Can I help you

Correct, bit if you can get 20 EF you don't have to step over anyone.

BA5E

Do not know about BA A380 as have not flown yet on it, with regards to the BA flight back to LHR, then would definitely bag 63AB before anyone else jumps in, just pay for it, not quite the best seats in the house, but so much nicer than being on LD, only 20 pax upstairs. Let me know how you get on^

Swanhunter

Row 59 would be my pick on the A380. While there is a risk of noise there is guaranteed extra leg room and direct aisle access. That is worth a lot.

LHR-JNB most of the UD is available but blocked for those with status, your MIA flight has about half the seats available for car holders but only 63AB left for those paying.

BLG

I had some questions on seating which I had posted in another thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...7-4-class.html

My wife and I booked award seats through AA for an LHR-LAX flight about a month out. I found out in that thread that my AA Lifetime Gold status (OW Ruby) allows me to reserve my seat 7 days before departure. I have two questions:

1. Does the BA website (I'm BA Blue) somehow know my Ruby status (where would I see that?), and if not, what must I do for the site to allow me to book 7 days out?

2. My wife (also BA Blue) has no AA status (unfortunately she's just short of AA LT Gold) and our tickets were each pulled out of our own Advantage accounts, so we are not on the same PNR. As my traveling companion, but not on the same PNR, will she be able to take advantage of my status for booking, or will she be restricted to T-24? If she can take advantage of it as my traveling companion, what must we do to instruct the website?

The answer to the second question may go a long ways in determining if we want to spend the money on pre-booking the seats.

If she can't take advantage of my Ruby status, I guess I could snag a window seat for a week out, and then have her get an aisle (much more likely to be available at T-24) and then we could trade seats between ourselves on the plane since I'd rather have an aisle anyhow. Maybe a slightly clever workaround?

Globaliser

Something's not right here. This is the seat map that shows to a non-cardholder on this flight (blue = occupied), and it matches what I can choose when making a dummy booking as a non-cardholder. So I don't think that these are blocked for status holders.



Only 63AB, 63JK and 64AB can be allocated to those who need to pay for them. If you really want to be on the UD, then grab 63AB while you can.

In this case, you can see the difference from what someone with status can select:-

Globaliser

Is your AA number in the booking? If so, then the BA system should automatically recognise that you're a Ruby, although AFAIK there's nowhere in MMB where that is stated. (I'm assuming that you haven't put your BA number in, as there's no point in doing so.)

If your AA number is not in the booking, then you need to have any other FF number taken out and the AA number put in.

If your wife is on a separate booking, she will not be able to take advantage of your status for seat selection purposes. She will either have to pay or be restricted to what there is when OLCI opens.I wouldn't bank on aisle seats being more likely than window seats to be available when OLCI opens. You could find that the only available seats at that time are single middle seats.

Globaliser

It's a matter of opinion, but in AB and JK pairs you're no less together than if you're in an EF pair. And talking to the other person is much more natural in an AB or JK pair because you're facing each other.

It's like being in a restaurant at a table for two. You'd much more naturally sit opposite each other than side-by-side facing in the same direction.

BLG

Yes, my AA number is on my booking, and my wife's AA number is on her separate booking because the miles for her booking came out of her account. A shame we couldn't have done them on the same booking, but we were lucky to find two Mile Savers -- BA had no award inventory (we also have a lot of Avios) and AA Mile Savers were few and far between. A shame we couldn't have put them on the same PNR to take advantage of my status.

The thought of getting stuck in a middle seat is not a pleasant one. I'm beginning to think that we should buy our seats now, grabbing a window/aisle combo while they're available and hope that we don't have to cancel the booking for some reason and lose the money. I wouldn't mind the BA "pay for a reservation" policy if the money was refundable on cancellation. In every other way BA's cancellation policies are better than most.

Thanks very much.

elizadoo

Booked it--at $US 250 for the both of us (sigh). Probably will be the first and last time to fly UD on the 744, so figured, why not.

About the 380--still wondering, do center EF seats on LD require stepping over anyone, other than traveling companion, if you are seated two abreast?
I know on UD the center seats are like tombs. I think in this case the best idea is to go with AB or JK, regardless of deck, and maybe the LD is better, fewer pax using the loo.

elizadoo

The ones with the gold arrows show as Available for purchase to me (non-status). And to a status holder? And what are the green dots? Interesting, what status can get you.

SpeedBird17Victor

The Denver route (as discussed many a time on here, mostly because of me ) Varies now from 3 to 4 class. This summer I had 3 outbound and 4 inbound!

Sixth Freedom

Note that row 13 is the only row to be guaranteed to have a full complement of windows on 777. Other rows may suffer misaligned or missing windows.

HilFly

Those seat maps are from expertflyer.com. The green and yellow dots are the ratings for various seats. Green are considered good seats, yellow have some issues, and red are bad seats. I believe the ratings are picked up from seatguru. It is totally subjective - one person's heaven on a plane is the worst seat in the cabin for somebody else.

The 744 UD is very nice, and I'm sure T8191 will explain his iWife's route for getting out of the row 63 window seats with getting over any legs.

BLG

Thanks very much -- I'm now leaning towards reserving because I've realized that we have separate PNRs and my wife will not be able to take advantage of my status. I'm pretty sure 13 is available on both sides of the plane, but I'll look again. For me the thought of potentially getting stuck in middle seats half defeats the whole purpose of flying CW. It just annoys me that you don't get a refund if you have to cancel.

HilFly

The only window or E&F seats on a 4 class 777 that have aisle access without climbing over legs are 15A&K, and 15E&F. 15A&K and 15E are bassinet positions which are released if not needed for an infant at 3 days before the flight, or when online check in opens.

Although they show as available online at T-72, they become unavailable if you try to put yourself in them. You have to call and ask for them - some agents will do it, some won't. If they are not occupied at T-24, they can be selected at online check in.

Personally, I love 15E&F when travelling with my husband.