Aug 7, 2015, 5:53 am
Last edit by: NWIFlyer
Hand Baggage Only fares (HBO) are available on domestic and EuroTraveller routes. They are offered at a lower price to those able to travel without checked baggage on point to point journeys only - they are not offered with connections, stopovers or with Club Europe. There isn't a special fare bucket for HBO, it's just a discount to all domestic/ET fare buckets, so even expensive flexible tickets offer HBO. The discount varies depending on route. For example, going HBO on LHR-DUB gives a £10 discount; £15 on LHR-PRG; and £20 on LHR-ATH. Online Travel Agents often book into these fares (including building stopovers) and are sometimes less than transparent about the baggage restrictions during the booking process. HBO fares do not earn OnBusiness credits.
BAEC status passengers from Bronze upwards get advance seat choice with these tickets.
How to get seat allocation if HBO and without status:
- Pay up. You can pay up at OLCI if you don't like the seat. Costs vary from £7 to £21 per sector as a minimum, with differential pricing employed for better seats (e.g. an exit row on LHR-DUB was £23 in June 2017). Usually, but not always, this invalidates the cost saving of HBO. You can also pay up in Manage My Booking (MMB) before OLCI.
- Cancel OLCI at the "confirm contact details" stage. Go in again and/or later and you may be offered another seat.
- Corporate travel bookings still offer seating to HBO in some cases. Sometimes this ability is temporary and doesn't stick.
- Ask check-in or the lounge agent for a better seat, so far this seems to be possible. Lounge agents won't be able to assist where they aren't part of the ground handling for BA (e.g. LBA).
- If your airport has a Self Service Check In (SSCI) machine AND you do not print your boarding pass (see below) then you can select another seat there provided check-in is still open, typically up to 46 minutes before take off. So if you are being allocated a rotten seat and you can see better seats available, you can take a risk and complete/commence check-in later.
SSCI machines are available at: LHR, LGW, LCY, MAN, EDI (on the general purpose airport machines, but only those by the BA check-in area), NCE, BRU, OSL, BLL, AAR, MUC, AMS.
They are NOT available at: ABZ, BHD, GLA, LBA, NCL, DUB, CDG, ORY, SVG, DUS, TXL, MAH, CFU, OLB, CTA, CAG, FDH, ANE, UIP, BIO, HER, SVQ, PMI, BRI.
You can also do this operation the night before at LGW and LHR, details here.
By "printing boarding pass" we mean not selecting that option at OLCI, or saving, emailing, faxing and/or downloading the boarding pass on the App.
HBO fares - Have to pay to select seat in advance [free for GCH/SCH/BCHs @ 14 Jun 17]
Mar 2, 2015, 1:22 pm
#346
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MAN/BHX
Programs: ABBA
Posts: 6,027
Mar 2, 2015, 1:25 pm
#348
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: HKG
Programs: BA GGL & CCR
Posts: 600
F******g relentless...
You would have thought the last round of 'enhancements' to the executive club bought you a good 3-6 months without any bad news or something else being taken away but here we are again.
I give it 3 months before 'our great value' HBO fares no longer come with an inflight drink and 6 months before its expanded to all non-Fullyflexible economy class tickets.
You would have thought the last round of 'enhancements' to the executive club bought you a good 3-6 months without any bad news or something else being taken away but here we are again.
I give it 3 months before 'our great value' HBO fares no longer come with an inflight drink and 6 months before its expanded to all non-Fullyflexible economy class tickets.
Mar 2, 2015, 1:28 pm
#349
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: near Heathrow
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL (OWE), SA LifePlat (*G), BD Gold to the end, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,911
Mar 2, 2015, 1:32 pm
#350
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA, U2+, SK, AF/KL, IHG, Hilton, others gathering dust...
Posts: 2,552
Few people will stop flying with BA because of this, people care too much for their shiny cards, they'll either spend more on the frills included fare, or go to easyJet, and for every one BA status holder that goes to easyJet out of protest, another five easyJet passengers will come to BA because the price is the same/less for more (complimentary booze onboard).
It's as if revenue management have actually thought this one through.
It's as if revenue management have actually thought this one through.
BA now feel they want/need to rein this in, but taking away something is always worse than never giving it in the first place. However, BA carry other risks with alienating this customer base that LCCs do not - their premium long haul business. This is cumulative rather than related to this specific change and is eloquently summed up by Swanhunter's post:
I was toying with keeping GGL for another year. But do I really want to keep chasing status with an airline that is becoming ever more customer unfriendly? Not really.
In itself this step isn't a big deal. Viewed in the round and in the absence of any coherent strategy BA really are losing the plot.
In itself this step isn't a big deal. Viewed in the round and in the absence of any coherent strategy BA really are losing the plot.
Mar 2, 2015, 1:37 pm
#352
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,771
Of course, this is the problem BA is now trying to address, but they've done it completely the wrong way. What they should have done, as I argued when they expanded HBO to all economy fares, is make all fares exclude baggage and then simply charge a separate fee per bag like the LCCs do.
They were obviously too scared to do that outright, but the alternative dual-fare system they've thrown up is just a complete mess.
Mar 2, 2015, 1:37 pm
#353
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Sheffield
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 417
It may hit status holders, but ultimately, in BA's eyes, it means they potentially increase their personal expenditure to maintain their status whilst swiping up people who were previously not customers.
I'm sure if it starts losing them money, they will quickly stop it. It may come as bad news to some, but BA are simply moving with the times on this one. They've got serious competition and in terms making short haul profitable, something's got to give.
Mar 2, 2015, 1:39 pm
#355
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: CBG
Programs: BAEC Silver; M&M FT
Posts: 233
When comparing BA and EasyJet, previously I would have compared the HBO price against the EasyJet price with the addition of the EasyJet minimum seat selection fee. I would take BA even if it was a little more than EasyJet because of the better hand luggage policy on BA, because of lounge access and because of a small amount of brand loyalty after almost 20 years of flying with them.
After this change, I will compare the BA price with hand luggage (i.e. a larger number than before) with the EasyJet price plus the slightly higher seat selection fee needed to trigger the 2nd piece of hand luggage. I expect to take whichever is cheaper. The BA advantage of hand luggage has been addressed by EasyJet. This change kills the small amount of brand loyalty stone dead. Lounge access goes away when I drop out of Silver in a few months.
After this change, I will compare the BA price with hand luggage (i.e. a larger number than before) with the EasyJet price plus the slightly higher seat selection fee needed to trigger the 2nd piece of hand luggage. I expect to take whichever is cheaper. The BA advantage of hand luggage has been addressed by EasyJet. This change kills the small amount of brand loyalty stone dead. Lounge access goes away when I drop out of Silver in a few months.
Mar 2, 2015, 1:41 pm
#356
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,213
BA is playing a risky game here. If EC BCH/SCH/GCHs, who face add-on costs for seat selection, turn their back on HBO fares, then BA will pay airport authorities higher rates of PSC. BA currently gets a discount from LGW and LHR for each HBO ticket sold which offsets the discount passed along to the customer. So with today's announcement BA seems to be engineering a disproportionate amount of bad will for very little gain.
Very poor show BA
Very poor show BA
Mar 2, 2015, 1:43 pm
#357
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 85
Well it's obvious that BA's aim is to chase status holders away from buying HBO fares.
But of course if it nobs off many major status holders then it might well have an impact on premium cabin revenues. So it's a bit of a gamble.
And the other thought is that if in fact - as I still suspect - the percentage of HBO flyers that are GCH or SCH is very low, then why did BA bother to make this evidently controversial and, for some, painful change?
But of course if it nobs off many major status holders then it might well have an impact on premium cabin revenues. So it's a bit of a gamble.
And the other thought is that if in fact - as I still suspect - the percentage of HBO flyers that are GCH or SCH is very low, then why did BA bother to make this evidently controversial and, for some, painful change?
Last edited by stevehh; Mar 2, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Mar 2, 2015, 1:43 pm
#358
Join Date: May 2009
Location: London
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,741
I always thought HBO fares were a bad idea and the thin end of a wedge - and this senseless change just reinforces my opinion.
I'm almost tempted to check extra bags from now on just to increase BA's costs, though I guess that will ultimately backfire on all of us.
I'm just wondering what will be next - though I'm not going to dare speculate in case BA gets any more ideas from here...
I'm almost tempted to check extra bags from now on just to increase BA's costs, though I guess that will ultimately backfire on all of us.
I'm just wondering what will be next - though I'm not going to dare speculate in case BA gets any more ideas from here...
Mar 2, 2015, 1:48 pm
#359
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Sheffield
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 417
Well it's obvious that BA's aim is to chase status holders away from buying HBO fares.
But of course if it nobs off many major status holders then it might well have an impact on premium cabin prevenues. So it's a bit of a gamble.
And the other thought is that if in fact - as I still suspect - the percentage of HBO flyers that are GCH or SCH is very low, then why did BA bother to make this evidently controversial and, for some, painful change.
But of course if it nobs off many major status holders then it might well have an impact on premium cabin prevenues. So it's a bit of a gamble.
And the other thought is that if in fact - as I still suspect - the percentage of HBO flyers that are GCH or SCH is very low, then why did BA bother to make this evidently controversial and, for some, painful change.
A gamble yes, but I think they've done their homework.
Mar 2, 2015, 1:56 pm
#360
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: London
Programs: BA Executive Club
Posts: 999
This is really just an introduction of charges for seat selection for status holders without hold luggage.
Your option now as a status holder (or non status holder) when you buy a ticket is no seat selection until T-24 (that's how I read it) or pay c£20 for a fare that allows you to select a seat.
If you are a non status holder you pay the charge twice.
I am not sure BA realise this (or maybe they do), many employers force their employees to buy the cheapest economy fare available which is now the HBO fares for BA. People may still choose them over LCC's if lounges and fast track are more important than seat selection but for someone like me who just turns up 38 mins before take off there is little reason not to choose an alternative.
Not only that, most of the priority pass lounges which I have access to through AMEX have Crawfords biscuits (Yummy!!!), BA have those dodgy looking jars of biscuits most have which have gone soft as no one eats them.
Your option now as a status holder (or non status holder) when you buy a ticket is no seat selection until T-24 (that's how I read it) or pay c£20 for a fare that allows you to select a seat.
If you are a non status holder you pay the charge twice.
I am not sure BA realise this (or maybe they do), many employers force their employees to buy the cheapest economy fare available which is now the HBO fares for BA. People may still choose them over LCC's if lounges and fast track are more important than seat selection but for someone like me who just turns up 38 mins before take off there is little reason not to choose an alternative.
Not only that, most of the priority pass lounges which I have access to through AMEX have Crawfords biscuits (Yummy!!!), BA have those dodgy looking jars of biscuits most have which have gone soft as no one eats them.