PETER01

Yes it has a window slightly forward of the seat.

Ajm1987

Got a CE flight to Faro coming up on an A320, the ones without a 1D/1F. Just wondering whether 1A has its legroom obstructed at all by the exit door/does it get particularly cold? Not too fussed by the whole looking at the crew for a couple of minutes during takeoff/landing. And figure I can just board late albeit still through queue no. 1?

corporate-wage-slave

It's certainly a cool seat, but not freezing. It has heaps of leg room in 1A, you're not right on the door mountings there. However G-GAT's 2D and 2F are among the best seats in BA's shorthaul fleet, so I would definitely go for those if still available (but bearing in mind the risk of equipment change).

BertieBadger

So, I've just learned a salutary lesson about this config missing 1D/F. I don't normally fly ex-LGW except maybe once a year between London and Scotland, so not flown the CY177 layout before.

Got an upcoming weekend European break ex-LGW, and the outbound was on this config, so I opted for 1A/C as much to try it as anything else. However, Mrs BertieB is not much for 1C, she hates it as "too many passengers bump into you as they board", so normally we'd take 1D/F instead, which is what we did for the return. Only to find BA have now swapped in one of these configs (ex BMI?) and 1D/F has disappeared into the ether, along with out reservations for them. And we're now back in row 5, with no pairs available forward of this.

It's hardly the end of the world, and I appreciate there isn't much I can do except file it under "lessons learned" and for future reference, when flying ex-LGW, take 1A/C and put Mrs BertieB in at the window or board at the end and just find space for the bags further down the cabin if needed.

Am I correct in thinking these birds are ex-LGW only, so for LHR flights taking 1D/F remains unaffected by this risk?

KARFA

Yes, the 10 A320s having that configuration of no 1 D/F are only at LGW.

BertieBadger

Many thanks ^ With the increased options out of LGW, could potentially be using it more, so good to know.

krispy84

I feel I should know this, but can I check that the ex-BMI A320s at LGW with the older seats are different to the 10 A320s without 1D/1F? I have a flight to SVQ coming up and it's showing as negative 1D/1F, will it be the new style seat?

Thanks

volar

Yes, the 10 G-GATx A320s without 1D/1F have the new style seats.

corporate-wage-slave

So in other words on MMB there is a clearly missing set of seats at the front on the starboard side, and the first row of seats shown are 2D and 2F on that side; whereas the port side is as you would expect, starting at row 1A and 1C. These seats are right in the door area, probably more familiar to those who use the older easyJet aircraft. While they have heaps of legroom during the flight there is no floor storage and 1C is risk of being bumped during embarkation. 2D and 2F have excellent legroom, better than the other A319/320/321 on the front bulkheads.

krispy84

Thanks all. I'm in 3D. I couldn't get into 2D or 2F, although I'm monitoring like a hawk until check-in to see if they open up (flight is zeroed out in CE so unlikely). I wouldn't personally chose the 1A/1C seats on this configuration, notwithstanding the excellent legroom.

etiene

Got ARN-LHR on A320 Sunday - only Silver so unable to select row 1 yet, am I right in thinking those should be available to me at T-72? And is there much difference between 1A and 1F? There's a bulkhead both side but a tad more room for the knees than remaining in row 2...? I seem to be the only person in CE at present.

BertieBadger

Correct yes, sometimes they open up in the hour before T-72, rather than exactly on the dot. If it hadn't been taken by a Goldie, I was always able to get Row 1 by checking at this time.

Can't say I've noticed a significant difference between 1A and 1F tbh, though perhaps I'm just unobservant. Definitely a tad more room than Row 2 in either case I'd say and Row 1 is my preference when available. Some people prefer row 2, to avoid having to put bags up for take off and landing. To each their own.

Flying12345

Flying LHR-ATH on an A320.

when will the exit rows become available to a paying blue?

of the other ET seas in the cabin, are they all pretty similar, does ATH tend to use stairs and a bus?

corporate-wage-slave

I think the exit row becomes available at two weeks before departure, but I'm not entirely sure. And yes apart from those 2 rows the rest of the seating is identical. You can indeed upgrade later but I am not entirely sure of the logic here since if you are able to be proactive at the time of OLCI opens, you should at some point get a reasonable combination of seats. Buying seats is cheapest at the point of buying the ticket. In other words I can see the point in buying the exit row seats on a relatively long shorthaul service, but less so for any other rows on services which don't have a high status quotient (and ATH is a route in that category). Just don't print / app your online boarding pass unti you've got a seat you like.

ATH is usually airbridged at both ends. The LHR end is more likely to have a bus than ATH but it's rather less than 10% chance I would say. If you are asking from a mobility point of view then those passengers get seat selection for free a few days before departure anyway.

Flying12345