA's approach is that if you have a flexible ticket then you have the flexibility to change it, and if you have a non-flexible ticket you don't have the flexibility to change it.
If BA allowed people to board earlier flights on non-flex tickets then people looking to return home from LHR at the end of a business day would simply buy a cheap ticket for a late flight and then catch the earlier one.
This has been discussed ad nauseam in earleir threads and I think that the above completely mis-states the position. There is as much flexibility as the particular check-in agent that you deal with chooses to exercise.
I had occasion to discuss this in Boston only 2 days ago when I rolled up 24 hours early for a WT+ to J MFU which was already half travelled. It should have been completely inflexible.
The check-in agent said they had U class availability on the 20.40 flight and that I could have a confirmed seat. On the 18.00 they had no U class but she was happy to put me on standby in the event that there was an empty space in business class, which was then looking quite full.
This has happened several times in recent months on tickets which should have been completely inflexible.
The res agent did confirm that at the check-in stage they have a great deal of flexibility as to what they do. They are able to put you on any flight in any class irrespective of the type and class of ticket that you have. As said at the beginning of this post, it is all down to the person you are dealing with. I think having a Gold card undoubtedly helps, as they do generally seem willing to go that extra mile.