simons1

"If any passenger in the booking is not eligible to sit in an exit row seat, they will not be offered for the entire booking. You will be able to choose from the standard seats."

https://www.britishairways.com/trave...s/public/en_gb

waffle

ThatT1Feeling

If the cabin is fully open, couldn't you just go for 2 x window and aisle pairs? Rows 60JK & 61JK for example?

MrsW

orbitmic

I don't mean to be awkward, but if a passenger sees that and complains formally against BA, they would be absolutely right.

The CAA rules are extremely straightforward. Children are not allowed to sit in an emergency exit. Not cannot sit in an emergency exit for take off and landing, just cannot be sat in an emergency row full stop. I wholly disagree with the suggestion that this is only needed for take off and landing anyway - whilst those are the two most "sensitive" moments in a flight, emergency landings during cruise do happen and the last thing you want if that happens if for parents to need to reposition their kids in a different seat because that most unlikely emergency has occurred after all.

I also disagree that it is for the crew to decide. The crew have a lot of power and responsibility, but ultimately neither the power nor the responsibility to overrule the CAA, so I think that crew taking it upon themselves to authorise kids in the emergency exit after take off are, in my view, taking a serious risk.


https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/on-board/seating-allocation/
Seats by emergency exits

Some passengers may not be permitted to sit in a seat row next to an emergency exit. This is because if the emergency exit is needed, it is important the exit can be opened and the aircraft evacuated as quickly as possible.The following passengers are among those who should not be allocated, or directed to, seats by emergency exits:

• Passengers with physical or mental impairment or disability to the extent that they would have difficulty in moving quickly if asked to do so.
• Passengers who have significant sight or hearing impairment to the extent that it might be difficult for them to respond to instructions quickly.
• Passengers who, because of age or sickness, have difficulty in moving quickly.
• Passengers who, because of physical size, have difficulty in moving quickly.
• Children (whether accompanied or not) and infants.
• Passengers travelling with animals, for example assistance dogs.

Seraglio

In my understanding upperdeck on the 747 is business class. What is the difference between a normal seat and an exit seat?

KARFA

nothing really in relation to the seat as such, but 62a/k also have direct aisle access as well.

Mike P

There are emergency exits on the top deck of a 747, the relevant seat numbers have been identified in a previous post.

T8191

Although a different subject, this post shows the EXIT seats. They’re the ones with direct, unimpeded access to the Emergency Exits on the UD.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30106713-post22.html

KARFA

With all due respect, CIHY has confirmed what the BA position is on several occasions on this board, so either BA is in violation of CAA rules - I think that is unlikely - or they know the rules and the CAA have no issue with what BA do on this. I personally would advise anyone to be very cautious posting on a public forum the accusation that BA are clear breach. In fact the actual guidance document from the CAA (rather than the simplified guidance on a web page) does mention taxi, take off and landing and distinguishes those phases of flight from the others. This is in relation to occupation, but if there was some risk during the other phases of flight it would cover all phases. There doesn't seem to be any requirement for emergency exit rows to be occupied by eligible people, or indeed occupied at all, outside taxi, take-off and landing phases of flight.

https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%20789.pdf see page 347

For the sake of clarity, BA's position is during taxi, take off, and landing only eligible people may sit in an exit row. At any other time during the flight anyone may sit there. I know of no situation ever where an emergency evacuation was needed immediately after an aircraft was at cruise where there was no time or opportunity to move people back.

email2markt

Hmm, shuffling children around the cabin while there is no air and the plane is dropping 30,000ft+ in a matter of minutes sounds like something I wouldn't be interested in taking on if i were cabin crew .

Foltan

I can confirm from a flight very recently that the Cabin Crew made a couple of children move out of the exit row for take off and landing on a 320 - they switched with some patient mugs who then willingly allowed the children to have their exit row seats back during the cruise of the flight.

So in other words the CC won't mind if your children move to the exit row during the flight as long as you move them back for landing.

orbitmic

But as you point out, the extract you post simply refer to the seats directly next to the emergency door having to be occupied (full stop) during the periods that you mention as opposed to being empty. Or are you referring to a different section? By contrast, the extract that I mention is about who is not allowed to sit next to those emergency exits. I see no contradiction between the two, and certainly no way to assume that the fact that seats next to emergency exits must not be left empty during the three phases that you mention invalidates in any way the guidelines that the CAA provides on who is not supposed to sit there on their website. The sum of the two pieces of information still come up to the same result: that based on those documents alone (again, maybe you are right and there is something else, but not in that extract) that children, passengers with impaired mobility, etc would on the face of it not be allowed to sit in emergency exits at any time.

Now again, if there is contrary guideline from the CAA, I'm more than happy to see it, but that is not it. I can only restate the same thing: based on the information provided, if one saw children in an exit row at any point during the flight, it would not be illogical to complain to the CAA who can then consider and decide whether this is in breach of their guidelines or not and deal with the complaint accordingly. I'm not sure about the basis of the warning - you would basically say: "I saw children sat in an emergency row during cruise on flight BA xxx on xx/xx/2018. From your website, I thought that children under the age of 12 were not allowed at all in those seats. Is this incorrect?" You are not substituting yourself to the CAA, but conversely, just assuming that this must be compliant because either crews or BA allow it would seem to me a big assumption to make. It is not unusual for any company to do things that it thinks are absolutely right and for the regulators to conclude that they misunderstood their stipulations, I am not saying that this is what is happening here if, again, someone has evidence that the CAA has ruled that such situation is in fact allowable, just that at this stage I do not see any document confirming that it is whilst the only document that actually addresses the issue suggests that it is not.

KARFA

SCSA

Not to be too grumpy, but as a fully grown adult I'd be pretty unhappy if I was unable to book the exit row and saw a kid sitting in it instead.