The BA fleet currently consists of the following aircraft:

Airbus A319
Airbus A320
Airbus A321
Avro RJ-100’s
Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737-400
Boeing 737-500
Boeing 747-400
Boeing 757-200
Boeing 767-300ER
Boeing 777-200
Boeing 777-200ER

The BA website shows which plane will be operating your flight if you click on the flight number on ba.com during the booking process. You can also work it out from ‘Manage My Booking’ (if your booking permits seat pre-selection).

The mainstay of the longhaul fleet is the 747-400. These are currently all based at LHR. There are two versions; one of them has 52 New Club World seats, and the other has 70 Club World seats. It’s a fairly even split between the two types (often referenced here as ‘52J’, ‘70J’ or ‘Mid-J’, ‘High-J’ respectively – if you see reference to ‘38J’ or ‘Low-J’, these are the original 747-400 New Club World configurations which had 38 Club World seats and which were replaced by the 52J variant during the refit phase).

The other main longhaul aircraft is the 777-200. BA has three different types, which are configured in four different seating plans. They have three of the oldest 777-200’s which are powered by GE engines. They have First (17 seats), Club World, a three row World Traveller Plus cabin (starting at row 18) and World Traveller. They are chiefly found on the Middle Eastern routes and sometimes East Coast USA/Canada rotations due to having a more limited range than the other 777s in the fleet. For an old seatmap, see http://web.archive.org/web/199904290...ocs/b777.shtml but note only the First configuration on that picture is still current. For the real geeks out there, the planes in question are G-ZZZA/B/C.

The main bulk of the 777 fleet are GE-powered 777-200ER’s which are also four class, but have the usual 14 First seats, Club World, five rows of World Traveller Plus and then World Traveller. BA more recently took deliver of some RR powered 777-200ER’s. These are split fairly equally into a four-class variant, and a three class variant. The three class plane has Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller (no First). There are also some three class GE-powered aircraft based at LGW (the 777s are the only longhaul planes based at LGW). All RR-powered aircraft have large TV screens and an 18 channel IFE system. Some of the GE-powered 777s unfortunately have an older (GMIS) IFE system which has 12 channels, much smaller screens and a huge, retro-looking 1970s control pad! Sadly, it is pot-luck as to which type of plane you will generally get. Note that on the 777s with smaller screens, First passengers should be able to ask for DVD players and a selection of DVDs instead/as well.

The 767-300 does both shorthaul and medium to longhaul. The shorthaul version is configured with Club Europe and Euro Traveller. The longhaul variant has Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller. All the 767’s are LHR based, just like the 747s. There is a curious message that sometime appears on ba.com for 767 flights warning they have Old Club World (cradle) seats – this is a bug and can be ignored!

The mainstay of the shorthaul fleet at LHR is the A319/20/21 fleet. They are configured with convertible seating as described in ‘Travel Classes’. The 757 fleet is much smaller than it once was. BA used to operate over 40, but now is down to about 12. It is the same seating as described for the Airbus fleet. Note that from 2008 when BA moved to Terminal 5 at LHR, the 757s are not used to service the T1 (in future T3) routes – BCN, HEL, LIS, MAD, NCE.

The 737 fleet is all based at LGW and in theory BA plan to replace them all with A319/20/21 planes over the next few years. Again, the 737s feature the same seating as the Airbus.

The only remaining Avros are now part of BA CityFlyer operating to/from LCY.

Can I or Can’t I Pre-Assign a Seat?!

A hot topic for a long time on the BA board indeed. The current BA policy restricts who can pre-assign seats before OLCI opens. See www.ba.com/seating for the ‘live’ version but in summary, you CANNOT pre-assign a seat UNLESS:

1. You have a BA Premier, Gold or Silver card or oneworld equivalent (i.e. Emerald or Sapphire only)
2. You are in the First cabin (regardless of how – paid, award, MFU…it matters not)
3. You have any other full fare ticket (specifically, booking classes J, C, W, Y)
4. Your company has a corporate special deal with BA to allow this (i.e. large companies with big discounts and BA account managers)
5. You have an infant with you on your booking

Everyone else is unable to get a seat until OLCI. The “semi” exceptions are:

1. Passengers with children (NOT infants) on their booking
2. Passengers with special needs/some specific disabilities (as notified to BA in the booking)

These passengers will be seated by BA (and not be able to move themselves in MMB until OLCI) 3 days before departure.

One of the ‘unpublished’ benefits of BA Gold is the ability to get seat assignments for passengers travelling on the same flight on a different PNR. See Bukhara’s post for the best way to do this.

What's the best seat?

This is a question which comes up time and time again - and quite understandably too, particularly for newbies looking to make the most of their first time in a particular cabin. I think we all remember that initial excitement of our first trip in First or Club World The purpose of the rest of this post is to collate the 'collective wisdom' on the topic to try and prevent the same question coming up over and over again.

The first thing to remember is, like upgrades, there is no definitive answer! A lot of this comes down to personal preference and circumstances. The following are some general tips and advice, by plane and by cabin.

There are also two sites which can prove useful:

http://www.seatguru.com/
http://www.seatexpert.com/

The latter currently has more detail and is widely referenced in this post.

Rule 1 - Know Your Plane!
As described above, BA operate several different types of plane and several different types of configuration within each plane type! Yes, it's confusing. However, you can normally get a good idea of which type of plane you are on from the layout you see in 'Manage My Booking'

Rule 2 - Shorthaul Is Easiest
The rule on shorthaul is pretty simple.

Club Europe
On anything but the 767s, get on the left hand side in Club Europe (the A or C seat config, with B squished) which has the most space. The DEF seats are wider than in Euro Traveller and OK if the 'E' seat is empty, but you can't always guarantee that. On the 767s, try for the middle seat pairs (D and F) because the 2-2-2 format in Club Europe vs. the 2-3-2 format in Euro Traveller means these are actually the equivalent to the AC seats on the other aircraft already mentioned (i.e. 3 seats which have been collapsed in to 2 for Club Europe). The window pairs on the 767 in CE are especially poor. They do expand – but only by around 0.5 inch. Some like the bulkheads as there is nobody to recline into you but others find the reduced legroom irritating (especially if you are 6ft plus). The only exception to this are certain 737-500’s operating from LGW which have lots of room in row 1 (the 737-300 has room on the 1DEF side only, the 737-400 has no extra room on its first rows – 2AC and 1DEF).

If you’re eligible to do so, you can pre-assign Club Europe seats in 'Manage My Booking' to try and reserve these in advance. If the left side is not available, the right side is much of a muchness, though obviously avoid the 'E' seat at all costs!

Whether or not you want to be in Row 1 (or Row 2 on the 737-400) is personal choice. Some people don’t like having their feet against the bulkhead (although 1C often has only a partial bulkhead in front) whilst others like not having a seat in front of them (and therefore running the risk of having that seat recline). The first rows of Club Europe are normally reserved for bookings containing a Premier/Gold member until OLCI opens.

Euro Traveller
If eligible, you can now pre-assign seats in Euro Traveller but watch out for the ‘buffer zone’ trick! Because the curtain is not fixed, you will see that your Euro Traveller seat map typically only lets you pre-assign from something like row 11 backwards. What BA do is ‘block’ the first few rows of the cabin until they have a better idea where the curtain will be fixed for the flight. At T-3 days, the entire cabin will open for pre-reservation to those who are eligible which is when BA pre-seat infants, special needs passengers, etc. At this point, you can try to move to the prized ‘first two seats on the left behind the curtain.

CAVEAT: BA can and do move the curtain during this period in spite of it being ‘fixed’ in theory. If you are in seats which are no longer part of the ET cabin (i.e. they moved the curtain back) you will likely be dumped in something not only undesirable but also insulting (e.g. 18B). This is a major problem with the system in ET and a big flaw in BA’s policy (quote why the buffer zone can’t be at the rear of the plane and, should the curtain move, people are automatically shifted back retaining their relative positions is beyond everyone on this board…and BA it seems!). The further kicker here is you will likely not be able to move yourself in MMB (well, you can move but it won’t ‘stick’ and you’ll get an error). To remedy this, you must call the EC up and request an agent to delete your seat assignment for that leg totally and then re-add them manually to where you wish to sit. The best advice is to keep a close eye on things in the period of T-3 days and react quickly if you get messed around.

In general, the seats closest to the curtain are best because they have the Club Europe seat pitch, if not width (or service!) due to the way the convertible seating is installed. On flights where Club Europe does not stretch very far back, this means you can get extra legroom in Euro Traveller by sitting towards the front of that cabin. We have the following data so far:

737-300 - Rows 1 to 8 convertible, plus over-wing exit at row 10 with extra pitch
737-400 - Rows 1 to 13 convertible, including over-wing exits at rows 11 & 12. No recline on rows 10 & 11. Row 1 is DEF seats only.
737-500 - Rows 1 to 11 convertible, including over-wing exit at row 8.

Additionally, on anything but the 767, the very first row of Euro Traveller on the left is still in Club Europe format (for safety reasons, so the crew can emerge with the trolley through the curtain and not hit anyone's legs!). These are the prize seats (as long as you don’t mind having the curtain right in front of you!).

On the 767, the best seats are on either of the left or right side 2-blocks, but again get as far forward as possible - right at the back, the seating which cannot be converted to Club Europe is cloth not leather and has less pitch. You need to be forward of the second emergency exit to benefit from the CE seat pitch - but beware that row 13 and 14 are missing windows!

Exit rows are clearly marked at OLCI (or in MMB if you can pre-assign) if you wish to select one of these seats.

On the 757, beware of 12AF and 14AF. These window seats have ‘blankers’ in place and as such offer less elbow room and can feel more claustrophobic. The 757 also has a variant with a 2ABC row – this may show on ba.com but they won’t be available for allocation.

There are a few ‘older’ A320’s originally from British Caledonian that have a shorter bulkhead in front of 1C, making it especially desirable. However, there is no way of predicting whether you will get one of these planes, unfortunately.

UK Domestic (Shuttle)
Generally, the best bet is to bag a seat at the front of the cabin, as you’ll invariably be in a position to get off first. “B” seats are to be avoided at the front of the plane, as often your aircraft will have come off of a European trip, and the conversion back to regular domestic seating can often leave the “B” seats a touch on the narrow side.

Rule 3 - Longhaul Will Vary

The good news is the mainline fleet now all have at least some version of the Club World flatbeds, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller, and some aircraft retain First too. The bad news is, the setup varies by aircraft:

747-400 (70 Club World Seats)

Seat Map

First: 1A or 1K are deemed by many as the best seats in the house. They are close enough for 2 people travelling together to chat quietly without disturbing the cabin and offer a great sense of isolation. However, some dislike that isolation and thus swear by 2AK instead (though the gap is too large for a ‘quiet chat’ if there are 2 of you). Also, 1AK have no overhead locker (but there’s no shortage of storage space in F anyway) and are next to the cupboard at the front. Again, some report ‘excessive traffic’ to this during the night and find it disturbing, others report no issue with this at all – it seems to be a risk, but a small one. Note if there’s more than 2 of you, the staggered layout means that 3AK are set much further forward from 4EF (3A can just about see 4E’s feet if they look sideways), so the only row you can really aim for which is ‘aligned’ is row 5, however some report seats in row 5 can experience excessive noise from the galley directly behind these seats. All of F is now available to pre-assign (1AK are held back just for Premiers/Golds – and do remember the caveat that for multi-person bookings, both members seeking these seats must be Premier/Gold to pre-assign, it is not sufficient for just one member to have the status and attempt to assign a non-Premier/Gold to one of the seats). There are bassinets at 1AK. 4EF and 5EF are nice if you are travelling as couple and want to share the experience, though some complain about the exposed position of row 4 which is somewhat more 'open' to the rest of the cabin.

Club World (Upper Deck): Simply the best place to sit in Club World! It’s smaller, in 2-2 configuration and has a very ‘private cabin’ feel. Seats up here are second only to F in most peoples’ opinion. 62AK and 63BJ are exit seats and held if pre-assigning you must remember to tick the disclaimer box saying you’re capable of sitting there. Only 64A is held back for OLCI normally since it’s the bassinet (and of course may get assigned by BA to a parent and child). Wisdom dictates that 62AK are prize seats (as exit rows, for ease of egress – i.e. you don’t need to step over anyone to get to the aisle due to the extra space) as are 64AK for the same reason, though some complain 64K can be disturbed by the toilet and/or light and noise from the galley. 62AK also offer a bit of extra legroom – they do not have the seat moulding in front of them which featured in the older New Club World product.

Club World (Main Deck): 14AK are widely regarded as excellent seats because of their privacy and the fact you do not have to climb over anyone to get out. Other seats are much of a muchness – though the standard ‘rule’ of avoiding the EF seats (unless you’re a couple together) applies, in which case 14EF are the best seats for ease of egress once more – though beware these are bassinets so may not be available to you if occupied by a baby. In the second cabin, 20AK offer similar advantages to 14AK – though with the caveat that they are closer to the WT+ bassinet. Again, 20EF are a bassinet too.

For info on which Club seats offer extra space on a 747, see Swanhunter’s very useful thread here

World Traveller Plus: The prize seats for the lone traveller are 28BJ since they are single seats with nearly unlimited legroom. Second best are 29AK because there is no seat in front, so they also offer excellent room. The other seats are all much of a muchness. The last row has the same recline as the other rows, so this is not a concern.

World Traveller: Exit rows are the prime seats for the extra legroom so sure to be bagged early by those with the ability to pre-assign these days. 51BC, 52BC, 51HJ and 52HJ are the only pair seats in WT. Apart from the advantage of extra privacy if travelling as a couple, these are slightly roomier due to the ‘missing’ 3rd seat and the rear curvature of the plane. However, the downside is these suffer from being close to the toilet queues and since you're right at the back of the plane, you’ll be right at the back of the queue for immigration upon arrival which can be a real pain (especially to the USA).

747-400 (52 New Club World Seats)

Seat Map

First: As above.

Club World (Upper Deck): As above.

Club World (Main Deck): See the 70J plane’s second cabin advice only.

World Traveller Plus: Service in this cabin is done by one crew member. They pass down the left aisle then ‘double back’ in the galley between W and J and serve the right aisle – so if you want to get served sooner not later, sit on the left. Service issues aside, the bulkhead at 11JK is reported to be potentially slightly more spacious than the equivalent at Row 17 on a 38J plane so (assuming there’s no screaming kids around!) should be the most sought-after seats on the right, with 12AB the prime seats on the left. Other feedback welcome since this is a relatively new setup.

World Traveller: Feedback welcome.

For those looking for a seatmap of this rather new configuration (the above link is a placeholder, it is not valid), this is a crude version (where W is a seat, TT is toilet and J is a J seat):

777-200 (4-class)

Seat Map

First: The centre rows (1EF, 2EF, 3EF) are good for couples – none of the other seats (e.g. 1A and 1K) are close enough like on the 747. Beware of the window seats in Row 1 as they only have two windows so can make some people feel slightly claustrophobic. Others, however, still like the privacy they offer.

Club World: Row 10 is the first row so 10AK are seen as the best window seats, with excellent privacy (and slightly less engine noise). The best aisle seats onboard are 10B, D, G or J as these seats have nobody climbing over them to get to the aisle. 15AK or 15EF are good for ease of egress, but are right next to the WT+ bassinets so there is a slim chance of disturbance. 15AEFK are also the Club World bassinet positions. The rest of the seats in the 4-class 777 Club cabin are much of a muchness, and the cabin tends to be least popular amongst FTers because of its large, unbroken nature. That aside, the seats are still very good, as should the service be. Row 12 has a missing window because of the way the plane is built, so avoid the window seat here if possible.

World Traveller Plus: All seats are much of a muchness, although row 21 has slightly more legroom if you’re not too tall. However, they are also bulkhead seats which means there is a risk of crying babies! If you are rather tall, some people report less legroom here because you can’t put your feat under the seat in front for extra space.

World Traveller: The six exit row seats 26ABC/HJK offer almost unlimited legroom, but beware 26AK, which is restricted by the emergency slide enclosure protruding from the door. Also, these seats are by the forward toilets, so can suffer from people congregating as they wait to relieve themselves. These seats also have the IFE unit mounted in the armrest as opposed to the seatback in front.

Note: there are 3 planes configured with 17 First seats. These are 'A' Market planes and most often used to the Middle East and sometimes on the New York routes. These all, sadly, have the tiny IFE screens fitted. Some of the longer range 777s have the area where 4K should be blocked out for flight crew rest. Watch this space for a new seatmap image link coming soon!

777-200 (3-class)

Seat Map

Club World: 4A is an excellent seat with a high degree of privacy and easy egress (on the LGW 3-class planes, this applies to 4K too – on the LHR planes, this is normally blocked for crew rest). The bassinet positions are 3EF and 11EF.

World Traveller Plus: Any feedback or wisdom welcome!

World Traveller: As for the 4-class, row 26 offers excellent legroom.

Note: the seatmap above relates to the LHR based configuration. For the 3-class planes based at LGW, they are generally used on shorter routes so do not have the crew rest area shown at row 4 on the right above - 4JK are valid (and very good, like 4AB) seats. Watch this space for a new seatmap image link coming soon!

767-300 (3-class)

Seat Map

Club World: Uniquely in the fleet, this plane has a forward facing window seat in Club World. As such, 1A is highly sought after and offers a little extra legroom to boot. 4K is also very good, though some find the window seats a little claustrophobic owing to the smaller 767 cabin. All seats facing the bulkhead seem to offer a little more legroom.

World Traveller Plus: On the 767 WT+ is configured 2-2-2 (like Club World) compared to 2-4-2 on the other widebody longhaul planes so this is often considered the best WT+ cabin on the fleet.

World Traveller: Any feedback or wisdom welcome!

For completeness, here are some shorthaul seat plans from ba.com – though note they will rarely resemble reality since the curtain is moveable:

757-200, A320 and 737-400 Club Europe seating plans from ba.com
http://www.britishairways.com/travel.../en_gb?divseat

757-200, A320 and 737-400 Euro Traveller seating plans from ba.com
http://www.britishairways.com/travel.../en_gb?divseat

Note: if you can find seating plans for the A319, A321, the 737-300, 737-500, 767-300 (European Version) or the 777-200 with only three rows of WT+, please let us know! The A321 also has a solo seat in row 6 on the right. Rows 7 and 8 are the exit rows in Euro Traveller, but row 7 is also a bulkhead (so fixed armrests).

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=749973

Below is the full fleet breakdown as of March 31st 2006, according to the 2005/6 annual report…

You can usually find a full, current fleet breakdown from the official BA accounts on the BA shareholder site.